A bedtime story about brushing teeth
A short bedtime story that turns brushing teeth into a game, not a fight.
Make one starring my child — freeSample story
Crunch the Dragon and the Minty Smoke
At bedtime Leo found a little green dragon in the bathroom. "Cookie crumbs live in my teeth," moaned Crunch. "They dance and they tickle!" Scrub-scrub — something really was crunching in there.
Leo handed Crunch his toothbrush. The dragon put the whole thing in his mouth and nearly swallowed it. "Not like that!" Leo laughed. "Watch me."
A pea of toothpaste. Scrub-scrub on the top teeth, scrub-scrub on the bottom, little circles at the very back where crumbs hide. Crunch copied him, puffing minty smoke.
Splash — Leo spat. Crunch spat too and hit the sink the first time. "Not one crumb left!" he grinned with all forty teeth.
The light went out. Crunch curled up on Leo's pillow and snored softly: scrub-scrub… scrub… Their teeth shone like the stars outside.
Questions to ask afterwards
- What were the crumbs doing in Crunch's teeth?
- How else could brushing be fun?
- Can you show me the little circles on your back teeth?
Talk for 2–3 minutes: the child works out the point and carries it into real life (dialogic reading).
Kasas Kids writes this story about your child: their name, age and favourite toy, with pictures, narration in English, Russian or Kazakh, and a cartoon. Your first stories are free, no sign-up needed.
Make one starring my child — freeWhy a story works better than nagging
- Children copy a human hero who is like them: in one study a sharing story with human characters made 4–6-year-olds more generous, while the same story with animals did not.
- Stories where the good deed pays off work better than cautionary tales: a story rewarding honesty made children three times more likely to tell the truth; punishment stories did not.
- The closer a story is to the child's life — their name, their toys, their situation — the easier it is for them to use the solution.