For the Child Who Squeezes Half the Tube

Four lines you can say out loud tonight. Word for word. Free to save.

What to say

1. One pea of toothpaste. That’s the whole amount, every single night.

2. A long stripe looks like it cleans better. It mostly makes more foam than your mouth wants.

3. I squeeze the pea, you take the brush, and the tube goes back in the drawer.

4. Tomorrow you squeeze it yourself. I hold the tube and you press once.

When to use it

This is for the moment it actually goes wrong — not the calm version you rehearse in the car. Pick one line. Say it once. Then stop talking and wait three seconds. If they push back, repeat the same line, not a new one. Say the same thing for five nights before you decide it doesn't work.