How to make your kids want to brush
Babies' first teeth usually erupt at around six months of age. From this point on, brushing the teeth becomes important. From the first milk tooth, they must be well cared for because this forms the basis for the children’s teeth being healthy and strong later on. However, making this palatable to children so that it does not become a hurdle every day can be quite tedious, as all mothers know. It often ends in drama when parents want to teach their kids thorough oral hygiene. But this doesn't have to be the case because there are valuable tips on how parents can teach their children to enjoy brushing their teeth, and thus make their own lifes easier.
Brushing tips — how to make your kids LOVE to brush their teeth
It makes a lot of sense to introduce a joint family tooth brushing after meals and to be the role model. This has a great motivating effect on kids. Parents now have the task of showing them that, just like washing and bathing the body, is part of hygiene. This works best when everyone brushes their teeth together and the parents explain to the child how to brush their teeth with a tasty toothpaste properly. Until school age, however, children need a “success check” and parents may need to brush again. But brushing teeth together makes it a habit or routine, so it doesn't end in screams every time it's “Will you please go brush your teeth?”. If parents make brushing teeth a regular ritual, they can prevent children from developing an aversion to it. Eventually, it will become completely natural for them.
The word “self” usually has a magical effect on children. Kids should therefore be allowed to choose their toothbrush, cup and natural toothpaste. Of course, the child likes a beautiful, colorful, self-selected toothbrush much better and so brushing teeth is twice as much fun. It is important to buy a special children's toothbrush because it has a small brush head as well as soft, rounded bristles. The same goes for the toothpaste. How about a natural toothpaste that is also tasty, but harmless at the same time? Adults usually favor a mint flavor, but this does not meet the taste of most children, more than that - it’s forbidden for children under 6 y.o.a.
Children have favorite songs. Why shouldn't they listen to them while brushing their teeth? The child will be thrilled to be able to brush to the rhythm of a lively song. In the best case, the song is two to three minutes long — once it's over, the child can rinse his or her mouth. Children are always ready for funny ideas. Sometimes it is hard to believe the effect such actions can have.
Gamify teeth brushing with a tasty toothpaste
Depending on age, different games can help. Using a flavored toothpaste paired with rhymes distract younger dental hygiene refusers, for example:
Brush, brush, brush your teeth, at least two times a day.
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning,
Fighting tooth decay.
Floss, floss, floss your teeth, every single day.
Gently, gently, gently, gently,
Whisking plaque away.
Rinse, rinse, rinse your teeth every single day.
Swishing, swishing, swishing, swishing,
Fighting tooth decay.
Or: give the teeth animal names (“Now we'll brush the mouse's teeth in front, and the bear's tooth is sticking out in the back”). To do this, turn on the favorite song or run an alarm clock so that brushing really takes two to three minutes.
With older children, parents could also have a contest: Who can clean the longest without spitting out? And if the family starts the caries battle together after meals, that is of course particularly motivating. Such activities will be helpful for the family cohesion also.
Nordics is dedicated to improving the oral health of big and small and will regularly bring free advice on how to make brushing teeth more fun for kids and turn it into a joyful affair. Stay tooned in our blog and social media.
What’s the origin, ethics and principles behind our products?
Nordics inspires change. In every way. Change in companies’ and consumers’ mentality, in the substances we take and give back to Nature, and change in the physical world around us. Our goal is to keep the Earth and humanity safe — without missing out on the best of quality ingredients. That’s why we wanted to tell you the story about Nordics’ ethical standards, and the origin and principle behind our products.
Our ethical standards
Nordics was born from the idea of creating sustainable and amazing products for daily oral care. Ever since, our ethical standards have been leading our business. Upholding strong principles, not only in our direct business, but throughout our entire value chain, is fundamental to how Nordics operates.
Every person at Nordics has the core mindset to take care of people’s health while also taking care of our Planet. This makes our products more efficient and strengthens our reputation as a sustainable oral care brand.
We believe that the way a company does business is as important as the quality of its products. Our ethical standards Respect, Courage, Transparency, and Fairness serve as our compass for our daily acts.
Respect
Our business influences many people’s lives and our Planet. We show respect for every drop of water invested in the production of our stock, every ounce of raw material, and every millimeter of packaging. The respect in our business starts from the privilege of using Mother Nature’s gifts and goes to each moment of dedication of our employees and partners.
Courage
Nordics’ bravery to be different made us a rising star among dental care. We rose above the ocean of conventional toothpastes and stood up for our environment. Courage means risk-taking for a cause. We took the risk of largely investing in R&D, selling at a price point above average, because of the natural substances we use, and also looking different. Nordics broke the status quo of unorthodox ways in a conservative and stiff market as oral.
Transparency
Because above all, being honest and trustworthy is the key to build a sustainable brand. Nordics is COSMOS Organic certified, and also vegan and cruelty-free. We go through these processes to give our consumers better transparency on our products to build a stronger connection.
Fairness
We believe in treating everyone equally and tolerate and accept diversity. You can see this all around our social media and marketing communication. We also guarantee fairness in every part of our supply chain, meaning that everyone gets the fair value he deserves - our vendors, partners, and clients.
The origin of Nordics products
All ingredients used in our products go through a strict process of quality supervision. We only use certified ingredients from boutique suppliers to maintain high standards and quality in our products. This of course leads to a higher cost for the ingredients we use but also helps to reduce our carbon footprint.
We don’t make compromises in quality and sustainability — and we mean it. If we can’t find a substance that stands to our standards, that means we simply don’t produce the product in mind. The extracts we use in our products are certified biological and raw materials. Furthermore, they are also vegan and cruelty-free.
Quality standard — COSMOS Organic
The COSMOS Standard is managed by the non-profit, international and independent association - the Brussels-based COSMOS Standard AISBL. COSMOS offers two signatures for cosmetic products, such as beauty and skin care products, or in our case oral hygiene products. COSMOS ORGANIC or COSMOS NATURAL always appears directly under the logo of the relevant certifier or association, so that the consumer recognizes that it is a well-known and trusted association or certifier. Furthermore, the label indicates the percentage of organic ingredients in the product. This is the percentage organic of the total product, but since some products contain a lot of water and mineral ingredients that cannot be organic, the percentage organic minus these two ingredient categories is also indicated.
Nordics bio toothpastes are COSMOS Organic certified, and as such are committed to only use high-quality raw materials for our products. That means that at least 95% of the physically processed agro-ingredients have to be organic.
It has always been our mission to use Nordics to improve people's lives. That includes taking good care of the place we all call home. We don't have the answer to every question, but we are committed to making choices that benefit our customers, employees, and the environment — from the materials we use, to the manufacturer we work with, to the steps we take to bring our products to you.
What is the difference between "bio", "organic", "eco", "vegan" and "vegetarian" product?
Hello to all environmentally cautious shoppers and the ones who want to be so. We understand that mere goodwill is not enough to transform user behavior into a more mindful and resource-saving one.
Information is the key. Not just any information but credible one, that originates from respected sources. An "eco-friendly" user becomes such when he educates himself through carefully reading the labels and not just jumping in any pseudo-natural trend. Nowadays, marketing techniques like packaging design, brand names, or claims can be, to say the least, misleading. That's why we wanted to shed light on some of the most frequently used terms in the industry of natural cosmetics.
1. ECO
While strolling around the supermarket isles, we can see the word “eco” popping up from every other product label, whether it is bags, car accessories, bottled water, or shoes. That's because using this word has no explicit legal regulation and a manufacturer can claim it based on his interpretation or desire to sound more natural.
In fact “eco” should refer to something that is ecological and sustainable, whether is the product itself, the impact on the environment or anything else. The term “eco” should bring more of a moral value than a physical characteristic. Our honest advice is to think for a moment when you see that something is “eco” and decide for yourself if you want to be associated with it.
2. NATURAL
Claiming “natural” in cosmetics is better regulated than claiming “eco”, however there’s a lack of a universal definition or harmonized standard, as the European Commission suggests Generally, natural products are expected to be made of natural plant, mineral or animal-related substances. The guidelines of the Council of Europe define a 'natural cosmetic' as a product consisting of natural substances of botanical, mineral or animal origin, exclusively obtained through physical, microbiological or enzymatic methods, with certain exceptions for fragrances and preservatives.
3. BIO/ORGANIC
Let’s see what’s the case with claiming “bio”. Let's first say that "bio" and "organic" are two different words for one and the same thing. Thankfully, one cannot simply print those on his label or promote them around in ads. Bioproducts have to be certified by a registered third party that strictly examines the applicant product, the origin of raw materials, and their documentation. Also, a company has to pay to receive a bio certificate after it has proven the actual usage of biomaterials in the products' recipe. Having a bio certification is the actual filter for evaluating a real eco-friendly brand from a sham.
There are several bio stamps that you should be on the lookout for.
ECO CERT COSMOS ORGANIC is the highest level of bio certification one can get. It includes several high standards such as all ingredients being from natural origin, at least 95% of the plants the product contains to be organic, absence of petrochemical ingredients, recyclable packaging, and more. That is why Nordics chose this particular certification for its organic line of toothpastes.
This certificate is called “Organic Agriculture Europe” and it’s created for agricultural raw materials and food products. The certified food has a long checklist to cover with requirements such as conservation of soil fertility, respect of natural cycles and animal welfare, and absence of the use of chemical and synthetic products. This sign also means that the food or raw material is compliant with the EU organic regulation EC 834/2007.
This is the certification for the US, proving that your personal care products, food, crops, or livestock are organic. This stamp is regulated by USDA (US Department of Agriculture) and can be granted only by an approved certifying agency that audits the company regularly. Here again, a strict list of requirements needs to be covered. For example, for can see USDA’s full list of banned and allowed substances in organic crop and livestock production.
FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council® and this is a certificate of Responsible forest management. FSC follows 10 principles and 70 criteria by which it manages the certified forests. These include legislation compatibility, supporting ingenious people's rights, enhancing the well-being of local communities, and preserving the ecosystems. We're introducing this important certificate because an organic product is merely satisfying without an environmentally-friendly packaging.
Now that we’ve covered how to easily recognize an actual organic product, we want to give the facts about “vegan” and “vegetarian” in the context of cosmetics.
Vegan cosmetics (or 100% Vegan) are the ones that don’t contain any animal-related ingredients such as carmine (food colorant), gelatin, honey, beeswax, lanolin (wool wax), snail extract, pearl powder (enamel whitening agent), and the list goes on. This is another claim that's not thoroughly regulated by official authorities, so basically, anybody can put it on his packaging depending on his understanding.
We want to be honest with our customers and to make them feel safe about the ingredients in our products and this is why we partner with one of the biggest and more respected vegan organisations - The Vegan Society UK. They perform a very strict audit on every product and if it covers their standard, it could be labeled as 100% vegan.
Vegetarian cosmetic products exclude animal ingredients but can contain animal by-products that don't affect the animal wellbeing such as colostrum or egg extract.
The idea behind this is that if your consumer credo is that killing animals for fur or food is wrong, then it should be the same for every product.
Well, those are the basics in recognizing true from false, vegan from vegetarian. We hope that we've pitched in your knowledge and contributed to a more informed choice next time.
