Toby the toothbrush: the story of our healthy habits game

What your child learns with Toby

Brushing, handwashing and bedtime are routines: the same small steps, in the same order, every day. The game is built around exactly that. Your child puts the five handwashing steps in order, then the five bedtime steps, from bath to lights off.

To put steps in order, your child has to ask: what comes first, and what comes next? When a step lands in the wrong place, the game simply asks what comes before it.

The game also makes time visible. Brushing runs on a ring that counts down, and the mouth is split into four quarters. Each quarter lights up in turn, so your child learns to brush top and bottom, on both sides, not just the front teeth.

Handwashing works the same way. After the steps are in order, your child scrubs along for twenty seconds with three spoken cues:

• Scrub the palms and the backs of your hands
• Now between your fingers, and around your thumbs
• And the fingertips

Why we made a game about healthy habits

Children ask the same questions every evening. Why do I have to brush again? How long is two minutes? Why can't I skip the bath tonight? Those questions are not really about teeth. They are about why routines matter at all.

You cannot see two minutes, and you cannot see germs. So we gave both a shape. Germs became sugar bugs that sit on the teeth, and time became a ring that slowly runs out. Now there is something to see and something to chase.

We were careful about food. The rainbow plate is about adding colors, not about good and bad food. When a child drags a cookie to the plate, the game says treats are fine sometimes and adds: enjoy it! Toby wiggles happily. Nobody gets scolded.

Routines help young children. Pediatricians write that children do best when routines are regular, predictable and consistent. For bedtime, they recommend a predictable series of steps that helps children wind down. The game lets children rehearse those steps when bedtime is not a battle.

What children love about it

Rubbing away the sugar bugs is the heart of the game. Each bug needs several rubs with the toothbrush, fades a little each time, then disappears in a sparkle. When the time runs out, the whole mouth shines, and Toby jumps for joy.

On the rainbow plate, every food lands right where your child drops it. Each new color lights up a piece of the rainbow ring around the plate. With all six colors there, Toby shines and jumps.

Bedtime ends with a small, quiet moment. Your child taps the lamp, the room goes dark, Toby gets sleepy, and the game says good night. After that, your child can start the routine again.

On the home screen, every tap on Toby brings a trick, like a jump, a spin or a quick brush. Then Toby says a short fact. The quiz adds a sparkle to Toby for every right answer.

How to play it together

Play first, then do the real thing. After a round of sugar bugs, brush real teeth the Toby way: top on one side, top on the other side, then the bottom, with little circles.

Pediatricians say all young children need help from an adult with brushing. Let your child brush first, then take your turn to finish the job.

At the sink, say the three scrub cues out loud together: palms and backs, between the fingers, fingertips. Your child knows them from the game and can lead.

Talk about your own bedtime order. The game goes bath, pajamas, teeth, story, lights off. Your family may do it differently, and that is fine. Ask your child to put your real steps in order, maybe with little drawings on the fridge.

After the rainbow plate, look at a real meal. Which colors are there? Which one could we add tomorrow?