Sonicare Kids Review and Giveaway!

This giveaway now closed.
This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Sonicare for Kids

Seeing as this is my first review, let me say right up front it's still me and I'm getting paid to be honest. So, that I will be!

I saw the opportunity to do a review on the Sonicare Kids toothbrush and I jumped at it. These brushes are made for children ages 4 and up. Seeing as how I have three children in that age range, I was very excited. They accidentally sent the adult toothbrush first and my husband and I both tried it out. I have to say, I was hesitant about how the kids would take to theirs because it has a very distinct tickling sensation and I wasn't sure they would take to it well. My fears were soon laid to rest.
When theirs came in the mail a few days later they were beyond excited. The bright colors and kid-friendly box sold them right away. Inside, more kid-friendly stuff like 3 different interchangeable plates for the front of the brush.

I'm quite sure I was supposed to review this for one child that falls into the appropriate ages. But since germs don't scare us and it's equal opportunity around here - they've all had their turns!
The first time we used the brush it was just an introductory "How does this feel? What do you think?" try out. They all 3 giggled like crazy the whole time. The four year old girl said afterwards, "It was tickly!" The 6 year old boy said, "It was vibratey!" The 8 year old boy said, "That was AWESOME!" The 2 year old just giggled. (I know you're technically not supposed to use it on children under 4, but this kid just can't be left out.)
Let me tell you some of the cool stuff about this brush. As I've already mentioned, it has 3 changeable front plates (the kids love this feature). It has 2 different sized heads - one smaller for 4-6 year olds and one larger for children 7 and up.
It has a KidPacer feature which uses a little musical tone to tell the kiddos how long to brush each section of their mouth. All they have to do is move the brush around the four sections of their mouth (that you show them). The pictures in the instruction manual tell you to teach them to brush the outside upper, inside upper, outside lower, and inside lower parts of their mouth. The music chimes 4 times, then gives you a "congratulatory" tone and the brush automatically shuts off. The second time we used the brush all of them giggled the whole time again. The three older kids saw it as a complete challenge to make it the whole time until the brush chimed and shut off. They were so proud when they accomplished it. While I'm sure the novelty of this challenge will wear off quickly, it was definitely a bonus at the outset. And speaking of how long they brush... there is an Easy-start ramp-up feature. The length of time the brush is on initially is 1 minute. Over the course of 14 brushings it slowly increases the time that the brush is on to 2 minutes. This allows the kids to get used to the "tickly" feeling slowly (though, mine didn't really have a problem with the tickly - my girl does have to be reminded to not bite down on it when it tickles!) and yet, reach the dentist recommended amount of brushing time. I like the idea of this. I don't have to tell them how long to brush, they just brush until the toothbrush turns off. Beautiful.

This is what it looks like on it's charger (with the 2 changeable plates in front). It has a storage space and covers for both the heads and a little green light that lets you know when it's fully charged. It has two power modes - a low mode for children 4+ and a high power mode for children 7+.


So, the wrap up? We all loved it. The kids each want their own now (what is the world coming to when they don't share a toothbrush?! So kidding.) And actually ask to use it at random times through the day. Amazing.
For more information about the Sonicare Kids toothbrush visit their official site.
Now here's your chance to join the fun and win a $100 Visa Gift Card!! First of all, to enter, leave me a comment below and tell me How do you handle your kids' dental hygiene? - or you may leave a link to your post on your own blog in the comments below. The contest will begin at 9:00 a.m. (PST) 10/15/2009 and will end 5:00 p.m. (PST) 11/15/2009.. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct.
Check out what the other BlogHer Reviewers had to say about their Sonicare Kids toothbrushes. You have a total of 10 chances to win a $100 Visa gift card from BlogHer Reviewers, plus the chance to win a Sonicare prize pack on the BlogHer.com special offers page!
And now for the legalities:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
This giveaway is open to US-residents, 18 years of age or older
Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
Please see the official rules here: Official rules
Winners are chosen using the Random Number Generator.