Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Learning to brush with the Philips Sonicare Toothbrush for Kids

IFA 2024
This story is part of our coverage of IFA Berlin 2024

Every parent knows the struggle of getting their kids to brush their teeth. In the early years you have to simply take matters into your own hands, and thereafter supervise closely. But it doesn’t need to be a battle. Philips Sonicare for Kids Connected has a smart approach to get children interested in brushing their teeth and to give parents peace of mind of knowing that their little ones are doing it correctly.

The Philips Sonicare range of electric toothbrushes has been around for a while, but the latest version represents a real advance. This is a Bluetooth toothbrush that can connect to any Android or iOS device via the free Philips app. There’s a wee, furry monster inside the app who prompts children to brush at least twice a day. It’s a kind of digital pet, and it will also react to being prodded and stroked.

One of the reasons that kids hate to brush their teeth so often is because they can’t see inside their mouths and they don’t necessarily understand the benefit. With the Philips Sonicare for Kids Connected, when kids start to brush they see the inside of a mouth that has a set of filthy teeth. By brushing in different areas they can clean away the grime and the bacteria creatures that pop up. This helps to ensure they brush evenly and get every tooth.

Towards the end of the recommended two minutes they’ll see the king bacteria creature and once he has been successfully dispatched, they’ve completed the brushing. In essence, Philips has gamified the experience, with children further earning badges and rewards for successful brushing. To fully complete the app and get all the rewards, they’ll have to successfully brush twice a day for several months. The idea is that if they reach that achievement, they’ll have learned how to brush properly and the habit will have become ingrained, so there’ll be no more need to nag them.

The companion Sonicare For Kids app (available for iOS) also has a parent dashboard, allowing you to check up on your child’s progress and confirm that they have actually brushed when they say they have. This can be especially handy when Granny is babysitting and you want to know the teeth were brushed properly in your absence. You can also set specific rewards, like a cinema trip or a toy, to motivate them to go after those achievement badges.

Amazon Best Buy Philips

The brush itself comes with a charging stand and features a colorful design. It’s capable of 500 brush strokes per second, so you know your kids are getting a real cleaning. It’s also an affordable device at around $50. That’s an investment well worth making if it can assist in instilling good oral hygiene habits in your children.

Simon Hill
Former Associate Mobile Editor
Simon Hill is an experienced technology journalist and editor who loves all things tech. He is currently the Associate Mobile…
GlassesUSA Black Friday Sale: Get 30% off prescription glasses
GlassesUSA frames close up with multiple styles.

Need a new pair of glasses? Want to stock up for your holiday trips before you head to meet up with your relatives? Typically, you'd have to wait until the official Black Friday event, the day after Thanksgiving, or maybe even Cyber Monday, but that's not the case this year. Alongside a variety of the best online glasses deals, GlassesUSA is hosting a huge Black Friday sale early, allowing you to save big on prescription glasses and frames with no waiting necessary. Of course, we always recommend browsing the sale of your own accord to see what's discounted because we couldn't possibly cover everything, nor could we know precisely what you're looking for. That said, we've called out quite a few of the best deals below.

Shop Now

Read more
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deals you can shop now
Daughter gifting Ancestry Gift Membership to family

DNA tests are awesome holiday gifts for your family. Together you can all build your family tree and discover your genetic makeup. Unfortunately the tests are pretty expensive, but at least you only need to test once. There are some nice Black Friday deals going on today that will save you a significant amount of money on single tests or bundles. Check out our favorite below, then more more deals worth checking out under that.
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deal
AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit -- $59, was $99

The single person AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit is our pick for the best Black Friday deal already available. The kit normally costs $99, but right now it's down to just $59. That's a nice discount of $30 on one of the best DNA tests available. We're not sure how long this deal will last, so you should grab it soon.

Read more
The 5 best DNA test kits for 2024
We spit in a ton of test tubes to find the best and most unique DNA tests
A 23andme DNA kit.

Despite the fact that tons of competitors have sprung up in recent years, 23AndMe still makes the best DNA test on the market. It's the quickest, it's very comprehensive, and the way the company presents your genetic data is simple and easy to digest. However, depending on what kind of information you're looking for, there are other, more specialized DNA tests that might be better suited for you. Whether it's ancestry, fitness, disease risk, or something else entirely, there's likely a DNA kit that'll uncover that data.

With the rising popularity of these tests, we decided to take a closer look and see which ones are worth the investment. To do this, we secured a mail-in kit from as many DNA testing services as we could find, then shipped them a spit tube full of our precious genetic code for analysis. After looking through all the data and personally trying all of these services, there were a few that stood out from the pack. Here are our favorites:
The best DNA test kit in 2024

Read more