Short Stories for kids on developing good habits
A sweet, kind hearted girl, named ‘Ruhi” lived in a big apartment in a big city with her mom, dad and big brother, Viren. Viren was a calm kid whereas Ruhi was the energetic one. It was a lively home with everything going well. The only trouble mom and dad had with Viren was his refusal to brush his teeth.
Viren was a sweetheart, mingled well with others, looked after his sister, listened to his parents but the only thing he resisted was brushing his teeth.
His parents tried various ways but he managed to escape brushing his teeth. Sometimes he would bargain saying that he will brush his teeth after having his food or that he had already done it. He avoided it as much as he could.
one day , he was having a debate with his parents for the umpteenth time when mom threw her hand in the air in defeat and left.
Happy to have avoided brushing, Viren went to bed. He was sleeping peacefully when suddenly there was a ‘thud’ in his room. He stirred but didn’t wake up. A giant creature towered over him from beside his bed. The giant creature blew air through his nose and poked one of his long fingers on his hand. He still didn’t wake up so the creature shook his bed slightly which jerked him awake.
Startled, he looked around and fell from the bed when he found the giant creature so close to him in his room. A scream got stuck in his throat. He tried to run away but the creature was fast. He stopped Viren from escaping and held him in place with invisible rope.
Viren struggled as the creature introduced himself as the tooth monster and gave him one last chance to care for his teeth. He kept struggling and the tooth monster shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well then have it your way.”
He chanted a spell and Viren turned into a monster just like the one that was towering over him a few minutes ago. He looked around the room but the monster was gone. Everything was as before. It was like nothing happened if not for the change in viren’s appearance.
He tiptoed outside his room, trying to sneak into the bathroom when he came face-to-face with Ruhi.
Eyes widened at the monster in front of him, she opened her mouth to scream but Viren was fast.
“Shhh… calm down, Ruhi. It’s me, Viren, your brother.” The monster in front of her whispered, covering her mouth with his big paws.
“Bhai.” Ruhi whispered.
“Yes, Yes. It’s me.” He said removing his paws.
“What happened to you?” she asked, still in shock. “You are a monster now. A very weird looking monster.” She said, glancing at his two curved horns, green bushes around them and lean legs.
He sat on the floor and said, “Mom and dad always told us about the tooth fairy that visits us at night to collect our broken tooth and in its place, leaves a few bucks for us.”
Ruhi gasped, “Tooth fairy did this to you?”
Viren shook his head and said, “No, Tooth fairy didn’t visit me. I met a tooth monster today.”
“Tooth monster? Mom and dad never told us about any tooth monster. Why did he do this to you?” Ruhi asked, sitting beside him.
Viren hung his head low and said, “He said that my teeth were decaying because of not brushing and I have one last chance to care for them. And then, he cast a spell and turned me into a tooth monster too.”
He whispered, “I don’t know what to do now.”
They both sat in silence for some time when Ruhi jumped up and said, “I know what to do. Do you remember the book mom reads us the fairy story from? I am sure it will have a story about a tooth monster too.”
“Oh yes!” He exclaimed. They both ran into the library and started searching for the book. After some time, they found it and started reading it.
“The tooth kingdom is run by the tooth fairies but protected by the tooth monsters. These monsters are fierce giants who don't take kindly to those who don’t care for their teeth. If a person fails to brush their teeth regularly and is damaging them, the tooth monsters will turn them into monsters too.”
“The spell will turn the person into a tooth monster every night and at sunrise, he will be back to his human form. By the end of the fifth day, if the spell is not reversed, the person turns into a tooth monster permanently and will then have to live in the tooth kingdom forever.”
Horrified, they both looked at each other before looking back at the book trying to find the way to reverse it. At the bottom of the last page, in very tiny words was written, “Love and care is the only way to reverse any spell.”
The next morning, Viren woke up and looked over himself, finding his arms and legs back with no horns and bushes. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his mom calling him for brushing his teeth. Without another second, he ran into the bathroom and vigorously brushed his teeth. Seeing him brush willingly without a fight shocked his mom but she didn’t say anything.
That night too he brushed without a word. Every day after that, he brushed twice without any prompting and slowly he saw changes in his monster form. The green bushes around the horns were gone. The black spots were fading. He couldn’t understand what was happening when at the end of the fifth night, the tooth monster revisited him.
He explained that his monster form is a reflection of his own teeth. The green bushes, black spots and all were signs of his damaged teeth. And once he started brushing and taking care of his teeth, the damage was healing and his monster form changed too.
He also explained that since Viren learned his lesson and has started caring, the spell will be reversed.
Viren jumped with joy and promised the tooth monster to always care for his teeth.
The next day, his mom saw him happily brushing his teeth again and curiously asked, “You are not avoiding brushing anymore.”
Ruhi giggled and said, “Because the tooth monster visited him.”
Mom raised a brow and said, “There are no tooth monsters.”
Both the kids at once said, “There are.”
“Ok kiddos, whatever you say.” Mom said leaving the bathroom, not truly believing them.
Moral of the Story:
This story is a great way to teach kids about oral hygiene and the importance of good habits . Also do check out the good habits poster if you are looking for a way to reinforce good habits in kids
ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THIS SHORT STORY:
Manisha Sanghi - A lively mom to a witty toddler who loves baking not only stories but also cookies and cakes
WHY SHORT STORIES FOR KIDS?
Instead of lecturing kids, short stories is a great way to teach lessons to kids. Stories help them to visualise themselves in place of the characters. These stories can be read independently by children or parents can read them to kids and build conversations around different topics .For example in the story, one can talk about oral hygiene and developing good habits. Our posters, maps and flashcards are some screen free way for kids to build knowledge and have conversations and interact
