Just as it takes a village to raise a kid, it can take all your patience to coax your child to take care of herself with proper personal hygiene. To get these tasks done more easily—and without a struggle, outsmart your kids. Here’s how.

Sing like a bird. You want your child to wash her hands for 15 seconds. It’s hard enough to get an adult to do this, let alone a child, so here’s the trick: Ask your child to sing the Happy Birthday song twice, says Christopher Tolcher, MD, clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. It takes about seven seconds to sing it. “So the first time they sing it, teach them to to scrub their hands,” says Dr. Tolcher, “and the next time they sing it, they should be rinsing.” Also show kids how to lather up: “They should rub their hands thoroughly—the palm side and the back side of the hands, as well as get in between fingers and rub the tips of fingers,” he says.

Trick them. That’s right—sometimes parents need to be sneaky too! Michael J. Hanna, DMD, a pediatric dentist in Pittsburgh and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, came up with this strategy when his oldest child was a toddler and began refusing to brush her teeth. What did he and his wife do? They sang and dance in the bathroom, knowing that their daughter would walk by soon. When she did, she asked what they were doing. When they said they were brushing each other’s teeth, she ran away. She came back a few minutes later to find them doing the same thing, and she said she wanted to try that. Dr. Hanna replied: “Oh, you’re too little. You have to be a big person. You can’t do this.” And he closed the door. His daughter then opened the door, and said she wanted to brush too. “So we got her a toothbrush, and she brushed my teeth, and I brushed hers. Then she brushed my wife’s teeth, and my wife brushed mine,” says Dr. Hanna. “The next day, my daughter was fine.”

Get gadgets. When you give a young kid a bath, you put toys in the tub, right? They keep the child engaged and make bath time fun. Well, use the same tactic when you want kids to brush long enough—each row of teeth for at least a minute, for a total of two to three minutes brushing. So head to the dollar store and get a colorful egg timer or an hourglass sand timer, says Dr. Hanna. It gives the child something to focus on and anticipate while they wait for the sand to run out or for the timer to go off, he adds. Or you could always let them use a motorized toothbrush, which may seem like a toy to them. Or buy a toothbrush or toothpaste that has the child’s favorite cartoon character on it.

Reward them. Provide positive reinforcement, says Dr. Hanna, by putting stars or stickers on a calendar for self-care tasks that were well done. “After so many stars, the child can have a special treat or go out and do something fun,” he says. This provides something to look forward to and reminds the child that she earned the reward. She can see what she accomplished, such as brushing her teeth, combing her hair, or changing her clothes. “In my house, my kids are allowed to have chocolate as a special treat,” explains Dr. Hanna. “But they know they have to brush afterwards.”

Try arts and crafts. Your child may be more likely to look forward to cleaning up if she’s doing it with something she made. Plus, when you’re interacting with your child rather than simply telling her how to do something, she’ll probably be more receptive to what you have to say about personal hygiene. Start with these easy-to-make crafts: Washcloth Candy and Soap Making. Who knows how molding washcloths into lollipops and decorating soaps could transform you kid’s attitude? Before you know it, the bathroom may eclipse your child’s playroom as the favorite room in house. Okay, perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves! But even if these activities don’t produce the desired effect, they’ll certainly add special touches to your bathroom, and you’ll have a great time making them with the kids.