Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry Toothpaste review and giveaway - win a $100 Visa giftcard!

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tom's of Maine.

When I was a kid, getting ready for bed was boring. We used whatever the grownups used to wash our hair, scrub our bodies and brush our teeth. No fun flavors or yummy scents, no cartoon characters on the bottles. No wonder I hated going to bed. Things are so much better in today's world of personal care products for kids! I know, I know, it's the usual You've-got-it-easy-in-my-day-I-had-to-walk-five-miles-to-milk-the-cow story, but as a parent I'm nothing but happy at the way kid-friendly products turn bathing and brushing teeth into a fun, pleasant activity. It goes without saying that the ingredients in a kids' product should be gentle, not harmful. BlogHer Reviews recently sent us a tube of Tom's of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste for kids, which I was more than happy to try because I know Tom's of Maine has a reputation for safe, natural and effective. But is Tom's kid-friendly? The Basics Tom's of Maine Natural Anticavity Fluoride Toothpaste for kids is flavored with real fruit flavor oils, not artificial sweeteners. It uses naturally-sourced fluoride to help prevent cavities, and uses calcium and silica to clean. The toothpaste comes in two flavors, Silly Strawberry and Outrageous Orange-Mango. Here's what Tom's has to say about this product: Only one natural oral care company carries the ADA Seal of Acceptance for a children’s toothpaste, Tom’s of Maine Anticavity Children’s Silly Strawberry with Fluoride. And because we care as much as you do, we’ve never tested it on animals or added artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. It’s flavored with natural oils for a great strawberry taste they’ll love. (Check out the Tom's official site) The Bongga The verdict is in: Tom's is definitely kid-friendly. Even the name, Silly Strawberry, and the friendly little parrot on the toothpaste tube got my kids smiling. I asked 3Po if he felt like doing a silly dance while brushing his teeth with the Silly Stawberry toothpaste, and since my kids have been shoved in front of cameras since birth, 3Po was more than happy to comply. So without further ado, here's a video of 3Po brushing himself silly: The Pea got into the act as well: Best of all, this toothpaste is as natural as my kids' smiles! I love the fact that there are no artifical ingredients. No saccharin, or sparkles, just calcium and silica and fluoride. And at about $3 per 4-oz tube, it's reasonably priced! The Blah The Pea gave this toothpaste a very balanced review; she liked the flavor but thought it was too mild: I myself have no problem with the flavor; I quite like the subtle strawberry taste, and I think it smells divine. My problem with the toothpaste is the vintage-y metal tube it comes in. I just find it hard to squeeze and unsightly. Why bother with this kind of 70's era packaging anyway? Can it be recycled? Update 12/18/09: Tom's of Maine has contacted me with an answer to my question above: yes, they do use environmentally sustainable packaging! Two thumbs up to Tom's for their eco-awareness and quick customer response :) The Bottom Line Tomt's of Maine Silly Strawberry toothpaste gets your kids' teeth clean and healthy without artificial ingredients. And it still manages to look, smell and taste like a kids' toothpaste, which means kids are happy to brush with it. Win It! One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a $100 Visa giftcard, courtesy of BlogHer reviews and Tom's of Maine. Required entry: Leave a comment on this post and tell me what you do to get your kids to brush their teeth. Extra entries: You can do any or all of the following, (you can only do each entra entry once; please leave a separate comment for each extra entry): 1) Become a fan of Bonggamom Finds on Facebook (leave a comment with your FB id). 2) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger(leave a comment with your Blogger profile name). 3) Blog about this giveaway, making sure you have a link to the giveaway in your blog post (leave a comment with a link to your blog post). 4) Tweet this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste: Win a $100 Visa giftcard from @bonggafinds and Tom's of Maine http://tinyurl.com/yc3gqm2 Maximum of 5 entries per person. This giveaway begins at 9:00AM on December 15, 2009, and ends at midnight PST on January 15, 2010; I will draw a winner at random on January 16 and post the winner's name as soon as the winner confirms acceptance. Winner has 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. For official BlogHer giveaway rules, click here. And don't forget to check out more reviews of Tom's Silly Strawberry toothpaste; each reviewer is giving away a $100 giftcard so you'll have a total of 8 chances to win. Good luck! Disclaimer: this is a compensated review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.