How to teach kids about hygiene?

"One, who maintains cleanliness keeps away diseases." In our day-to-day life, we come in contact with millions of germs which can cause illness and various diseases, so to avoid this we should always take care of the body by cleansing which will wash away all the germs from our body.

What is personal hygiene?

Personal hygiene for kids comprises various day-to-day activities such as bathing, brushing teeth, and washing hands. We, as an adult are well aware of the consequences of not being in hygiene but kids are innocent, they do things and never bother about any consequences, they love exploring, playing, and doing many such activities after which they need to be taken care of. So, this is our responsibility to teach our children about good and bad hygiene habits. 

Importance of Personal Hygiene for kids

Day-to-day personal hygiene habits help to maintain a healthy and hygienic atmosphere. Some importance of teaching good personal hygiene habits to kids are :

1. Keeps healthy and free from bacteria causing germs, illness, and disease.
2. Maintains a positive and healthy body image, which will help boost social confidence.
3. Prevent different infections caused in the body due to avoiding self-care.
4. Gives a good odour to the body.

Good hygiene habits and ways to teach them

Teaching kids about hygiene is very important. Just telling or yelling at your kids what to do, what to not, will not work. It is not about getting them to do what is hygienic but to make personal hygiene a part of their life.

Here is some guide which will help you teach your kid good hygiene habits.

Washing Hands and Bathing - Instruct your children never to put dirty hands in mouth, bite nails, or wipe their eyes with dirty hands. Give them a practical lesson and make it a habit for your children to wash hands before and after touching or eating food, and after- using the toilet, playing, touching an animal, visiting a sick friend or relative, or returning from a hospital.

Here are the steps for teaching your kid how to clean hands

• Wet your hands with clean water.
• Apply soap and rub your hands together for about 1-2 minutes.
• Clean in between fingers, under the nails, and up to the wrist.
• Wash away the soap completely with clean water and dry the hands with a clean towel.

Teach your kids to take a shower twice a day, one before they got to school and two after they come back in the evening after playing outside. Show them how to clean the different parts of the body- the hands, underarms, legs, feet, groin, joints, back, navel, elbows, and knees and let them practice it.

Coughing and Sneezing habits- Teach your child the habit of covering his mouth and nose with a tissue (or elbows) when he/she sneezes or coughs. If using hands to cover, tell them to wash their hands and if the water is too cold to use, use a hand sanitizer.

Talk about Good and Bad habits- Use games to teach your kid about good and bad hygiene habits. Make a list of various activities that your child needs to identify as either a good habit or a bad habit and ask them to categorize activities as good or bad, reward them for every right answer.

Dental Health- Get your child a good hygiene habit of brushing and flossing his tongue to avoid bad breath. Make this activity a fun time to help your child brush longer, you can use a little hourglass filled with blue sand for keeping them busy in tracking time.

Read | Maintaining dental hygiene in kids

Underarm Care- Sweat starts to become a body odour at different ages, so it is necessary to keep the body clean and smell-free from the beginning. Kids recognize when something smells bad. So, explain that they should build good hygiene habits to keep bad or stinky smells away, applying deodorants can be one option.