Personal Hygiene in Kids and Its Importance

Staying in a clean environment is something that everyone wants. One must know that keeping oneself clean is equally important to remain healthy and disease-free. The sooner you teach your kids to maintain personal hygiene, the better they will be able to keep themselves away from diseases.

Also, maintaining personal hygiene in kids helps them improve their immune system. They start to feel good about themselves, and this gives them a feeling of confidence.

Moreover, good hygiene gives a clean body image and finally, a great social life. When your kids feel that they are clean and well dresses, they tend to perform better and excel in whatever they do.

Types of Personal Hygiene

Oral Hygiene Brushing your baby’s teeth start from the very moment when the first teeth pop up. Also, brushing is a part of the daily routine for every kid, which is recommended by the doctor’s twice daily.

However, while your child is young, you make sure that the teeth are brushed properly, but as they grow, they should know the importance of maintaining oral hygiene.

Teach them a proper brushing technique, along with the effect their dietary habits have on their teeth. Also, ask them to avoid sweets, fizzy drinks, and biscuits as the excessive intake might lead to cavities, which can be very painful in later stages.

• Showering and Bathing

Bathing for kids should be made a part of their daily schedule. Regular bathing ensures that the skin remains healthy and removes all the dirt from the body. Moreover, the accumulation of bacteria on the skin can be a reason for the foul odor.

As a parent, you must supervise bath time for your kids and tell them how to wash different body parts. Teach them the basics of cleaning and the importance of bathing regularly. They will feel better both hygienically as well as socially.

• Hand Washing

As simple as it appears, washing hands at fixed intervals can be enough to keep them clean and dirt free. You should inculcate in kids a habit of washing their hands thoroughly after coming home from play or school.

Also, teach them to wash their hands before and after meals. In addition to this, do not allow them to touch their face with dirty hands to avoid infections.

And not only for meals, but the hands are also to be thoroughly cleaned after using the toilet, cleaning the house, touching the animals, meeting sick friends, etc. You can use soap for cleaning or even a hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent of alcohol content.

• Nails

Biting of nails should be strictly discouraged. It is because the germs accumulated in the nails find their way inside the body very quickly.

As nails and hair allow the microorganisms to grow rapidly, cleaning them properly is a must. Even if a correct hand washing takes place, germs can still be present in the nails that can make your baby ill.

Timely cutting of the nails is recommended as part of personal hygiene. When the nails are short, it inevitably reduces the chances of germs under the nails.

• Hair Care

The type of hair care recommended varies from person to person, depending on the length and the type of hair. The basic idea behind maintaining good hair hygiene, however, remains the same that is their time cleaning.

One must use an appropriate shampoo that is gentle to the skin and hair. It will help in keeping the softness intact. Also, teach your kids to keep the shampoos away from the eyes as much as possible. Moreover, one must comb the hair after washing to prevent them from tangling.

Also, poor hair hygiene leads to itchy head and lice infestation. With proper hygiene, you can prevent them from catching any infections.

• Food Hygiene

As already discussed, you must teach your kids to wash their hands before and after taking meals. It will prevent the germs from entering the body. Also, if you have pets in your house, eating on the floors should be strictly discouraged.

Moreover, you can teach your kids the use of cutlery to prevent the entry of germs through hands. And when your kids are helping you in the kitchen, you can insist them for washing hands. Make it a habit of washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

• Home Hygiene

You should also teach your kids that hygiene is not only about keeping the body clean but also the environment you stay in, particularly your home. You should teach your kids how to keep their personal belongings tidy and to use dustbins for throwing away the rubbish.

Also, you can ask for their help in arranging the accessories and cleaning the household stuff to lower the chances of illness.

Tips to Teach Personal Hygiene

• Be an Example

It is the most important thing to consider before teaching your kids the importance of good personal hygiene. Kids do what they see their parents doing. When you want your kids to follow good personal hygiene, do follow it yourself first.

You can start with simple things like washing hands, brushing your teeth twice daily and cleaning things frequently.

• Explain good and bad habits

What is good and what is bad should be taught to the kids. They understand the words good and bad even when they are too young to understand the concept of personal hygiene. You can make them a list of good and bad habits. Fix rewards for their every good action.

This way, you can encourage them to do only what is good and appreciable.

• Explain nice and foul smell

You can teach your kids the difference between nice and foul smell. Also, tell them the importance to maintain personal hygiene to avoid stinky surroundings as well as their body.

When they know that they are not going to smell good, they will automatically adapt to better habits.

• Tell them about Germs and Bacteria

You should tell your kids what harmful effects germs and bacteria have on their bodies. Also, tell them that these germs have the potential to make them really sick.

Teach them the ways by which these germs can enter the body and how can they be prevented from accumulating. Healthy personal hygiene can be a key to prevent your kids from falling sick.

Teaching hygienic ways of living shall start from the early stages of life. When parents put forward good examples for kids, they tend to follow only what is right. You can keep your kids from catching infections by simply teaching them what is good and whatnot.