Personal hygiene has been one of the major concerns when it comes to taking care of young children. They are too young to realize our environment is full of germs and dust, and they are too curious to explore the surroundings with their little hands. Therefore, as parents, it is essential to teach your kids to have good hygiene habits in order to keep them away from certain sicknesses and these habits can last throughout their lives. Here, we will share 7 ultimate tips to help you to take care of your little one(s) maintain good hygiene.
1. Wash hands regularly
We cannot stress how important it is to wash hands regularly. It is basic and vital. When we say handwashing, we mean washing hands with soap and both hands should be scrubbed with soap for at least 20 seconds. You should remind your little one to wash their hands when:
– before and after eating food
– after using the toilet
– after blowing nose, coughing, or sneezing
– after touching animals, animal feed, or animal waste
– after handling pet food or pet treats
– after touching garbage
– after returning home from outside
– after touching the playground facilities
– after picking nose
– after touching the floor
Children might not understand the importance of washing hands and find it pointless (because what gets on their hands are invisible!). Therefore, we have to educate them the reason for doing so and keep it entertaining. How to make it fun? Here is our pick of handwashing song for kids. The melody and the lyrics of the song are very catchy and easy to sing. Not to mention, how adorable the animation characters are in the music video!
2. Nail hygiene
It is easy to neglect the importance of healthy nail care. However, nails are usually considered as a breeding ground for bacteria that may easily transfer to the eyes, nose, and mouth of children, making them sick. If your children are very young, you should clip their nails every week, keeping them short. If they have a nail-biting habit, discourage it instantly. If this habit has not been discouraged in their early life, they are likely to carry on this habit when they become grown-ups.
3. Washing hair
Though it is hygienic for your kids to wash their hair daily, it is not recommended to wash it every day with shampoo. The main purpose of washing hair is to remove sebum from hair, and extrinsic particles on the hair surface. Washing hair with shampoo too often will easily dry out young scalps, making them more prone to dandruff when they get older. It is suggested to wash your children hair approximately three times a week if they do not do a lot of physical activities. If you prefer to wash their hair daily, we will suggest you wash it with shampoo every other day, and only wash it with water for the rest of the days.
4. Bathing
Putting your children in the bathtub could be painful if they hate to bathe, but they need to learn the importance of bathing ritual to maintain good personal hygiene. When you are bathing your children, don’t forget to teach them the way to clean the different body parts, to make sure they are aware of how to clean their bodies when they are more grown-up. To make the bath or shower more fun, you can prepare some toys for them to play with. Also, you can play them the Bath Song to create a nice ambience.
5. Oral hygiene
Never forget about teaching your kids to brush their teeth in the morning and before bedtime as well. You could play them the This is How We Brush Our Teeth Song to make it more entertaining for them and easier to remember how to brush the teeth. If they are old enough, you can teach them how to floss and rinse their mouth regularly to prevent the development of bacteria in the gap between teeth and bad breath.
6. Outdoor hygiene
When you are taking your children out to do activities, you should always remember having hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes, and tissues with you. These three items will be very helpful in many circumstances, such as after playing in the playground, before having a meal in restaurants, having snacks on the way home, after touching some pets on the street, and after holding the handrail inside of public transportation, etc. You can wipe their little hands whenever necessary.
7. Toileting
Once young children become toilet trained, there are some small habits have to be minded to maintain the private parts clean, as well as the bathroom. For littles girls, parents should teach them to wipe thoroughly from front to back, also to place some toilet paper in the toilet to avoid or reduce splashback of urine. Parents should also teach children how to flush out the toilet or to use the bidet properly. To remind them of that, you could put a sign (with some cute drawing they do) on your bathroom wall so that they will be easily reminded what they have to do after using the toilet.
You could also check out “What Cleaning Needs to be Done to Make Sure Your Kitchen is Baby-proofed?” for some inspiration of how to maintain good cleanliness of your kitchen for your children.
