5 Very Important Personal Hygiene Tips to Teach Your Child to Stay Healthy!!

Habits made early are easy to follow throughout life. If these habits are good, there is no comparison to that.

Personal hygiene is the habits which help us stay healthy and should therefore be followed from day one. Here are some personal hygiene tips for you to teach your children. Of course, the new baby who has just come into the world can not do it on his or her own. We parents play a crucial part in doing it the right way for our children and later instilling in them the habits as soon as we can.

Children do what they see. So, before asking them to follow a particular thing, we adults must do the same first. And it will be quite surprising to see them follow the lead even without being told.

We come in contact with so many germs and viruses, especially in times like these (Covid times), which makes it even more important for us to teach our kids how to stay tidy and clean throughout the day. They tend to touch anywhere and everywhere, play in mud, in water and where not. We need not stop the fun, but can help them maintain good hygiene and stay healthy.

1. Hand Hygiene (One of the most important personal hygiene tips)

Anything that goes into the mouth passes via the hands. Therefore, we must teach our children how to wash their hands properly, covering all sides, including fingers, nails, and the thumb.

Hand washing should be done:

• Before every meal
• After every meal
• After the child comes back from playing outside
• After using the toilet
• After sneezing or coughing (In case done in the hand)
• Touch an animal

Soap and water should be used to wash the hands properly, ensuring no corner or side is left unclean. Hands should be washed for a minimum of 20 seconds.

You can see a hand washing demo in the video below:

2. Properly cutting the nails.

Nail hygiene is very important as long nails can bear a lot of dust and germs, which can directly go into the mouth.

Recently, what I noticed was that toddlers play with the clay and the sand a lot. And if they have long nails, the clay or the sand tends to go inside the nails and stay there, which is the source of germs, and when the child uses their hands to eat, all the germs enter the child’s mouth and therefore the stomach, leading to infections.

So, nail hygiene is one of the most important things to be taught.

Here is the link to the nailcutter I have been using for my daughter.

If you are scared to cut the nails of those tiny fingers, you can either do it when they are asleep, or you can also buy a baby nail trimmer.

3. Oral Hygiene

Cleaning a child’s mouth is as important as that of an adult. Brushing of teeth, as well as cleaning the tongue, should be mandatory and should be introduced at a very early stage for the kids.

Brushing of kids’ teeth should start as soon as the first tooth erupts in the baby’s mouth. The parents should brush the child’s teeth at least till the age of 5-6 years and then supervise them while brushing later.

There are a lot of exciting ways to help your child brush his or her teeth and not resist or avoid brushing.

A dental visit at least once every 6 months is mandatory and should not be avoided.

4. Bathing

Whether a child or an adult, we should all take a bath every day. A mild soap should be used, and the child should be taught how to apply it to areas generally missed, such as the armpits. Washing the hair 1-2 times a week is also mandatory to keep it clean and healthy. Pat dry using a clean dry towel after bathing, and fresh clothes should be worn. A shower before bedtime helps relax the body and sleep better.

5. Keeping the room and the surroundings clean

The cleaner the better.

When the kids are small, i.e. when they are just toddlers, involve them with you in cleaning the room or the house. This will help them give a basic concept of cleanliness.

Related: Why not include your child in the house chores??

Help them clean their room till the age of 4-5, by keeping the toys in place, keeping the books back on the bookshelf, making the bed, folding their clothes, and keeping them back in the cupboard. Slowly, they will get into the pace and start doing it on their own. If they don’t, you as a parent have the responsibility to make sure they do (politely).

As it is said, ” Cleanliness is next to Godliness”, it is very true, and the kids should be taught about it as soon as possible.

Happy Parenting!!