Children and Hygiene

It is often difficult to associate children and hygiene together. This is because children are very active and once they starts walking, there is almost nothing they they will not explore which can make them dirty all over. You must keep your child clean to prevent chances of infection and also protect her from diseases due to lack of hygiene. It is equally important to maintain cleanliness in your home which is her primary surrounding environment.

Like his dining etiquette, you must encourage cleanliness in your toddler right from her early days. If you make it a habit in her, it will remain with her throughout her life. Remember that your toddler will love imitating you. So it is easy to train her by setting yourself as an example.

Ways to Develop Hygiene in Children

• Keep all toilet accessories such as soaps, tooth paste, tooth brush and other cleaning accessories in a bathroom shelf such that she can see them. As you use each of them, explain its purpose to her.
• As she gets older encourage her to bathe, brush, wash hands etc. on her own. Have a step-stool handy to enable her to reach the sink by herself. Encourage her to use her potty on her own. Have a hand towel on a low rail so she can wipe her hands by herself.




Video on Teaching Toddlers to Wash Their Hands



• Brush the child's teeth twice a day and stress on the importance of dental hygiene.
• Give the child a bath at least twice a day especially during summers to prevent bacterial infection and clean her entire body.
• Clean her ears after every bath with a pair of cotton swabs.
• Keep the child's genital areas extremely clean as they are the most prone to infections and bacterial attacks.
• Change the child's under garments often.
• Opt for toddler haircuts often to keep her hair short. It is easier to manage short hair.
• Cut the child's baby nails periodically so that dirt does not accumulate in them. This reduces chances of infection when she puts her fingers into her mouth.
• Wash the child's hands as often as possible especially after playing. A lot of the places that they touch may be very unclean although it may not appear so.
• Fill a bucket with clean water. Ask the child to dip her hands in the water, rub soap on them and once again dip them in water to wash off the soap. This will encourage her to wash her hands often. However, remember to do this under strict supervision so that she doesn't lean forward too much and fall into the bucket.
• Organize a separate kit bag for travel with all the cleaning accessories in it. You can have the child's name on the kit bag. This will make her proud to be an owner of something very valuable.
• Towel dry your child after washing.
• Finally after cleaning the child thoroughly, tell her that she is clean now and all those little germs are now gone from her.

A word of caution on cleanliness in your children! At this age, keeping children hygienic, clean and well groomed is your responsibility. It is neither advisable nor safe to encourage the self-help attitude at this point of time with cleaning accessories such as scissors, nail clippers or cotton swabs. And finally please do not discourage messy play – while cleanliness is very important it is also important for a small child to get dirty once in a while!