5 Things your kid should know about Daily Hygiene

Children are easily susceptible to illnesses as they are more in contact with other children at school or day care where germs can easily be transmitted from one another. Personal hygiene is more than just hand washing or looking clean. It is about keeping your entire self clean and not becoming a breeding ground for germs so that others are affected along with you.

Keeping in mind these few things may help your child be aware of personal hygiene a tad easily.

Washing hands is imperative – Everyone must wash their hand thoroughly with antiseptic soap, gel or hand-wash. Clean hands should not have traces of soap in them. This is a must for the following situations.

• Before & after food
• After using the washroom
• Playing with animals or birds
• Playing outside
• Visiting a sick person, or returning from a hospital

Changing underwear everyday – All inner clothes must be changed every-day and given for washing as well. Apart from being dirty, you don’t want to be wearing stinky clothes. Children have to be taught from an early age that the clothes they wear must be clean and washed.

Oral hygiene – Children get bored and may be want to skip nightly tooth brushing or so. However, importance of oral hygiene must be taught from an early age.  Proper brushing and flossing will be mastered by practicing regularly.

Home hygiene – Certain things your child must learn about keeping her surroundings clean are;

• Putting their plate/bowl in the sink after finishing the food
• Basic washroom cleanliness like flushing after using the toilet or throw away used tissues and napkins properly in the bin etc.
• Use of trashcan at home.
• Their room, study and play area has to be kept clean. If they are too young to do it, help them do it.
• Use of handkerchief is not only classy but healthy too.

Bathing – Proper bathing regime must be followed so that the child learns that it is not alright to skip cleaning underarms, belly buttons or genital regions. Nails have to be well taken care of as loads of bacteria can accumulate under the nails if not cleaned properly.

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