The Importance Of Hygiene And Sanitation For Children
“Educating your child about the importance of maintaining personal hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread of contagions and disorders”
Your little champs are remarkably good at getting soiled and messy, either while playing in the muck, by using their sauce-smeared dirty hands to scratch themselves or wiping their nose without a tissue. This is the perfect time for you to start training your children about healthy hygiene regimes and to get them acquainted with good sanitation skills to help inculcate good habits, early on in life and which will help them stick to it once they are old enough to handle things without parental guidance.
Poor personal hygiene makes your children vulnerable to infection. Hence, here are some personal hygiene habits to ensure your kids remain safe from bacteria-causing diseases.
Hygienic Habits To Follow
Be A Role Model
Teaching good hygienic habits is much more than just handwashing. Once kids master the techniques of good sanitation during childhood, these habits are sure to last them all through their lives. Parents, guardians and peers can impact the child’s approach to hygiene in a big way. Moreover, educating your child about the importance of maintaining personal hygiene is the best way to prevent the spread of contagions and disorders.
Always remember, following the principles of correct hygiene at a nascent stage will aid your children to live a healthy lite In the future. Cleanliness should be made a part of everyday life and the only way for parents to acquaint kids with sanitation, is to be good role models by practising hygiene themselves.
Promote Proper Hand Washing
The best way to keep your children healthy is by demonstrating the right way to dean their hands. Explain to them that germs and dirt get accumulated in the palms and if not washed properly, can make them sick. Make them understand the importance of proper washing to get rid of the germs. List down a proper time frame and cues of when your child needs to make his trips to the sink, for example before and after eating meals, after playing, times they fall ill, after using the washroom, after blowing their nose etc.
Hand washing is vital to prevent the development of worms that cause an itching sensation around the anus and genitals. These easily get contracted due to faulty toilet hygiene or from animals. When your children are in school, they are expected to use the restrooms themselves and wash their own hands, thus parents should ensure that their children learn to take care of personal hygiene, or else this might be an easy entry for bacteria to spread.
Most germs are stuck in between the fingers, so a key to proper handwashing is to properly clean the gaps between the fingers. Also, always appreciate your children’s effort, as this will motivate them to stick to their hygienic goals.
Coughing And Sneezing Etiquette
Coughing and sneezing are greatly responsible for the spreading of germs and bacteria. So showing and telling is the best strategy for teaching these skills to your children. Teach them to cover their nose and mouth with a tissue or handkerchief every time they sneeze or cough. Train your children to cough into their sleeves and elbow as well. Also, teach them the proper method of wiping their running nose so they don’t soil their hands. The appropriate way to blow the nose is by pressing one nostril dosed while exhaling through the other.
Teach Teeth Brushing Skills
Dental hygiene also forms an important aspect of the overall sanitization and cleanliness of children. Thus, making your children comfortable with the appropriate way of brushing can surely make them pros at this, at an early stage. Explain to them, each step starting from wetting the tooth brush, pressing a thin smudge of toothpaste on to it and then properly cleaning their teeth and tongue. End the session by teaching them to rinse their mouth thoroughly and to finally spit out.
Keeping Fingernails Clean
Parents should discourage nail biting, especially if it is followed by the habit of swallowing the nails. Nails are a perfect breeding environment for dust particles and germs. When children bite their nails, there is a direct transmission of germs into the mouth and later into the digestive system, causing severe health problems. These bacteria can cause problems like diarrhoea, imbalance of electrolyte and dehydration problems. The only solution is proper handwashing and keeping nails short and clean.
Correct Toilet Training
Children should be toilet trained to wash their genitals after defecating. Train them to wash their hands thoroughly with soap once they are done. These healthy habits will help curtail irritation and keep infections at bay.
Bathing
Parents should make the bathing session, a fun way for children to cleanse themselves to get rid of germs. Ensure they scrub their tummy, hands, legs and genitals with a good antiseptic soap.