All parents wish to raise their kids with hygienic habits that will stay with them for their entire life. Especially when WHO confirms that poor sanitation is the primary cause for the deaths of about 432,000 people around the world. Here are some hygiene tips you need to raise your children with:
- Brush your teeth twice a day
Almost every child, for unknown reasons, hates to brush. And after coaxing them into brushing their teeth every day, parents also tend to get tired of it and leave them on their own. It is important that you set an oral hygiene routine when your child is very young and make them stick to it. After some years, they will become habituated and the routine will naturally flow in their daily life.
No matter how much they plead not to brush, make sure that you make them do so twice a day. Teach them the proper ways to brush. You should also make them floss their teeth. Routine visits to the dentists are also very important to ensure that your children’s oral hygiene is in good condition.
- Bath everyday
There are two kinds of children when it comes to bathing- some simply hate it. No matter what you say or do, they’ll come up with every possible excuse to avoid getting under the shower. Others love bathing so much that it is practically impossible to pull them out of the shower. While the second category is a whole other issue, if your children belong to the first one, you need to roll up your sleeves and make sure that they take a bath every day.
If you listen to them and allow them to skip a bath, it will become a regular occurrence and ultimately put their health at great risk. Just like in the previous point, setting a routine for them must be followed daily. Explain to them why it is necessary to take a bath every day and how it affects their health. Soon, they will develop the habit of taking a bath every day.
- Washing your hands regularly
Regularly washing their hands is the most important hygiene habit that most parents tend to ignore. They touch many surfaces every day in school, on the ride home, and in the house as well. Many of these surfaces would have also been touched by people who have contagious diseases that can be transmitted to your child’s system.
It is therefore very important that they wash their hands at regular intervals. This might be a bit difficult as they won’t always have a soap at their disposal. Thus, buy hand sanitizers and carry them everywhere. You must make sure that they wash their hands with the sanitizer every few hours to keep them from any harmful virus, bacteria or other microbial organisms.
- Trim your nails
When your children are very young, it is very easy to take care of this point as you can trim their nails yourself. However, when they grow a bit older, it gets very difficult as they try to escape this habit.
Long nails are extremely unhygienic as they are the breeding grounds of several germs that can put your child in danger. Thus, make sure that your children trim their nails every week so as to avoid falling sick. Talk to them about the importance of having clean and trimmed nails so that they understand it and trim their nails on their own.
- Carry a handkerchief
Carrying a handkerchief at all times is a very important hygiene habit for both children and adults. If you don’t want your children to become like those people who wipe their sweat with their shirts or sneeze without covering, you need to instill the habit of carrying a handkerchief everywhere from a very early age. Ensure that they cover their mouths with a handkerchief every time they cough or sneeze.
- Keep your surroundings clean
If you keep your surroundings clean and hygienic, your personal hygiene will automatically improve. As a parent, you might try to develop all the above-mentioned hygiene habits in your kids but if they develop the habit of living with a dirty desk or bed, it will be of no use.
Teach your children to clean their desks and put their dirty clothes and sheets in the laundry basket. These habits will make sure that they live in clean surroundings
Final words!
One thing is clear from all the above tips and that is you need to talk to your children about the ill-effects of a poor hygienic routine. Once they reckon the danger, they will be compelled to follow these habits.
I agree with all the tips, especially no. 1. In fact, I believe parents should be really strict about implementing proper oral care among their kids.