Everyone knows kids are dirt loving, germ sharing little critters and no one wants that brought into their homes. Children pick up so many germs from school that spread quickly from one person to another. Which then transfers to the kitchen bench and ultimately everywhere else. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a germaphobe. I welcome germs, just not all of them at once. Germs build up your immune system but only when in moderation. I have made a conscience effort about teaching my kids personal hygiene, like most parents do along with general cleaning that minimises the transmission of germs. Below I have shared my top tips for teaching children of all ages personal hygiene.
Personal Hygiene for Kids
1. TEACH THEM ABOUT GERMS
This may seem obvious but if your child doesn’t understand what germs are and why they bad, they won’t see the importance in having to be clean. You can explain in as much or little detail as you like. You can simply tell them that even though we cannot see them, germs are bad and make you sick. Or if your child is older you can explain in much more detail about bacteria and how they evolve to make someone ill.
2. WASH YOUR HANDS
Show them how to wash their properly – scrub the palms, backs, in between the fingers and nails. It works well to sing a song like ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ so they wash for 20-30 seconds. If your kids don’t like the feeling of liquid soap or they use too much, the Dettol touch of foam hand wash is great. It is my preference of hand wash as it coats the hands without wastage and smells great.
3. WHEN TO WASH
What may seem like common sense to us is something new to new to them. They need to be reminded when and why they have to wash their hands. Often a sign in the bathroom or kitchen with pictures or basic words reminding them is a great way to prompt them to wash their hands and face. The most common times to wash are:
a) Before and after eating.
b) After using the toilet.
c) Before and after helping prepare food.
d) After coughing and sneezing.
e) After playing outside in the dirt.
4. MINIMISE THE SPREAD OF ILLNESS
It isn’t natural instinct for children to know that they have to cover their mouth when they cough and to sneeze into a tissue. Parents need to remind them and show them until it becomes second nature for them. Sneeze Safe is a great way to educate them about coughs, colds and flus. It shares the 3 key steps to reducing the spread of illness:
Catch It – Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze
Bin It – Throw the tissue away afterwards
Kill It – Wash your hands
5. WASH ~ BRUSH ~ SCRUB
Wash their bodies from head to toe in the shower or bath.
Brush their teeth. Start this from a young age to get them into the habit of doing it, you will still have to do the final run over to ensure they are clean but kids need practise to learn.
Scrub their hands.
There are so many ways to minimise the spread of germs around the home and while personal hygiene is a big one, keeping the germ hotspots around the house clean is just as important to reduce the risk of illness. When cleaning the toilets I like to use the Dettol Power & Pure wipes because I can just throw them away once contaminated with no risk of the germs spreading and they are thick enough I don’t have to worry my finger will tear through them. For the rest of the house (tables, benches, walls, etc) I use the Dettol multi-purpose spray because it kills 99.9% of germs and with so many spots for germs to hide I want to make sure I get as many as I can.
What tips do you have for teaching kids personal hygiene?
Disclosure: I received Dettol products for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.