Young children like playing outdoors and get themselves dirty or messy most of the time. This is a kind of childhood experience where they would learn about the world around them which cannot be taught in the classroom! However as parents, we often worry about our children getting sick from the harmful bacteria and germs out there. A good solution is to keep our children clean as this can minimize the chances of them getting sick.
A very important practice is that your kids need to wash their hands often. Be it from visiting a sick person or after a “dirty” work to dealing with food, as a step of precaution, get your kids to wash their hands using soaps, preferably those that have antibacterial properties. You can teach your children how to judge when their hands are fully clean by singing “Happy Birthday” or recite the alphabet while washing so that they do not do it hastily. To make it more interesting, use hand soaps that smell of their favorite flavors of fruits or flowers. They would love to use the soap to have nice smelling hands after that!
The next step will be their teeth! Teach them how to brush their teeth without hurting or damaging their gums to avoid having them feeling afraid. Get them to brush their teeth at least twice a day before breakfast and before bedtime. After mealtimes, get them to rinse their mouth with water should they refuse to brush to get rid of food scraps stuck in between the teeth. Try to use toothpastes of the kid’s variety or those without a strong minty flavor in case they cannot withstand it.
Bathing is very important too! Some kids think that bathing is a chance to splash around with water so it should not be too hard to get them to bath. Incorporate toys in the bathroom or teach them to sing nursery rhymes about parts of the body, “Head, Shoulders, Knee and Toes” while helping them wash those parts if they are reluctant.
After bathing, remember to change into clean clothes or it defeats the purpose of being clean. Get your children to change their clothes twice a day at least as clothes can get stained and dirty especially their underclothes. Leaving them overnight will allow bacteria to work on these stains and make it unhygienic. Shoes should be left to air or under the sun to let it be dry and kill the germs inside. Remember to tell your children to wash their feet after they come back from outdoors to get rid of the dirt and grime.
Your children have only one childhood so let them enjoy how they like it. By keeping them clean, you can prevent them from falling sick and worry less about their wellbeing!