Reading time: 5 minutes
Suitable for: Children of all ages
An inescapable fact of life for parents is that children are muck-magnets. No matter what their age, wherever they are and whatever they are doing, they always seem to end up covered in mud or some other unidentifiable dirt and grime.
We spend endless hours during their early years washing their hands, wiping their faces and removing goodness-only-knows-what from under their fingernails. Over time, we begin to encourage children to do these things for themselves: Wash your hands before dinner, please! Scrub under your nails, please! Don’t forget to use soap!
Whilst getting dirty is part and parcel of childhood (and, indeed, an essential part – playing in the mud is fun!), helping our child to understand the importance of good hygiene can sometimes feel like an uphill struggle – and just wait till they hit puberty!
Hygiene skills for life
In a nutshell, personal hygiene refers to maintaining the body’s cleanliness and, from the earliest years, involves habits such as taking a bath or shower, brushing teeth, washing hands, and going to the toilet independently. As girls and boys grow older, this list of child hygiene skills expands to include things like trimming nails, shaving, and managing periods.
Teaching our children the importance of personal care and good hygiene is a vital part of their development. As they grow up, we want them to be independent and be able to take care of themselves, so it’s important to start young and show them different ways to look after their body.
Not only does good hygiene minimise the risk of infection and illness, it also boosts children’s self-confidence and self-esteem, setting them up well for adolescence and beyond. Establishing regular, healthy routines early on in life really is the best way forward.
Child hygiene steps to success
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