Teaching Children About Hygiene

Children may fall prey to infection and ailments if their awareness about hygiene and safe health practices in not adequate. Children may be unaware about the way microorganisms work, how they can attack the body, where they are found etc and this may lead to unclean practices that may make children susceptible to common infection.

As parents you can play a crucial role in providing them knowledge and information, depending upon the age and understanding of the child. For small children, you can begin by inculcating practices like washing hands thoroughly before eating, taking bath atleast once a day, cleaning the legs and hands well after playing in the mud or after stepping into home, changing into fresh clean clothes etc so that the child gets attuned to this habit.

Filing their grown nails regularly, cleaning ears, instilling the practice of brushing twice daily, and not rubbing the eyes with unclean hands can become a routine thing with children and they will do it even without you telling them.

When children grow up, you can use pictures to sensitize them. For example, you may show the microorganism as an ugly looking creature and depict pictures where they are found, for example, in dirty water, soil, dirty clothes, garbage bins etc. The child can use the power of visualization to learn and be careful when he/she is in contact with these things. You can also use nicknames for microorganisms that have a feeling of ugliness or danger to it.

You can use group acting, play or story telling to tell about the means and ways through which germs can spread, what happens when germs attack the body, what safety precautions must you take, benefits of good health etc.

You can draw up charts or posters indicating good health practices on one side (with a correct mark) and ill/opposite practices on the other side (with a cross/wrong mark).