Hygiene Tips for Children: How Parents Can Promote Personal Hygiene

Personal hygiene is an important aspect of raising children – now more than ever in times of Corona! Children first need to learn that brushing their teeth or washing their hands regularly is important. Parents should guide the little ones and show them what matters in personal hygiene. And who says parenting can’t be fun? With our hygiene tips for children, personal hygiene becomes a breeze!

Mom, why is hygiene so important?

Before we get to our hygiene tips for children, the little ones should first be explained why hygiene is so important at all. Especially during the Corona pandemic, many explanatory videos or funny hygiene stories have emerged. These often talk about nasty bacteria monsters. Whether in kindergarten, school, supermarket, or bathroom – these little monsters lurk everywhere. To drive away the bacteria and virus monsters, thorough handwashing is the only help! It’s also important to note: those who pay attention to their personal hygiene simply feel healthier and better. And this feeling should be conveyed to the little ones.

Hygiene tips for children – what should be considered?

Brushing teeth, changing underwear, showering regularly – phew, there are plenty of points to cover when it comes to personal hygiene! It’s not always easy to keep track of all the steps. Maybe a little checklist you create together will help. The following points and hygiene tips for children should not be missing:

1. Don’t forget to brush your teeth!

When you get up in the morning, brush your teeth, and again in the evening. Our tip: brush your teeth together! This way, parents can immediately explain how to do it properly and correct the little ones if necessary. Similar to the bacteria monsters, there are cavity villains on the teeth. And the only help here is brushing! By the way, there are now fun apps that encourage children to brush their teeth and also set the appropriate duration. The free Playbrush app works with any regular manual toothbrush.

2. Underwear must be changed every day!

What is obvious for us adults, children still have to learn. And that includes changing their underwear every day. Involve children in the hygiene process and let them bring their worn clothes to the laundry basket themselves or watch the laundry being done. You can then do a sniff test – because that’s how fresh laundry should smell!

3. Proper coughing and sneezing must be learned

Besides personal hygiene, there are also some important behavioral rules that children must learn. This includes appropriate sneezing and coughing. After all, those nasty bacteria monsters can also spread this way. Parents should know the following hygiene tips for children:

• Use a tissue instead of wiping your nose on your sleeve!
• Use a tissue for blowing your nose – but only once.
• Sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, not into your own hand.
• Dispose of tissues immediately and don’t leave them lying around.
• Keep distance from other people when sneezing and coughing.

4. Handwashing is important!

Corona has taught us once again: regular handwashing is important! And this should also be passed on to the little ones. It’s important that parents set a good example here. But when and how often should hands actually be washed? Possible situations include:

• Before and after eating
• After using the toilet
• When coming home
• After coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose
• After petting animals

And what should you pay attention to when washing your hands? Basically, you should wash for at least 20 seconds. All areas should be thoroughly soaped – including fingers and nails! Then rinse thoroughly and dry. Our tip: Teach the little ones handwashing with a fun game! For this, first apply a thick layer of cream to the children’s hands and then sprinkle some colorful glitter on them. Now it’s time to get rid of the nasty bacteria and wash it off. That takes quite a while, doesn’t it?

5. Children must shower and wash regularly

Regular bathing and showering is also important. However, you shouldn’t overdo it with children. After all, children’s skin is very sensitive. Basically, it’s enough if children shower about 3 times a week – depending on whether the little ones are dirty or sweaty. Otherwise, it’s perfectly fine for children to wash individual body parts with a washcloth. Body areas to pay attention to here: face, bottom, and neck fold. Let the children do this on their own sometimes! Only this way can they learn proper personal hygiene.

6. Fingernails and toenails must be cut regularly

Nail care is also an important point in hygiene tips for children. Here, parents should definitely support the little ones. Since bacteria monsters also like to gather under long fingernails, it makes sense to keep the nails short. Mom and Dad should explain this as well.

Introducing hygiene to children playfully

Toys can also help children better understand and internalize hygiene. For example, you have to explain to the doll everything you learned from mom and dad yourself. Role-playing with other children is also great for learning the topic playfully. We have selected the top 3 toys from the howa range with which children can engage with the topic of personal hygiene through play:

1. howa Doll Changing Table + Doll Bathtub “Cozy Cactus”

2. Doll Changing Bag “Cozy Cactus”

3. howa Vanity Table “Little Lady”

Image rights: © iStock / PeopleImages, © iStock / StockRocket