Convincing kids of the merits of good personal hygiene
Every Mom out there knows that teaching kids good personal hygiene requires persistence and that the results of this instruction pays off for a lifetime. Toddlers are usually receptive to bathing and brushing their teeth. Bath time is fun, especially with a tub full of toys. A toothbrush is intriguing and puts them in control of their brand new teeth. However, washing hands is not so fun, particularly because they hear about it all day long and it seems to always interrupt something more interesting. Brushing hair may or may not be a favored activity. Young girls with very long hair may consider the task too time consuming - at least until they hit their teens. Then you’ve got face and ear washing, cleaning up minor cuts and the clean clothes issue. However, as a Mom, you keep after them and hope the practice of good personal hygiene one day will magically become second nature.
With youngsters, you must continue, like a broken record, teaching these good habits. They aren’t likely to understand or care about why personal hygiene matters. You know that kids spread germs amongst themselves like a dish of candy. One kid sneezes on a toy, and another child takes advantage of the momentary interruption to snatch the toy up and then wipe their hand across their face. It’s hardly surprising that the average kid gets 6-12 colds per year.
However, when children enter puberty, personal hygiene usually becomes an issue for them. Personal appearance is suddenly important. The child may start bathing or showering a couple of times a day, primping with hair endlessly and washing their face constantly to avert the notorious pimple. However, they may still not wash their hands unless they’re told to do so! Hand washing is the critical item in the personal hygiene program.
Now, here’s a trick every mother can love: your seven-year old child is old enough to be fascinated by a microscope. Get one. You can take any number of objects to be subjected to the curious child’s scrutiny. Leaves, grass cuttings and flower petals will capture your child’s attention. You see where we’re going with this, right?
Now’s the time to spring the personal hygiene lesson. Use a file to scrape under your fingernails and take a look. Point out that the view through the microscope shows what’s left after washing your hands. Take a coin and see what you find there. Pet hair is another good one.
You don’t want to alarm the child, but finding some microbes does prove that, in the world of germs, all may not be as it appears. Now, go wash your hands!
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