How to Teach Personal Hygiene

Teaching children about the importance of personal hygiene is necessary. When children are attending preschool or elementary school, they will be interacting with other children. By this time, it is especially important for them to know the basics of good personal hygiene. Here are some tips that will help anyone who is trying to teach personal hygiene.

Things You'll Need

• Time
• Patience
• Continuous efforts

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Instructions

• 1

  Begin teaching your child at a young age. It is often hard to teach an older child about personal hygiene, but this does not mean that it's impossible to do so. Teaching your children early on, and continuing to teach them throughout their teens, is key to successfully instilling a sense of personal hygiene.

• 2

  Teach your child how to properly wipe after going to the bathroom. Many parents are under the impression that this is something that children learn on their own, but it isn't. Both genders should be taught how to wipe properly. However, it is much more important to teach girls how to reduce the risk of getting an infection due to improper wiping.

• 3

  Reinforce hand washing. Teaching your child to use warm water and soap to wash his hands is very important. It is important to remember that he will learn by watching you, so wash your own hands after using the restroom or before doing anything in the kitchen.

• 4

  Start a bathing routine. Having your child take a bath or shower at the same time every night will help encourage her to do it on her own later in life. While children who are very young only require a bath every other night, it is important for older children to bathe every day.

• 5

  Teach your child to use deodorant when he is ready. This will usually happen in the pre-teenage years. Letting him know that body odors can occur if he does not use deodorant or bathe on a daily basis can encourage him to do it on his own.

• 6

  Get your child in the routine of brushing her teeth. It is important to have her brush her teeth in the morning and at night. You also may want to encourage her to brush midday. As children get older, it is also a good idea to teach them to floss.

• 7

  Talk to your daughter about personal hygiene involving menstruation. Let her know that it is important to bathe during this time. Be sure to talk to her about the importance of changing tampons or sanitary napkins every three hours to reduce the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.