CLEAN CHILD, HEALTHY CHILD

Some parents leave the teaching of hygiene to their children with teachers, helps and others apart from them. This is very wrong! It is your responsibility as a parent to teach your children and wards personal hygiene and to also follow up on how they are fairing in this area.

Teach your child the importance of hygiene as early as possible:
Do not do all the cleaning up after them without pointing out what is the right and wrong thing(s) to do when cleaning up. You can make up sing-along songs, games or activities to help them enjoy looking after themselves and cleaning up.

Supervise your child when they clean up after themselves:
Most times, parents send their children to the toilet without fully knowing what they do there or how they clean up. It is very important that you monitor and have feedbacks on what they do. You must ensure they wash their hands after every toilet visit. Do not assume, ensure they do.

Ensure you change their clothes and underclothes:
When they get dirty and/or smelly. Children sweat all the time especially when they play. Their clothes also get dirty. Personal hygiene for your child means you are responsible in ensuring that they don’t go around still wearing dirty or smelly clothes. By doing this, you are instilling the culture of cleanliness in your children which they would grow to adopt as adults. Leaving your children with dirty and smelly clothes is not hygienic.

Make sure you wash and dry their feet properly:
Take care of their shoes. When you bath for your kids, ensure you pay attention to their feet. Let them also pay attention to other parts of their bodies. Dry their feet properly and teach them not to wear dirty or smelly shoes. Make sure their shoes are dried outside if they came back smelly or dirty. Also wash and teach them to wash their shoes.

Discourage them from walking around barefooted:
This means as their parent, you must lead by example. Get them rubber slippers or comfortable shoes/sandals they can wear within the house. Walking around barefooted would expose them to germs and hazards.

Teach them to brush their teeth at least twice a day:
Do not leave the responsibility of brushing to your kids to learn on their own. Be with them and teach them till you are satisfied with the outcome on their own. Pay attention to the tongue when doing this.

Pay attention to their hair too:
Wash their hair regularly with either braid or cut their hair. Teach them to be responsible for this.

Give your child detailed attention to keep them clean and healthy. Healthy child have a healthy future.