Personal hygiene is taught, not just caught. It involves both teaching and follow-up. Teaching children about germs, cavities, body odor, and other topics is accomplished as part of daily routines and intentional times of education. Follow-up is an important part of teaching children personal hygiene.

Personal Story

The dentist came to do my check-up. She looked up and told me that everything looked good with my teeth. Then she took a breath and told me my children did not have the same good report. One of them had one cavity and the other had three. How could that be?! Almost every day, I said to my children, “Brush your teeth and get ready for bed.” Where had I gone wrong? How could I teach each of my children to do their own personal hygiene and hold them accountable?

What Is Personal Hygiene?

Personal hygiene is personal. Hygiene is the practice of taking care of one’s body to prevent disease. It involves body hygiene, cleansing teeth, and handling menstruation.

What Do We Teach?

Body Hygiene

Germs and bacteria cause body odor and certain health conditions. Teaching children that washing their body often to get rid of germs is important.

• Teach the correct hand washing process:
  • Turn on water
  • Put on soap
  • Scrub 20 seconds
  • Rinse well
  • Use paper towel to turn off faucet
• Body
  • Wash hair and body with cleanser and rinse
  • Clean finger and toe nails
  • Use deoderant
• Shave
  • Demonstrate for your son or daughter how to shave.
  • Purchase an appropriate shaving tool.

Dental Care

Demonstrate the way to brush teeth and floss. Oil pulling is often helpful for cavities or gum problems.

• Brush teeth with a gentle, circular motion on all teeth surfaces for two minutes
• Floss: Clean between each tooth, going down between the tooth and gum
• Oil Pulling: Swill a teaspoon of olive or coconut oil around in the mouth for 15 minutes, and then carefully spit the oil into a container.

Menstruation hygiene

By the time your daughter is eight or nine, she needs your help to understand what changes are or will be occurring in her body.

• Prepare with knowledge: See my “Blog 5: Preparing for a Woman’s First Menstrual Cycle”.
• Purchase the products she needs to be ready and instruct her how to use them.

How do we teach?

• By example: Have good hygiene yourself.
• Face-to-face instruction: Show how to do each of the above hygiene items.
• U-tube videos: There are a variety of u-tube videos which show how to do various kinds of hygiene for different ages. Some of these are really entertaining!

Accountability

Try to make accountability fun. Following up on their hygiene activities is crucial. Consider your child’s learning style to find ideas for what will motivate and help them develop their own personal hygiene routine. If your child likes visual reminders, consider charts, lists, or pictures. Pinterest is a great resource to generate ideas. Most importantly, remember that you are the best accountability partner and your attitude will make an impression.

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. Please encourage others by sharing your ideas or suggestions in the comment section above.