Introducing Personal Hygiene to Toddlers
Personal hygiene should not be something your child struggles with at a certain age that’s why introducing personal hygiene to toddlers starts early.
Kids are prone to being in contact with germs and viruses in the course of their daily activities, so start slowly by teaching them to properly wash their hands before food, after using the toilet, or playing outside. They should also dry their hands thoroughly.
Let’s take a look at some other detailed tips when introducing personal hygiene to toddlers;
Hand washing
This is the most basic hygiene activity you can start your toddler on and the steps to introduce him/her to it can be as simple as;
- Cleaning your baby’s hands before and after eating.
- Making them conscious of the importance of washing their hands during potty training.
- Making it fun by having them since the ABC song, or any other favourite nursery rhyme of theirs.
Teeth hygiene
Brushing your baby’s teeth and gums starts immediately there’s a first tooth is grown. By the time they become toddlers, though, your children should be able to brush their teeth with little supervision.
To ensure they do a good job and brush their teeth long enough to get it clean, here are a few tips for you;
- Let them choose their own tooth brush when shopping.
- Decide how long their brushing should take and set up a song that matches that time period so they can have some fun and also let them know how long they have to brush for.
- Always check their teeth after brushing
Bathing
When you introduce independent bath time to your child, do not just leave them by themselves after a couple of tries. Rather, start them out with supervised bathing for as long as possible while helping them reach the body parts their arms can’t fully cover such as their backs.
Another great learning point of supervised bath time is teaching your toddlers how to wash their hair without getting suds in their eyes, and what to do if that ever happens, without freaking out.
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Nail hygiene
Because kids are exposed to a lot of outside germs, their nails are a great place for the germs to store and then get transmitted into their bodies when they insert their hands into their mouths.
To avoid this happening, introduce your toddler to the process of nail hygiene by encouraging them to wash under their nails while bathing and trim them on a daily basis.
To get them excited about this, these tips should help;
- Sit down with them to trim their nails on a weekly basis and make it a fun mummy-and-me time for them.
- Get them a fun nail care kit. An example is a themed kit after a favourite cartoon of theirs or a kit that is engraved with their initials/nicknames etc.
- Set up a corner of the house or play area like a nail salon and play their favourite tune in the background.
Above all, please keep in mind children tailor their habits after what they see you do, so give them a great example.
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