Children should always be taught of the fact that hygienic habits are more to do than simply the good looks. It is a way of preventing themselves from the spread of various infections, as children are more prone to such infections. Irrespective of whether you teach the kids about the importance of personal hygiene or not, kids can understand them only to a certain extent. In spite of it, we can make them adopt personal hygiene by modeling them. Kids learn most of the things from the parents and caretakers. Hence, when the kids see their parents doing something, they will also follow the same.

Out of the various hygienic habits, there are four important things that as a kid the child must follow: oral hygiene, hand hygiene, toilet hygiene and body hygiene. With respect to oral hygiene, the kid must be taught and practiced to brush twice a day; while getting up from bed and before going to bed. Along with brushing, the kids must also know how to floss and rinse the mouth. It is also good to wash & rinse the mouth after every meal or snacks time in order to maintain the oral hygiene.

Hand hygiene concerns the hand washing and keeping the nails clean. Most of the diseases, especially diarrhea, are spread due to the improper hand hygiene. Hence kids must be taught to wash their hands and feet properly, after a playtime, before and after the meal time, after using the toilet and also after coughing or sneezing. Periodically, the nails should be cut, as it can be a place of collecting dirt or the kids can hurt themselves through the grown nails while playing.

Toilet hygiene should be taught when the kids are toilet trained. They should be told to wipe the toilet seat and flush the toilet before and after using those, washing the genitals properly or wiping them after using the washroom, put the used toilet paper in the dustbin and not to flush them in the toilet. This is probably one of the most challenging tasks for the parents. It is necessary for the parents to be patient enough until the kids master them completely.

Body hygiene relates to bathing regularly and washing your face once you are back from outside or from play. This will help in removing the old dead skin cells and making you feel fresh. Parents must teach kids to clean their genitals, armpits and foot properly, as they are the places which sweats a lot. Clean washed underwear should also be used and should be changed once in a day.

Apart from these hygienic habits, it is necessary to teach the kids about closing their nose while sneezing, closing their mouth while coughing, keeping their dresses cleanly, sorting and organizing their books in an orderly manner, etc.

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