Remember when we were kids how we didn’t care about our cleanliness and appearance? All we cared about were watching cartoons, playtime, and snacks.
When most of us became parents, we became more particular about our children’s hygiene. After all, clean children are generally healthy.
As parents, we want what’s best for our children. And as much as we can, we should equip them with what they will need to lead healthy lifestyles.
Personal Hygiene and Grooming: Why Is It Important?
Personal hygiene is a crucial aspect of life that children need to learn at a young age. Your children cannot understand how to observe proper hygiene all by themselves. As parents, it falls to us to teach them about the importance of personal hygiene and guide them.
Observing proper personal hygiene has several benefits, including, but are not limited to:
- Developing a healthier body image growing up
- Boosting one’s confidence and self-esteem
- Preventing the contraction of sicknesses and diseases by keeping germs and bacteria away
Aside from these apparent benefits, other smaller but equally important things include saving up on incidental expenses because of sickness from unhygienic surroundings or the need to get dental implants because of poor oral care.
Good Habits, Bad Habits
Helping your children build the right habits, and eliminating the bad ones can help set them up for a better future. It has been found that kids who have good personal hygiene habits tend to be more successful in their social and professional lives when they grow up.
Those who have incurred bad habits when it comes to personal care tend to suffer more from sickness and struggle in social situations.
For this reason, you need to help them build the right habits at a young age.
Hand Hygiene
The present COVID-19 pandemic has given hand hygiene more attention this year. Health experts and medical specialists emphasized the importance of frequent hand washing in keeping the coronavirus at bay.
Since children are naturally curious, they tend to touch more things and pick stuff up to feed their curiosity. We need to continually remind them how bacteria and germs can quickly spread in different environments, even at home. Teaching them how to clean their hands properly can help you protect their health.
Body Hygiene
Aside from keeping their hands clean, children should also be taught how to take care of their bodies. Proper showering should be taught at an early age to help lessen the risk of germs and bacteria that cause diseases and body odor.
Body care also includes hair care. Proper shampooing and rinsing should also be taught to prevent dandruff, lice, and scalp infections.
As they reach adolescence, boys and girls have different needs that need to be addressed, particularly their pubic region. While there are differences in how their genitalia should be cleaned, the importance of teaching pre-teens proper care in those regions can help prevent UTI and foul odor.
Oral Hygiene
Clean teeth and healthy gums help prevent a lot of health issues such as cavities, tooth decay, bad breath, and heart diseases later on in life. Add to that the fact that if one has a toothache due to poor oral hygiene, it will be hard to eat. Proper brushing and flossing of teeth should be observed at all times.
Nutrition
Taking care of the body extends to the food we consume. The food we consume can accumulate germs and bacteria so teaching our children how to handle food properly can help them avoid diseases and illnesses like gastroenteritis, food poisoning, and diarrhea.
Overall Health
The overall impact of personal hygiene and grooming on one’s health should never be underestimated. We have repeatedly stated how it helps prevent sicknesses and diseases caused by germs, bacteria, and even viruses.
However, no matter how much you observe proper hygiene, some sicknesses are unavoidable. For this reason, if your child is sick, avoid exposing them to people to prevent the further spread of bacteria, which can cause others to get sick, too. It also helps prevent them from contracting any other diseases, especially when their immune systems are compromised.
Developing good personal hygiene habits do not happen overnight. It takes discipline to build them into habits, from washing their hands to brushing their teeth. As parents, we must help our kids develop these habits to protect their health and ensure their safety.
