Health

Hygiene

Practicing good hygiene is one of the best ways we have to protect ourselves from illnesses, and so it is important to teach your child how to practice good hygiene.

Hygiene means:

• handling food carefully
• correctly storing food
• regularly washing your hands
• washing your body thoroughly
• avoiding coughing or sneezing on other people
• using appropriate protection to avoid infections

Hand washing:

We catch most infections from spreading the germs on our hands to our mouths. The best way to avoid this is by regularly washing your hands.

It’s important to wash your hands when:

• you’ve been to the toilet
• you are about to eat or prepare food
• you’ve been petting animals
• you’ve spent time with someone who has been coughing and sneezing and may be contagious.

How to wash your hands properly:

• Always use soap and clean water to wash your hands and wrists.
• Make sure that you wash the backs of your hands as well as the skin between each finger and your thumb.
• If your nails are dirty, use a nail brush to clean them well.
• After you’ve washed your hands, make sure that you dry them well on something clean.

REMEMBER!

Children learn best when they have behaviour modelled for them – make sure you wash your hands as often as you would like your children to.

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This article was written by Ella Walsh for Kidspot. Sources include Raising Children Network.