Your Child towards adulthood- What to expect!

The Prime Minister of our country launched the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan in 2014, aiming at a clean India by 2019. While such huge scale initiatives are in place, the understanding of cleanliness and hygiene builds at the root level.

As a parent, you must teach your growing star about personal hygiene as it is the first step in preventing infections and disease. A personally health conscious individual is a community sensitive individual.

Here are 5 ways that you can teach your growing child about personal hygiene:

1. Washing hands post urinating or defecating: The urine and poop contain thousands of infectious germs that are potent enough to cause diseases. Washing hands with a germicidal soap post voiding is very much necessary. Teach your child basic toilet etiquette.
2. Washing hands before eating, post touching animals: The environment around us is very contagious. Thousands of bacteria, fungus and other infectants are scattered around. A child’s hands which are busy building mischief are the favorite place for these to land. Hence, washing hands before eating is a must to avoid infecting oneself.
3. Covering the mouth after coughing or sneezing: The aerosols of germs in cough and sneeze are very contagious and communicable. Learning to use a handkerchief to cover the mouth can help in prevention of spreading of infection. A child should be made to learn the basic of using a handkerchief.
4. Regularly brushing teeth.: It is advised to brush teeth before going to bed and after waking up. A child’s milk teeth are very prone to decay given their habits of gorging on chocolates, cakes and bad sweets. Inculcate the habit of cleaning teeth 2 times a day.
5. Bathing regularly and cutting nails: The child should be made to understand the good effects of bathing regularly. Also, nails often store the most harmful germs. Keep a check on their growth and encourage timely cutting.
6. Make your child learn the effective use of sanitizers (when the child is a bit old). Once imbibed, these ways will help your child lead a healthy life.

Stay hygienic!