Hygienic Independence

Hygienic Independence

SOME EARLY LESSONS IN HYGIENE AND CLEANLINESS

As you watch your child grow, you are fascinated by her learning process and the little achievements that she makes every day. She learns through imitation as she observes the adult world around her. Her main purpose is to achieve independence in her life. All she needs is a little bit of guidance to help her understand some little intricacies of her daily chores. An ability to take care of her own hygiene and personal cleanliness will give your child a feeling of accomplishment and self-confidence that come with independence.

Gentle Encouragement

When your child shows the first inclination towards wanting to do something by herself, it will be a good idea to let her, even though you think she is not competent enough. When she shows a desire to partake in her ablutions and cleaning up, use it as an opportunity to give her the first lesson in personal hygiene. Allowing her to do it the way she can, and then, pitching in to complete the task for her, will not only ensure that the job is thorough, it will also give her a feeling of participation and an early training in cleanliness and hygiene. Your allowing her to do a chore by herself is only a reiteration of your faith her as a capable little person who can achieve her own tasks. Showing her how she can achieve this thoroughly will ensure that the job has been complete. While you get into the practicalities of washing and cleaning, you can also keep a running commentary of why thorough cleanliness is so important for her. Little minds are very receptive to any information they receive. You can weave interesting facts in your conversation that inform her about germs that are invisible to the naked eye, but do exist and can be very hazardous to her health.

Keeping her hands clean is really an important early habit she will need to inculcate. So, when you tell her that these tiny germs and bacteria can be destroyed only through thorough cleaning, it is going to have a greater impact. Teaching her that her antiseptic soap will help her achieve this, will underline the importance of this cleanliness.

Early Accomplishments

When your toddler became potty-trained and began to tell you when she needed to use the pot, it marked a major milestone for her as well as you. It was also an initial and important rung in the ladder of independence. Saying bye-bye to the diaper days was great for mama, too. Now as she begins preschool, your concern is to get her into the habit of sitting on the pot in the morning, so that she does not face any problems at school owing to initial school-shyness. She will also observe how you clean her every time she is through with her job. If she feels the need to mimic you and try it on her own, you can let her- teaching her all the time why washing her hands thoroughly after the job, is an absolute must. Keeping a bottle of an antiseptic liquid soap is a good idea as it will be easier for her to get her hands thoroughly clean. Teach her all the steps of hand washing – wetting the hands, taking a specified quantity of liquid soap in her hands, building up a lather and then rinsing them thoroughly. If she finds it difficult to reach the basin, keeping a little foot-stool next to the basin will assist a thorough washing of hands.

As she learns to clean herself, keeping her nails, trimmed and clean, becomes even more imperative. As you trim her nails you can explain to her why her nails need to be so meticulously clean now that she has learnt to wash herself on her own.

Bath Basics

Toddlers love playing in the bath on their own, but they should still not be left by themselves as they can accidentally slip and hurt themselves and of course the risk of drowning also exists. But your preschooler is old enough to take a shower on her own. Since this gives her a feeling of being all grown-up, you can encourage her to bathe once a day. You can either come in towards the end of the bath to ensure it has been a thorough one, or give her another bath at the end of the day to ensure she is clean behind the ears and the knees. Using an antiseptic soap for your school-going child makes sense because she needs protection against the germs she is exposed to, as she steps out of the house. While you give her the formal bath of the day, you can teach her the basics of the bath- showing her the areas that need very thorough cleaning. Scrubbing the soap with a washcloth makes the job more easy and clean. Even though the bath is more of a fun affair at the pre-school age, show her that the groin, armpits, soles of the feet, space between her toes and the area behind the ears need to be cleaned. Once she builds a cleanliness regimen, these habits can be come a part of her life.