What is Personal Hygiene?
Personal Hygiene is all areas of taking care of your body. Keeping your body clean helps keep your body healthy. Some things are harmful to your body if it is not kept healthy. You may know these harmful things as "cooties" but really, they are germs and everyone has them. Germs are everywhere you go: on the playground, on the doorknob, on the slide at recess, and even in your own bed. To make sure all those germs don't make you sick, you need to make sure you practice good hygiene; especially washing your hands.
When Should You Wash Your Hands?
- Before every meal or snack
- Before and after handling or preparing food
- Before caring for a toddler or infant
- After coming in from outside
- After using the bathroom
- After playing with an animal
- After changing the cat litter or cleaning a pet cage
- After sneezing, coughing, or blowing the nose
- After taking out the trash
If you're not sure if you should wash your hands or not; just do it, your hands can never be too clean.
Bath Time
Doing things like eating and going to school has become a daily routine. Taking a bath or shower should become just as much of a habit as those. Number One because do you really want to be the stinky kid everyone talks about at school and the one no one wants to sit by? Also, bathing daily helps keep your body clean and healthy. A clean body is a healthy body. If you know you don't smell bad and your hair isn't all greasy it will boost your feelings toward yourself and you will feel better.
Using dry shampoos and body sprays do NOT delete the need for bathing. They work sometimes but don't let this become a habit because it doesn't make you any healthier. By taking a bath or shower everyday you are helping keep your body germ-free.
Using dry shampoos and body sprays do NOT delete the need for bathing. They work sometimes but don't let this become a habit because it doesn't make you any healthier. By taking a bath or shower everyday you are helping keep your body germ-free.
What Should You Do at Bath Time?
- Wash face
- Wash hair
- Wash armpits
- Wash feet
- Clean beneath and clip fingernails and toenails
- Clean outer ears
- Clean genital area and bottom
*and PLAY! Enjoy your bath but also make sure you are clean. Use things like bubbles and rubber ducks to make bath time more enjoyable.
Brushing Your Teeth
Another important part of your hygiene is your teeth. How do you like to be standing talking to someone with bad breath or gross teeth? Unless you want to be the person talks about, brush your teeth EVERYDAY. It is recommended that you brush your teeth twice a day; once after breakfast (or when you wake up if you eat breakfast at school) and once before bed. When brushing your teeth you should always make sure your toothbrush goes over every tooth--on each side-- and that you also brush your tongue.
Also in kids 12 and up flossing and mouthwash are also recommended. This helps make sure all the bacteria is out of your mouth and the plus side: your breath smells really good so you don't have to worry about anyone backing away when you're talking. :)
Also in kids 12 and up flossing and mouthwash are also recommended. This helps make sure all the bacteria is out of your mouth and the plus side: your breath smells really good so you don't have to worry about anyone backing away when you're talking. :)
Brushing Hair
Not only is washing your hair important on a regular basis, so is brushing your hair. Not brushing leads to unhealthy hair. By brushing your hair everyday you are insuring that all the dead skin and hair are removed. You also move the natural oils from your scalp to the ends of your hair. Although some say hair should be washed daily, this can actually be a bad thing. If your hair becomes too clean it removes all the necessary oils from your hair making it not grow and possibly some hair loss. But don't worry, this can all be fixed by washing your hair every-other-day, if it's not dirty, or by using a special conditioner.
Another strong importance of brushing or combing your hair is do NOT share your brush with anyone else. Although, head lice is not spread by poor hygiene it is spread by sharing objects like hair brushes, combs, hair ties, clips, headbands and hats. To prevent lice as much as possible, make sure that you wash these items with warm soapy water often. If you are afraid that you may have lice or just want to be extra careful; talk to your parents. They know all about it: what it looks like and how to get rid of it.
Another strong importance of brushing or combing your hair is do NOT share your brush with anyone else. Although, head lice is not spread by poor hygiene it is spread by sharing objects like hair brushes, combs, hair ties, clips, headbands and hats. To prevent lice as much as possible, make sure that you wash these items with warm soapy water often. If you are afraid that you may have lice or just want to be extra careful; talk to your parents. They know all about it: what it looks like and how to get rid of it.
Laundry
What good does keeping your body clean if you don't also keep your clothes clean? Wearing dirty or stinky clothes make you smell just as bad and put that dirt you just washed off, right back in contact with your skin. If accidents occur, it is always important to go change clothes--no matter how much you like them--so that they can be washed so they are clean for you to wear again. Clean clothes not only smell better but they will also feel better against your skin and they will make you feel better emotionally too boosting your self-esteem. If you are running low on clean clothes or need a specific article of clothing but it's dirty; ask an adult to wash it for you instead of just wearing it again. Pajamas-since they are only worn to bed(clean sheets are a yes too!) do not need to be washed after every use-although they can be-but rather every three days or so.