21 Norms of Personal Hygiene for Kids (2025)

clendar June 02, 2024

clendar 21 minutes

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Summary:

Personal hygiene is important for kids to stay healthy and avoid sickness. Teaching kids to wash their hands, bathe, brush their teeth, and stay safe with food helps keep them healthy. Making these habits fun will help them practice good hygiene for life.

Do you know Personal Hygiene for Kids? Do you have kids who touch every nook and corner of your house and freak you out? Or, maybe your kids just came back home after playing outside and instantly grab food without washing their hands properly? I bet no parent has that of a high tolerance for dirty kids. But what to do when your kids are not hygienic enough and frequently fall sick?

It’s easy to help your kids develop good personal hygiene habits. Just keep reading this blog and follow the simple tips.

What is Personal Hygiene?

Hygiene is about doing things that help protect our health and prevent diseases. Personal hygiene, specifically, is about keeping our bodies clean. This includes habits like taking regular baths, washing hands, brushing teeth, trimming nails, and more.

Personal hygiene keeps you clean and stops viruses from staying on your body. Most germs spread through the face and by touching others. Kids are more likely to get sick. Teach your children about hygiene and help them make a cleaning routine.

Why should you teach personal hygiene to kids?

Hygiene helps protect us from sickness. It keeps our bodies clean and strong. But a child’s immune system isn’t fully ready to fight germs. Kids don’t always notice what’s around them.

Children love to touch everything. This means they often pick up dirt and germs. They don’t always know to avoid things that are not clean. This makes them more likely to get sick.

Now is the best time to teach your kids about personal hygiene and how it helps keep them healthy. Simply telling them not to touch things won’t stop them, especially when you’re not around.

Parents should show kids simple habits that will help them as they grow.

Teaching kids good hygiene early can keep them from getting sick often.

However, it can be hard to teach kids hygiene if you don’t know the basics yourself.

5 Types of personal hygiene for kids

Kids should always stay clean, whether at home or outside. This means washing hands when eating, playing, or helping in the kitchen. Personal hygiene helps keep you and your space clean. It also leads to a healthy lifestyle. Here are some easy tips to help your kids stay healthy and clean.

1. Food hygiene

According to WHO, 1 in 10 people get sick from eating unhealthy or dirty food. That’s 44 people every minute, 63,360 every day, and 23,126,400 each year. This happens when people don’t eat healthy food or follow good food hygiene.

Dirty food can cause a stomach ache, vomiting, and diarrhoea. It can also lead to cholera or typhoid. Some food illnesses can harm your blood, cause paralysis, or hurt your kidneys.

Make sure everyone in your family keeps food clean when cooking, serving, and eating. This stops germs from spreading. Here are some easy food hygiene habits to follow with your kids.

Always wash your hands with clean water and soap before touching foods.
Remember to wash your hands every time after handling raw meat or seafood, whether you are cooking or your kids are helping in the kitchen.
Wash your hands every time after using the toilet and before returning to the food.
Always store meat, fish and poultry foods in sealed and separate containers.
Never store raw and fresh foods with cooked foods.
Use different utensils to handle raw meat, vegetables, sandwiches etc.
Rinse fresh fruits, salad greens and vegetables with clean water, especially before serving these uncooked.
Avoid serving undercooked foods, unpasteurised milk and cheese products to your kids.
Remember to eat foods soon after they are cooked. If you are serving the foods for later, refrigerate right away.
Teach your kids to use a clean cloth to wipe hands and mouth.
Cover the food containers with lids

You can teach these basics about food hygiene to your kids, meanwhile, talk to them about germs and bacteria.

You may find it useful: 20 Healthy Foods to Eat Everyday According to Expert Advice

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2. Hand hygiene

A simple act like washing hands can prevent your kids from getting sick. It’s the most crucial and easy-to-achieve hygiene habit. But kids don’t remember to wash their hands. Therefore, it’s your job to remind the kids to wash their hands from time to time.

As soon as your kids return home from school or play, you should always remind them to freshen up first before touching any food or anything else.
Demonstrate the proper ways to wash hands thoroughly.
Trimming nails is very important because a lot of germs and dirt can amass under nails. And kids tend to bite their nails which you should discourage them from doing so. Cut your kid’s nails routinely and teach them to do so because they should be able to cut their fingernails around the age of 7.
Remind your kids to wash their hands every time they pet an animal.

You should also teach your kids to make a habit of washing their hands every time after they:

Handwashing is an activity that takes less than a minute, and it’s the most effective and easiest way to keep germs and infections away.

3. Body hygiene

One of the most important aspects of personal hygiene is taking care of your body. Body hygiene means to keep every part of your body clean to stay healthy. Healthy body hygiene habits include taking care of the followings:

Skin

The skin is the biggest organ in our body. It protects us from germs and other things. But, if the skin gets scratched or hurt, it can catch bacteria. Too many germs on the skin can cause body odour and skin problems, like infections, lumps, and boils. To keep your child’s skin clean, you can do the following:

Teach your kids to have a bath every day. It’s also important to take a shower before or after school and certainly after playing outside.
Teach them how to clean different parts of the body – the hands, armpits, legs, feet, joints, back, belly button, elbows, and knees. You should show them first how to do it and then let them practice it.
Keep different soaps for bathing for your kids.
Ensure your kids don’t rush while having a bath or shower because they might overlook cleaning their ears and neck.

Hair

Hair hygiene is as important as skin hygiene. Dirty hair can cause problems like lice, dandruff, and scalp infections. Keeping hair clean helps avoid these issues.

Kids are susceptible to getting head lice. So, you should teach your kids to wash their hair at least twice a week.
You should also teach your kid not to share personal objects like combs, pillows, and hats with others.
If your girl has long hair, tell her not to comb it carefully with wide tooth-comb. Tying the hair up will prevent the accumulation of dirt on hair.

Feet

You’ve probably heard the phrase “smelly feet.” But do you know why it happens? It’s because of bacteria on the feet. This is worse when bacteria mix with sweat. If your kids wear shoes without socks all day, more dirt builds up on their feet. Here are some simple steps to help keep their feet clean:

Teach your kids to wash their feet every time they come home from school or after playing.
Instruct them to clean their feet properly by rubbing with soap between the toes and under toenails.
Afterwards, use a clean cloth to dry the feet.
Encourage your kids to keep their shoes clean.
If your kid gets wounded during playing, teach them how to keep the wounds clean.
Afterwards, use a clean cloth to dry the feet.

4. Health hygiene

Most kids catch a cold 6 to 8 times a year before they turn 6. That’s why it’s important to keep your child’s hygiene in check. This helps stop germs and bacteria from spreading.

When your kid is down with flu or any other infectious sickness, don’t send your child to school or to play. Avoiding close contact with other kids will stop the spreading of germs.
Cover the mouth with tissue or handkerchief while sneezing or coughing. Instilling this habit in your kids will stop the spreading of germs.
Using hand sanitiser is another good habit that you should teach your kids. In cases like when the water is too cold to use, or you don’t have access to soap or water, a hand sanitiser can be really convenient, especially in the winters.
Always use separate bedclothes for children in the family.
Try to maintain a clean surrounding. Unclean desk, bedroom and toilet mean an abundance of germs. So, you should teach your kids to keep their room clean at all times.
If your kid spill or drop something on the floor, you should teach them to clean.
Teach your kids about the basics of toilet and bathroom cleanliness standards. For instance, flushing the toilet after using, throwing used tissue and other rubbish in the bin etc.
Make sure your kids change their clothes twice a day and put away the dirty clothes in the laundry basket.

5. Oral hygiene

Oral hygiene is very important. If not looked after, it can cause bad breath, cavities, and other mouth problems. But you can avoid this if your children keep good oral hygiene. Here’s how to help them do that.

Make sure your kids brush their teeth twice a day.
Teach them how to floss as well.
Kids love candies, but it’s important to wash the mouth afterwards. So, remind your kids to do so, even after having food.
You should also tell your kids to gargle with warm salt water or use mouth wash once in a while.
And it’s recommended to visit the dentist every six months.

Keep in mind that no habit develops overnight. And teaching your kids about personal hygiene can be challenging. Therefore, you should be patient while implanting these healthy habits into kids.

What are the 10 Personal Hygiene for Kids?

When you teach your kids about personal hygiene, they might not always do it on their own. Kids don’t always listen, so just telling them what to do may not work.

You need to help them understand that personal hygiene is important. Good hygiene keeps them safe and shows others they care about themselves.

Here is a list of tasks to help your kids learn good hygiene habits.

1. Introduce the concepts of germs and bacteria

You should teach your kids about germs and bacteria early. If they know how germs spread and what happens when they don’t stay clean, they will understand hygiene better. But keep it simple. Don’t make it too scary, or they might become afraid of germs.

2. Elucidate good and bad habits

Kids often follow their instincts and interests. They may not think carefully before doing something, especially when it comes to habits. That’s why you should teach them which habits are good and which are bad.

Make a list of good and bad hygiene habits to explain to your kids. You can teach them these habits while they play or have fun. Learning through fun is the best way. Always praise your kids when they show good hygiene habits.

3. Always start with the basics

Telling kids too much about hygiene at once won’t help. Their minds can’t take in all the information, and they might feel overwhelmed.

Start with simple tasks like washing hands or having a bath. Once they do these things often, you can move on to the next task.

4. Utilise the right resources

Make sure you have all the right supplies at home for your kids’ hygiene. Keep soap in the dispenser, tissues, paper towels, and bins in the right places. When everything is ready, your kids will be less likely to skip tasks or make excuses.

Focus on simple tasks like washing hands or having regular baths. Once your kids do these often, you can add more basic hygiene tasks.

5. Talk about the pleasant smell and foul smell

The human nose can recognise and distinguish a wide range of smells. And instinctively know which scents are good and which are foul. But can a kid label good and bad odour? Yes, they can but not all the time. Therefore, you should help your kids to learn the difference between good and bad smells. Explain to them that an odour is an unpleasant smell.

Finding different things in your home and talking about their smells can help your kids tell the difference. For example, you can talk about smells from things in the fridge, flowers, sweet baked goods, or savoury foods. These smells will help them know the difference between good and bad smells.

When your kids notice their clothes, body, or feet smell bad, they will clean up to stop the smell.

6. Talk about the appearance

Children can be teased or bullied at school for looking messy. Make sure they wear clean clothes, smell fresh, and keep good hygiene. Teach them simple grooming tasks like wearing tidy clothes, combing their hair, and polishing their shoes.

Make sure your child’s school bag and lunch box are clean. When children learn the importance of looking tidy, they will keep clean more often.

7. Fun with hygiene

Kids enjoy having fun and doing things they like. Make learning fun by using games, poems, and posters. This will help them learn about hygiene in a way they enjoy. Hygiene won’t feel boring or scary to them.

8. Lead by example

If you want your child to practise good hygiene, start by doing it yourself. Do simple things together like cleaning the house, wiping the table, or brushing your teeth. This will help your child learn. Be a good role model by doing these tasks with them.

9. Practice hygiene as a family

It’s easy to teach your kids good hygiene if everyone in the family does it. Make sure all family members know why hygiene is important. This will help your kids follow your advice. In the end, you and your kids will enjoy better health.

10. Showing proper hygiene

Wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet. Make sure to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Brush your teeth twice a day. Take baths often and keep your nails short. These simple habits will help you stay healthy and happy!

4 Nurturing good personal hygiene for kids

Family is the first place where children learn. Good habits and qualities start at home. Kids learn by watching you. If you keep up with personal hygiene, they will see you and copy your habits.

Once your kids do daily hygiene tasks, teach them why hygiene is important. Use simple ways to help them learn better hygiene habits.

1. Set reminders

Set a reminder for each daily hygiene activities such as shower, brushing teeth, clipping nails etc. It will help you ensure and keep an eye on your kid’s daily hygiene routine.

2. Make it a fun learning experience

Remember, kids often lose interest or can get bored quickly while performing a routine task. Therefore, you need to turn the learning process into fun games. For example, attaching a story or poem or song that extols the goodness of brushing teeth or washing hands will help you to keep your kid’s attention on the task.

3. Put up signs

You can put up signs on the kitchen and toilet. If you put a sign like “Wash your hands” in the kitchen and the bathroom, it will remind everyone in your family to do so, including the kids. You should remember that kids can’t maintain all the hygiene tasks every day. Therefore, you should make sure to prioritise and focus on each habit one at a time and practice it for at least 2-3 weeks.

4. Demonstrate

If you want to instil positive and healthy habits into your kids, you must explain the process of each personal hygiene task. For instance, showing and telling your kids about proper handwashing.

Firstly, wet your hands with clean running water and then apply soap to lather your hands, fingers and under the nails. Rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds is recommended. Then wash it with water. And finally, dry your hands with a clean towel. You should also tell your kids about conserving the water by turning the tap when it’s not in use.

3 Personal hygiene activities for kids

Getting kids to follow hygiene rules can be hard. But kids love to play, and they learn better through games. Here are some fun activities to help kids enjoy personal hygiene.

1. Germ transfer game

It’s a fun game that you can play with your kids to teach them how germs are transferred from one person to another. You’ll only need some washable paints to play this game. Start by applying the paint on your hands when the kids are not looking at you, and then pretend to sneeze. After that, go about the direction you want and touch things around while spreading the paint. Ask your kids to follow your steps and touch the spots you have left with paints.

Now, you can ask the kids how the paints spread all around the place. Lastly, you can emphasize the fact that the kids got colours from you because you didn’t wash your hands after sneezing.

2. Glitter hands

To play this game you need glitters, soap and water. Start by applying some glitter to your kid’s hands and then ask them to wash their hands to get rid of the glitter.

The fact that glitter is naturally sticky and doesn’t go away quickly without a good rinse will make the kids wash their hands properly. Tell the kids to use soap and rub their hands for at least 30 seconds to get rid of the glitter.

3. Good habit, bad habit

This is a fun game you can play with your kids anytime and anywhere. All you need to do is, make a list of activities, including the activities your kids do. Then, tell the kids to identify which habit is good and which is bad. Through this game, you can point out your kids’ practices and remind them whether they should continue it or not. If they get the answers right, reward them with treats.

Conclusion

Poor personal hygiene makes kids more likely to catch infections. You can stop this from happening. Helping kids follow simple hygiene habits keeps them healthy and safe from germs. If they already have good habits, that’s wonderful. If not, now is the perfect time to teach them.

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FAQs

What are the 10 personal hygiene for kids?

Personal hygiene for kids includes washing hands, brushing teeth, daily bathing, trimming nails, wearing clean clothes, combing hair, covering coughs, using deodorant, keeping shoes clean, and gently cleaning ears.

How to explain personal hygiene to a child?

Help kids learn personal hygiene with simple steps: wash hands, brush teeth, and take baths. Use songs, games, or fun stories. Keep it short and easy.

What is the importance of hygiene for kids?

Hygiene is key for kids to stay healthy, prevent illness, and feel good. Clean habits like washing hands, brushing teeth, and bathing stop germs from spreading. It also helps build confidence and good lifelong habits.

Why is personal hygiene important for kids?

Personal hygiene keeps kids healthy by preventing germs and infections. It reduces illness, boosts confidence, and builds lifelong good habits.

How can I teach my child about personal hygiene?

Start with simple tasks like handwashing and bathing. Use games, songs, and reminders to make learning fun and consistent.

How often should kids wash their hands?

Kids should wash their hands before eating, after using the toilet, playing outside, or touching pets to stop germs from spreading.

How do I encourage my child to brush their teeth regularly?

Make brushing fun with songs or colourful toothbrushes. Remind them to brush twice daily and visit the dentist every six months.

How do germs spread among kids?

Germs spread when kids touch dirty surfaces, sneeze or cough without covering their mouths, or share items like toys or utensils.

How can I keep my child’s hair clean and free of lice?

Wash hair twice a week, avoid sharing combs or hats, and tie long hair to prevent dirt and lice.

What are good hand hygiene habits for kids?

Good hand hygiene includes washing hands with soap for 20 seconds, trimming nails regularly, and using a handkerchief when sneezing.

How do I explain germs and bacteria to young children?

Use simple words and fun activities, like the glitter hands game, to show how germs can spread and the importance of washing hands.

How can I help my child maintain proper food hygiene?

Teach them to wash hands before eating, clean fruits and vegetables, and avoid eating undercooked foods.

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