| Being Clean is FUNdamental! |  |  |  |
Hands-on activities help children learn and play, but hands-on activities can also mean dirty hands! It’s important to teach your child basic hygiene such as taking baths, washing hands, and brushing teeth. Here are some fun tips to help your child develop healthy hygiene habits that will last a lifetime.
Make Bath Time Lots of Fun
Splish splash! Play with your child as he splashes around in the bath. Provide him with tub toys such as animals, boats, sponges, or silly toys that squirt. If he doesn’t like being scrubbed or washed, try moving a washcloth in different directions on his skin while using words like up, down, round and round, side to side, high, and low!
Not only will this help involve him in what you’re doing, it can also teach him words he needs to know when talking about spatial relationships. When he’s ready, encourage him to wash himself. Be sure to praise your child for cooperating or washing himself. The more positive the bath time experience, the more likely he will want to take a bath in the future.
Watch Together: Kids Bathe With Rubber Duckie
Talk Together: What are some things these kids are doing in the bath?
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To keep our smiles strong and bright, we all need to brush our teeth at least twice a day. Children, too, so lead by example — brush your teeth together! To encourage your child to do this, take her to the store to pick out her very own toothbrush and toothpaste.
When you get home, show her how to brush every tooth up, down, side to side, and all around. It’s important to use the right amount of toothpaste—for children under 2, use just a smear on the bristles, for children over 2 use a pea-sized amount. To throw a little fun into the mix, sing a song to your child while she is brushing her teeth. The ABC song will help her know if she’s brushed long enough, and you can even sing a variation on the last verse: “Now your teeth are oh so clean, everyone can see them gleam."
Watch Together: A Boy Brushes His Teeth in the Sink
Talk Together: What does Timothy do to brush his teeth?
Put Your Hands Together For…Hand Washing!
Time to wash! Help your child remember that it’s important to wash his hands several times a day, especially after using the toilet, before eating, after playing outside, or anytime his hands are dirty. While hand washing, point to and label all the different parts of your child’s hands like the palms, fingers, fingernails, knuckles, thumbs, and wrists. Let your child have fun rubbing soap on each part until both hands are all clean! Encourage him to wash his hands for as long as it takes to sing the ABC song twice. When he’s all done, remind him that it’s important to use only what we need to wash our hands—turn off the faucet to save water and use a cloth towel to dry off whenever possible.
Watch Together: Washing Your Hands
Talk Together: Why do you think the girl wanted to wash her hands?
Gesundheit, Bless You, Salud
Little fingers often love to pick around in little noses. Encourage your child to use a tissue instead. It might help to get tissues with a fun print on them that your child will enjoy using. You might also consider giving her a small reward for successfully getting rid of her “boogeys” and throwing them in the trash can!
When your child does get sick, show her how to use a tissue, as well as how to cough or sneeze into her elbow/upper sleeve and not her hand. Explain to her that this will help others not get sick, and help her start to feel better quickly so she can get back to playing and learning.
Watch Together: Cover Your Mouth
Talk Together: How do you cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze?
Keen on Clean
It’s cool to be clean! If your child dreads taking a bath, brushing her teeth or washing her hands, try talking to her about how it can be fun. Say something like, “Making sure our bodies and mouths are clean helps us not get sick so we have the energy to play and learn.” You might make a chart with a picture or drawing of your child brushing her teeth, washing her hands, and taking a bath. Each time your child does one of these activities, put a sticker on the chart next to the picture to celebrate.
Watch Together: I Gotta Be Clean
Talk Together: Why does Bert sing that he’s “gotta be clean?”
Staying Healthy Every Day
When both grown-ups and children practice everyday hygiene habits, it leads to staying healthy and keeping germs away. Click here for simple tips on how to prevent illness and get well fast when you do get sick.
“We've talked at length about the superiority of using tissues instead of shirtsleeves for wiping noses, and the merits of keeping our toys slime-free. So far they seem to be paying attention. With my can of disinfectant and a watchful eye, I'm hoping to keep my family healthy for months to come.”
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