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Family Focus Health & Nutrition Hygiene 101: 10 children’s habits to watch out for | Hygiene 101: 10 children’s habits to watch out for |
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One good thing that came out of the emergence of H1N1 and hand, foot and mouth disease is the emphasis on proper hand-washing techniques. Dirty hands can carry as many as 150 types of germs! The proper technique must involve soaping the hands and fingers thoroughly, including the skin between fingers and the backs of the hands as well. Small children, especially, should be monitored to make sure they practise the right technique. Check out this poster for the correct technique of washing hands. Not brushing after meals or poor brushing techniques contributes to tooth decay. Get a fun and colourful toothbrushing kit to encourage your child to brush after meals. Flavoured toothpaste is more enticing to children, but always keep an eye to ensure that they don’t deliberately try to eat the toothpaste (though it is not harmful in small quantities). Monitor their brushing techniques as well – ‘overbrushing’ can wear off the protective enamel on the teeth. It is a good idea to visit a dentist who can teach your child (and you) the correct brushing technique. However, tricky it is to cut those tiny fingernails of young children, this is a must! Long fingernails are dirt and germ traps. Use special nailcutters or nail-cutting scissors for little nails. To loosen dirt from under fingernails, you can gently rub them with a warm cloth soaked in soapy water or use a little hand lotion. Some children carry on this habit well into late childhood – it is a surefire way of transmitting germs into their bodies. Frequent and prolonged thumbsucking can also affect their dental development. If you notice this habit in your child, try to wean them off the habit by giving them a soft (but clean) toy they can hold. Milk bottles should be removed once the contents are emptied. Toddlers and young children can’t help touching the different things in their environment in their process of exploring the world. In a controlled play area such as the children’s room or a childcare centre, it is easier to manage the cleanliness of the space through frequent mopping and wiping with a suitable disinfectant, but this is just impossible in outdoor areas e.g. when you’re out at the playground or the mall. As early as possible, teach your child to avoid touching the ground – whether indoors or outdoors – with their bare hands AND rolling on the ground outdoors. Children often touch their own faces and those of their family and friends either subconsciously or when engaging in play. This – while may seem endearing – can lead to outbreaks when children transmit germs to one another. In fact, the same goes for adults – touching our faces frequently can lead to more skin conditions such as pimple outbreaks. It is good for children to stay hydrated during games and physical activities by taking sips of water from their own waterbottles. However, make sure they cap or seal the bottles properly in between sips, to prevent the water from becoming contaminated by air-borne germs. ‘Snap-caps’ are easier for little hands to handle rather than ‘twist-n-seal’ caps. Also choose caps which remain attached to the waterbottle – caps or covers that need to be removed can pick up dirt if placed on a dirty surface. Try to avoid the sharing of waterbottles – don’t encourage your child to drink from a friend’s bottle. If your child must share his or her drink with a friend, try to pour it into a separate cup rather than drink from the same bottle. Learning how to use forks and spoons to handle food is essential, but knowing what to do with them in between bites is just as important. Teach children that utensils such as forks and spoons should be placed back in their bowls and plates in between bites, and not on the tabletop, and to tell an adult if a utensil falls into the floor. Choose cups that your little one’s hands can grip securely with one or both hands. Their thumbs and other fingers should not ‘stray’ onto the inner surface of the cup and touch the liquid inside. How many times have you seen a child drop a biscuit or piece of candy on the ground, pick it up and eat it? However enticing that piece of food is to a child, this is a bad habit that will enable transmission of germs from such surfaces. Don’t let them develop this habit, and we need to set a good example too. Often, this can be prevented by making sure that children sit down (instead of running around) during meal and snacktimes and that they are correctly seated at the table. A clean napkin on their lap can help to catch any accidentally dropped food. A running nose can start anytime – when we wake up in the morning, during a child’s playtime etc. Teach your child to tell an adult straightaway if they have a running nose (for that matter, separate a child with a running nose from other children as it could be a symptom of a number of ailments). Wiping noses with their hands or on their sleeves is disgusting and encourages germs to spread. For this reason, it is good to have a small, clean hanky or packet of tissue with your child at all times. For children with ‘stuck’ noses due to dried mucus, a warm, soft cloth may help to loosen the mucus and bring relief. Nowadays, there are even ‘booger-wipes’ (actually moistened soft tissues) to help clean little noses.
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Having good hygiene habits does more than help your child appear neat and clean. It can help your child to stay healthy and prevent the spread of disease. However, while a child may appear to look clean, they may have certain negative habits that can affect their health and that of the people around them, e.g. siblings or other children they spend time with. Look out for these common habits today and stop them– and be on your way to better health. 
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