Kara McMahon - Squeaky Clean (All About Hygiene)

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ISBN: 978-0-375-83508-7
ISBN: 978-0-307-97935-3 (eBook)
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A Note to Parents

The basic rules of hygiene are not only the first line of defense against spreading the common cold and the flu bugs that seem to spring up in cycles every year, they are also pretty simple to teach your children! But as you know, hygiene is about more than trying not to get sick during flu season. Its also about being clean and healthy in all ways, and about an overall sense of well-being and comfort.

Incorporating hygiene practices isnt hard, especially if you make it part of your familys daily routineand make it fun for children! Before you know it, these healthy habits can become second nature to the entire family. Kids are naturally curious, and they enjoy learning how to take good care of their bodies.

Here are some basics about

Bathing: Kids should bathe or shower daily. And they should shampoo their hair at least every other day, if not daily.

Hand washing: Encourage your kids to wash their hands often, but especially before every meal and after every trip to the bathroom. Make it a habit for everyone to wash their hands as soon as they come home.

Face washing: Get kids into the habit of washing their faces with soap and water twice a day.

Toothbrushing: Kids need to brush their teeth at least twice a day, once in the morning and always before going to sleep. Ideally, teeth should be brushed after every meal, but even a plain drink of water after eating can help keep teeth clean. Brush gently in circular motions. To make sure that kids brush long enough to get their teeth clean, have them hum the ABC song once or twice through. Also, dont forget to visit the dentist every six months.

Preventing the spread of germs: Remind kids to sneeze and cough away from the direction of others. Encourage them to use a tissue or the inside of their elbow to cover their mouth so their hands stay clean. Teach kids to throw away used tissues, and double-check their pockets at the end of the day just to make sure.

Healing wounds: Explain to your child that its important to keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered, and that its also important to dispose of used bandages properly.

We all want Happy Healthy Monsters!

Probably the easiest way to think about keeping your child happy is to imagine a whole pie divided into equal pieces. Think of the pie as your childs day. A childs day, like that pie, should be divided into equal parts so that there is time to rest, which includes getting enough sleep; time to move around; and time to eat three meals a day.

Sometimes the sizes of the pie pieces will changemaybe one day the kids get a lot of time to run around but not an equal amount of time to rest. It happensthats life. But the next day they should get plenty of rest to make up for it. If your child eats a meal that isnt exactly nutritious one day, try to serve two other nutritious meals that day. Its all about trying to even out that pie or achieving balance.