Personal hygiene is an aspect of life that we all must not only learn to practice well, but over time we must identify our specific hygiene needs and personalize our hygiene regiment. Although developing this is an ongoing process as we age, we begin to learn personal hygiene almost immediately, through modeling and the thoughtful direction. We receive instruction, encouragement, and reinforcement first from our family, and then we become more independent and begin to take ownership of our personal hygiene and the role it plays in our lives. As our kids grow and new forms of personal hygiene get thrown into the mix, it can be difficult to help them adjust as well as engage in good practices. There are many challenges we face when teaching our kids personal hygiene, but there are also many solutions and we are here to help!
1. Brushing Teeth
As soon as our kids start to have their first teeth come in, we start counting down the days until we need to introduce brushing teeth into their regular routine. At this young age, their taste palette is very sensitive as are their gums, and they have limited dexterity. Choosing the right flavor toothpaste and the right variety of toothbrush might make all the difference. In your local grocery store, you’ll find kid-friendly options for toothpaste flavors that don’t have harsh mints or the bitter flavors that result from higher amounts of fluoride that are found in most adult toothpastes. You’ll also find toothbrushes that have wider handles, more easily grasped and maneuvered by tiny fingers, and they’ll have bristle varieties that are much softer and will be less scratchy on their gums. There are even options for electric toothbrushes that are relatively inexpensive and are fun for kids to use. Modeling is key and brushing your teeth with your kids not only ensures you’ll be there to guide them, but it makes it feel less like a chore when they can do it with you. Sink Spinner can also help, by making part of this routine actually fun. While everyone is brushing their teeth and rinsing their toothbrush, you can show your kids how to use Sink Spinner’s spinning motion to let them rinse out the sink and play in the spinning water. You can even attach one of Sink Spinner’s colorful wraps to stimulate their sense, and show them that brushing their teeth can be fun!
2. Bathing
You might be struggling, as many of us do, to get your kids to bathe. Kids may not want to, simply because they are testing boundaries, or they may have a legitimate fear of water. A natural aversion to being wet or fear of water, ablutophobia, generally tends to set in around age one or two. Their senses are developing rapidly and they may establish a short-lived, hyper-awareness of their surroundings which makes loud noises or unfamiliar sensation frightening. In any case, there is hope and Sink Spinner can be there to help! Familiarizing your kids with the sounds and feel of water by allowing them to operate the spinning and flow functions on your Sink Spinner will help them get used to running water and allow them to have a little fun doing it. Having a sink bath can be much less visually overwhelming than a bathtub full of water. You can use Sink Spinner’s regular mode to fill the sink with a little warm, soapy water, even adding a few toys, and then use the spin mode to let them play in the water a little and hear the sounds of the faucet and splashing. They will become familiar with the new noises in an environment that’s fun and they’ll be able to get cleaned up.
3. Clothes
Taking care of your clothes might seem more like a household chore than something that is a part of a healthy hygiene regiment, but it actually plays a very important role in cleanliness. Children can still have a meaningful role in this part of their hygiene, and start to engage in this at a young age. Taking little steps like allowing them to choose which drawers different items of clothing go in is a good way to introduce them to taking care of their clothes and might make them less resistant to it because they are able to make decisions. You can also put on music they like and have them help you separate the laundry to be washed and help you while you’re folding it. You can even make it a whole routine by playing music while they help you put their laundry away. They can have fun, you can spend time together, and they can be learning a life skill without the feeling of it being a chore.
4. Cleaning Their Room
Having your kids learn to keep their room picked up will be an ongoing process. For younger kids, having things like toy bins or baskets or shelving where specific items can be put away in the same place every time, makes the task of picking up their room much less overwhelming. They’ll learn where the correct place is for their things, and it’s a good segue into them eventually doing more in-depth cleaning of those parts of their room. You can gradually introduce things like making their bed, putting dirty laundry in the hamper, and eventually vacuuming and wiping things down. With older kids, they’ll know why and how to keep their room picked up and clean, they just won’t be interested in doing it all the time. At this point, it can be helpful to set a time that is best for them to get started, and set a time limit for them to spend on it such as 15 or 30 minutes. They can minimize the amount they have to clean every time, simply by doing a little every other day and they can get used to organizing things like this into their day plan. Having a once a week schedule for the more in-depth cleaning, is a way to make sure it gets done and that they don’t get annoyed thinking that when you say “clean your room” you mean the whole nine yards every time.
5. Cosmetic Hygiene
As our kids get older and start to mature, they start the awkward stage of cosmetic hygiene. Cosmetic hygiene means things like how to treat their skin, shaving, make-up, and adjusting to the changes that their body is going through. There are differing challenges for boys and girls but it’s the same concept, paying attention and attending to the details. Kids start to internalize their ideas about hygiene at this point because they start to notice how much the world around them is noticing them. You can start simple by making a space in your bathroom for your kids to put their hygiene products, so they feel like this part of their hygiene has a place. You can also reinforce routines by reminding them to make extra time in the morning to get ready in the bathroom if they need to shave or put on make-up. Encouraging them to research and investigate what products to use or what brands to try lets you help them to take ownership of this part of hygiene. Another important part of cosmetic hygiene is clean-up. Learning to get in the habit of cleaning up after shaving or putting on make-up is an important part of keeping them and their space hygienic. This is also where Sink Spinner can help! Sink Spinner’s spin function cleans up whiskers, shaving cream, make-up, and any other bathroom funk from your sink with ease, without you ever having to touch your sink! Sink Spinner makes cleaning a breeze and honestly less gross for all of you when the next person needs to use the sink.
6. Personal Hygiene
There’s absolutely nothing about becoming a teenager that’s easy, and even less so if they’re struggling with hygiene. Teenagers, to be frank, start getting smelly and they need to find ways to stay clean and manage the new ways their body produces odor. There’s no faster way to become “uncool” than by being the smelly kid, and it’s better to not learn THAT lesson the hard way. Using deodorant, and developing a routine where kids are showering regularly is crucial, but kids tend to ignore this more often then they do cosmetic hygiene because they’re more familiar with caring about how they look than how they smell. It’s never mattered before in their entire life so they are simply not attentive to it initially. Aside from the obvious conversation you’ll have to have about why their body is changing and they need to wear deodorant and shower regularly, you’ll have to get them to actually start doing it. Encourage a regular routine by using positive reinforcement. Make it a point to tell them that they look nice and that they smell nice after they shower and put on deodorant. This helps build their confidence, which is always a good thing. Giving positive reinforcement to them and others when they look and smell nice helps reinforce the importance of hygiene. Empower your teen when you’re at the store by encouraging them to pick out the deodorant, and shampoo and conditioner that they want to use, even if it’s different from what you have at home. Modeling good behavior yourself, and giving positive reinforcement go a long way in helping your teen establish great hygiene routines.
7. Self-Care Hygiene
Encouraging kids to pay attention to the details isn’t easy, but it’s something that they’ll need to start doing as a regular part of their adult life later on. Self-care hygiene is one way to show you care about yourself and is part of forming a positive first impression. Details such as having clean or well-kept fingernails and hands, having work clothes that aren’t wrinkled or dirty, or even your hair that looks neat are parts of making a positive first impression. This is why it’s important to help your kids start to become aware of how to manage this form of hygiene. A way that you can encourage their awareness is to model this behavior and tell them why you do it. “I spend a little extra time making sure I’m put together before I got to work, because I want people to know I’m responsible for myself and I take my job seriously.” You can make self- care a fun part of your routine together too! What better way to encourage your child’s self-care hygiene than by taking them shopping, or go get manicures together? You can spend quality time with them and reinforce positive behavior while also teaching that cleanliness is important. It might be fun, too
8. Sickness Hygiene
Germs and illness are a part of life, no matter how healthy you think your diet or immune system is. People will always get sick – some more than others but we can take steps to lessen those odds by practicing “sickness hygiene.” The way we interact with the world directly affects how susceptible we are to some illnesses. At any age, kids can start to learn about sickness hygiene and start to practice behaviors that will help them stay well. Hand washing and face washing is a big help, because our hands come in contact with more of our surroundings everyday than any other part of our body. Also, we use our hands to touch our face, prepare our food, put dishes away, put in contact lenses, and feed ourselves, etc. For younger kids, a way to initiate good hand washing and face washing practices is by making it fun. Sink Spinner can help you do just that! You can let your children pick out a soap at the store that can be their very own to put in the bathroom. When it’s time to wash their hands and face, they can turn on the spin mode, use their very own soap, and rinse their hands and face off in the water as it spins into the sink. Also, the spinning motions stops the need for them to splash water at their face, which usually gets all over the surrounding area. Sink Spinner can help instill good hygiene behavior by making it fun and will help limit some of the mess they leave behind. Before you know it, they’ll already be in the bathroom lathering up by the time you tell them to wash their hands and face!
The first part of our kids lives is very much a guided tour, for which we are their main source of information and direction along their path. Regardless of the fact that instruction and guidance might create friction, ultimately we know that our kids both need and appreciate the role we play in this part of their life. The first part of our kid’s lives is very much a guided tour; we’re their main source of information and it’s up to us to give them the guidance they need to form good habits and behaviors. As our kids grow up, they internalize and personalize many of the lessons that we have been teaching them. The importance of good hygiene is something that we can teach our kids from a very young age. Teaching them about the benefits and how to practice it early will have lasting effects for their entire life! The Sink Spinner is a great tool to help teach children proper practices of personal hygiene and we hope these suggestions help!
