Kids do not always see the point of keeping themselves clean, especially when they’re busy having fun. Cleanliness can sometimes even be quite a chore when you’re a young child with so many other things to do.
However, with the recent spread of alarmingly dangerous diseases everywhere, good hygiene habits will definitely go a long way in keeping our loved ones well and free from harmful diseases. Here are some useful pointers to keep in mind when it comes to hygiene and cleanliness.
Forming lifelong habits
Most habits, especially those that last a lifetime, are formed during childhood. We tend to form all sorts of habits from the time we are young. This is why it’s really important that kids are taught and reinforced on daily hygiene habits such as morning and night teeth-brushing, hand washing, and so on. They are the keys to a healthier life.
Tip: Try making bathtime a precursor to a relaxing bedtime story. As young kids take part in these actions daily, they will start to accept them as part of their daily lives.
When a child begins to attend pre-school, he or she will begin to pick up hygiene lessons at school and this can serve you if you know how to use it in your favour. At this age, since all their other friends are also doing the same, they find it fun and acceptable to wash their hands, use a hankie, and so on.
Sometimes, all you will have to do is to reinforce good hygiene practices at every opportunity. For instance, you can remind your child to wash his or her hands for at least 20 seconds before every meal, after using the bathroom and after coming in from playing outside.
Are those hands clean?
Disease-causing germs on unwashed hands can enter the body when a person touches their nose, mouth, and open wounds. Alternatively, these germs can spread to others by handling shared items and touching common surfaces. So, teaching kids to wash their hands properly greatly reduces the risk of transmission.
Hands should be washed before:
- Eating or serving food
- Preparing/helping to prepare a meal
- Putting in contact lenses
- Tending to or helping to tend to someone who is sick or treating a break in the skin
Wash hands after:
- Using the bathroom
- Taking out trash
- Playing with, touching, or cleaning up after pets, especially reptiles and exotic animals
- Touching uncooked food
- Caring for a sick person
- Blowing the nose, coughing or sneezing
Cleanliness at Home
As a parent, your household hygiene habits count too. Be diligent about cleaning and disinfecting tables, countertops, and other frequently touched surfaces. Disinfect the hard surfaces that kids touch frequently, including doorknobs, tables, light switches, and countertops. However, do remember that all food contact surfaces must be rinsed after disinfection. Sanitize soft surfaces like bags or backpacks. These practices will help you to stop the spread of germs your child may bring home from school or the playground.
Get the whole family involved
Most households with school-going kids will find it a challenge to maintain a balance in chores within the household, especially when it comes to designating cleaning duties to the kids. This is especially when the school year is in full swing, where family schedules can be overtaken by after-school activities, special events, sports practice, and homework. However, it is still essential that important cleaning tasks be carried out within the household to prevent the spread of germs at home.
With some planning ahead, you can indeed turn cleaning into a daily habit for everyone and if done right, a family can fit some important tasks into their daily routines – and make cleaning quicker and easier, too.
Involve your kids – Ask your child or children to help you come up with a chore assignment plan. By taking ownership, they will be more engaged and feel like a part of the solution to keep the house looking clean and staying germ-free!
Assign a family member to each specific cleaning task. Each person can hold multiple responsibilities, such as taking out the trash and doing the dishes. To keep things lively and also to beat boredom, tasks can be rotated to either weekly or fortnightly.
Create a rotating weekly schedule or cleaning wheel to show which family member’s turn it is to help with a certain task, like sweeping, folding laundry, or taking out the garbage.
Beneficial habits to form
Kids rooms. Make sure your child straightens up his or her room at a certain time every day, be it before bedtime or when they return from school.
Clean bathrooms. Have a ruling where the last person out of the shower is to spray the bathroom with a daily cleanser, or squeegee shower walls and doors. Using a disinfectant spray each day can help prevent the growth of mold and mildew in showers and tubs.
- Kitchen habits. Clean the kitchen sink every day. Don’t forget to clean cutting boards that are used with raw meats, poultry, and seafood.
- Wipe away! Wipe down kitchen and bathroom counters with a disinfecting wipe every night before bed — moist surfaces breed more germs than dry surfaces.
- Debris-free. Empty backpacks daily to get rid of debris.
- Ready for use. Replenish hand sanitizer and tissues as needed.
- Donate regularly. Set up a box or bin for “items to donate” and regularly add the toys, clothes, and other items you are no longer using to keep clutter minimized.
Disinfect & protect
Anti-bacterial products can be found in almost every household in Malaysia. They can be in the form of household cleaning products and even personal hygiene products. In its broadest definition, an antibacterial is an agent that interferes with the growth and reproduction of bacteria. Antibacterials are now most commonly described as agents used to disinfect surfaces and eliminate potentially harmful bacteria.
List of antibacterial products available in the market:
- Hand soap/gels
- Disinfectant sprays
- Floor washes
- Laundry powders/liquid
- Bath gel/soap
- Kitchen cleaning products
Free your household of dust and mold
Dust and mold are often not treated as potential health hazards, but in truth, they certainly are. Every household should be concerned about them, for they can cause serious respiratory problems, among others. Here’s how you can keep them under control:
- Vacuum carpets every week.
- Routinely use non-residue producing disinfectants for bathtubs, shower curtains, sinks,
and other areas that are often wet. - If you have a ventilation fan in your bathroom, make sure to turn it on whenever you use the shower, as it helps keep mold from growing
