theChat.scot

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Talking about keeping clean and personal hygiene

At this age children can become more independent with the daily tasks of personal hygiene – although they might still need reminders and help.

Talking about keeping clean is also a good time for other chats like: Talking about: Names for private parts of the body and Talking about: Parts of my body are private.

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You can introduce the word ‘hygiene’ and talk about personal hygiene

What is hygiene? Hygiene is about keeping clean so that you can keep healthy. Every child has the right to be healthy, and to good hygiene.

You can explain that if you don’t keep your body and your clothes clean, germs can grow and make you ill. When it comes to your child’s body you can talk about teeth/mouth, hair, hands, feet, under arms, private parts and the clothes they wear.

What parts of our body do we need to keep clean? What things do we wear that we need to keep clean?

As you chat you can talk about when we get sweaty. You might introduce the words perspire and perspiration.

We get sweaty. We can say we perspire. Perspiration is another word for sweat. When do you get sweaty? When we get sweaty, we need to wash our body and change our clothes soon after.

You can make a game out of doing the laundry: “How many dirty or sweaty things do we have to collect and wash in this house?”

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Washing our hands

Children will know this is important but may still need reminded. Explain that this is a very important thing that everybody does that can help them keep clean and avoid germs– especially after they go to the toilet.

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Going to the toilet and keeping clean

Being independent when they go to the toilet will be important for your child. Of course, some children need assistance, and this will be for you to work on with your child. However, if your child is going independently then these could be the main messages that you want them to understand.

On a practical note, it may be helpful to show children how to use toilet paper, show them how to make a square with it and (with clothes on) give an example of how to wipe.

Boys will need to have urinals explained to them – they might be too little still to use many urinals.

When we go to the toilet this is our body getting rid of waste which our body doesn’t need. But this means that our urine and bowel movements are full of germs/bacteria that can smell bad or make us sick if they get back into our body.

(For boys) Boys can stand up to urinate (pee). Or they can sit on the toilet. When you urinate (pee) you must make sure the urine goes into the toilet or urinal. You need to shake your penis gently to get the last few drops in the toilet. You can use toilet paper to wipe your penis gently.

(For girls) When you urinate (pee) you will need some toilet paper, and you wipe yourself gently from front to back.

(For girls and boys) After you go to the toilet for a bowel movement (poo) you should get some toilet paper and wipe your bottom enough times to make sure it is all clean. You put the toilet paper in the toilet and flush it all away.

Every time you go to the toilet, you must wash your hands with soap and water.

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Safety and public toilets

Children this age should be accompanied if they go to a toilet in a public place like a supermarket, café, cinema, library or shopping mall.

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Animation/films

These are good prompts for more talking and learning. (When you watch something on Youtube, check first that it is the film you want to watch, you can set it up in advance of watching with your child to skip adverts).

In this BrainPOP video, Tim and Moby go beneath the surface to explore the importance of personal hygiene.

A video exploring what good personal hygiene means – washing your hands, washing your body, and brushing your teeth.

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Books

You might like to read these books together. Your school or library might have them, or you can ask the library if they will order a book for you.

This book teaches your child not just how to wash their hands, but why.

What if your dragon is having problems with personal hygiene? You teach him why it’s important to have good personal hygiene, socially and emotionally.

A book to teach children about personal hygiene and learning good hygiene habits to keep them germ-free. Covering key topics such as smelly breath, messy hair, body smells, stinky feet and dirty hands.