Personal hygiene is important even for young children, and toddlers are no exception. At this age, approximately 18 months to 3 years, a toddler can begin to learn hygiene practices such as bathing, brushing her teeth, combing her hair, washing her hands, using tissues and covering her mouth when she coughs. Although she may need assistance completing these practices, she can begin to learn them now through examples from role models and activities.
Books and Poems
Books and poems written especially for toddlers can help relay important messages about personal hygiene. These publications talk about the importance of tasks such as hand-washing, teeth cleaning, bathing and preventing the spread of germs in a way that is easy for toddlers to understand. A toddler can spend time studying the pictures and illustrations as the characters in the stories teach him personal hygiene. Discussing the message of the story or poem with a parent or caregiver afterward will make the lesson even more memorable.
Songs
Songs with tunes that are easy for a toddler to remember can help her remember simple hygiene techniques. Teaching her to sing the "Happy Birthday" song all the way through while she washes her hands or brushes her hair can help her remember how long she should spend on these tasks. She can also get excited about brushing her teeth if the task is done alongside a parent or caregiver singing "This is the way we brush our teeth, brush our teeth, brush our teeth" to the tune of "The Wheels on the Bus." Singing during teeth-brushing sounds silly and makes the task enjoyable.
Crafts
A toddler can help make labels and signs to assist with helping him to remember important personal hygiene steps. Labels in the bathroom can indicate the location of hot and cold faucet controls, hand soap, the towel rack, toilet paper and the stool he uses to reach the sink. The labels can be decorated with crayons, markers and stickers. A sign near the bathtub can remind him of bath-time tasks, such as washing his face, hair, armpits, feet, genitals, bottom, ears and the areas between his fingers and toes. He can add pictures and decorations to the sign, which can be laminated for water protection near the bathtub.
Pretend Play
Pretend play is an important way that a toddler learns and demonstrates social and personal skills. Practicing on a doll or stuffed animal can help her to remember personal hygiene steps. She can give her doll a pretend bath, change her dirty clothes, brush her hair and pretend to brush her teeth. A parent or caregiver can ask role-playing questions such as "What do you do if your doll has a runny nose?" or "Should your doll wash her hands after using the potty?"
Games
Interactive games are learning tools for toddlers. A toddler can have a competition with his parent or caregiver, such as seeing who can make their hands the soapiest in the sink. Finger puppets, placed on each finger of one hand, can represent hand-washing rules such as applying soap, using warm water, washing for at least twenty seconds, rinsing and drying hands. The University of Nebraska at Lincoln suggests using small bean bag toys to represent germs that can be tossed into a container five feet away that represents a sink, teaching him the importance of putting germs in the sink where they belong.
References
- Johnson's: Teaching Hygiene to Your Toddler
- National Childcare Accreditation Council Inc.: Supporting Children's Hygiene Skills
- Family Education: Your Preschooler and Hygiene
- University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County: Sink Those Germs
- Minnesota Department of Health: Hand Washing
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