Wellness  

Teach your kids grooming habits

By Ijeoma Thomas-Odia

09 March 2019   |   3:03 am

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Grooming is an aspect of personal hygiene that is crucial for the maintenance of good health in kids. Parents are expected to teach their kids what it takes to live a healthy life by taking personal hygiene very serious, says motherhood and childcare advocate, Mercy O. Christian. “We let them know the benefits of keeping…

Brushing teeth. Photo credit: Huffington Post

Grooming is an aspect of personal hygiene that is crucial for the maintenance of good health in kids. Parents are expected to teach their kids what it takes to live a healthy life by taking personal hygiene very serious, says motherhood and childcare advocate, Mercy O. Christian. “We let them know the benefits of keeping their bodies and general wellbeing clean, leaving no room for germs and any questions from people they come in contact with.

“They should be aware of the consequences of not adhering to good personal hygiene which may affect their total being and their relationship with people in the long run. So it is very important we let the kids know this. But kids don’t really know what personal hygiene is except we as parents and guardians put them through. It’s much easier for them to learn much about personal hygiene while they are still growing up.”

The founder of MomsAreCaring (an online platform that addresses mother and child issues) said that kids see what we do everyday, which enforces them to do the same. “If for example your child sees the way you wash your hands often, brush your mouth twice daily, dress neatly and so on, he or she will eventually do the same now or later.”

On grooming habits kids should be equipped with, Christian said that we are expected to show them everything that matters to their wellbeing. It doesn’t have to be a particular thing. T

here is much for them to know about cleanliness that surrounds their wellbeing. We are expected to teach and show them how to wash their hands often, during/after school hours and after using the rest rooms. We should also groom them on the importance of brushing their mouths twice daily, washing every part of their bodies very well and clean. We should also train them on how to wash and keep their clothes and under-wears clean, these are necessities and matters when it comes to personal hygiene.

The parenting enthusiast also stressed that children should become aware of their grooming habits as soon as they can see you walk past, so far they are no longer new born – unlike when they are newborns, they don’t get to see you or know what you do until few days or weeks later.

So, as long as they see you and start making faces to express their emotions when they see something or someone, you start grooming them. You can start little by little depending on their level of understanding. At an earlier age, we are expected to teach our kids good personal hygiene by using modeling and through play, like the nursery rhyme that says ‘this is the way I wash my hand….’ you know kids love learning through play. It’s fun to them and they assimilate quickly.

Grooming your kids improve parenting, suffice that you have done your job well. It improves parenting when you begin to see the results of all that you have taught your kids about personal hygiene. It also enhances parenting when your kids are confident with their personal hygiene and can also reach out to other children who may not be getting it right.

“We are not just expected to tell our children to be clean and remain clean at all times. We are to lead by example. We don’t expect our kids to brush their mouth twice daily when we as parents or guardians wash only once a day. Kids do watch and study us every time and this can either impact on them negatively or positively. So whatever that matters to personal hygiene that we want our kids to learn must be done with the use of modeling for easy assimilation. With that said, they will have an idea on how it should be done properly, and as time goes on through practice, they will become perfect”, Christian added.