2Hygeine

Keepin’ it clean!

Having good hygiene is the best way to protect yourself and the children in your care from infectious diseases such as colds, flu and gastroenteritis. Germs are usually spread when we eat something that someone has touched with dirty hands.

Wash those hands

In order to reduce the spread of disease and germs you should make sure to take the following steps:

• Wash hands regularly with warm water and soap
• Clean areas that are often touched, like door handles, light switches, phones, remote controls, ipads
• Throw away used tissues
• Regularly wash bed linens and towels
• Have good personal hygiene including wearing deodorant and clean clothes
• Take care to have clean hands or wear gloves when preparing, storing and eating food
• Hand sanitiser is a good alternative to hand washing when necessary.  Carry a small bottle with you, but make sure you use it correctly and don’t let children ingest it.

Ah-Choo!

If a child has a cold, he or she may be sneezing, coughing or have a runny nose.

Encourage children to cough and sneeze into a tissue, or wash their hands every time they sneeze or cough on their hands.

This will help prevent the spread of germs. For children with a runny nose, encourage them to regularly blow their nose into a tissue and throw the tissues away.

For babies and toddlers, you will need to regularly wipe their nose, rather than letting it drip on its own.

Toilet hygiene

Toddlers love to explore and what a fascinating place the toilet is for them! Make sure you have your eyes on them all the time to make sure there are no hands down splashing around ! Urggh!!!

Between the ages of 2 and 3, most children will begin toilet training.  If so, ask the parents what methods they are using and if they have a small potty that the child uses. Toilet hygiene is important, and you may need to help younger children with wiping if they make a poo on the toilet.

For girls, it’s important to wipe from front to back, to avoid getting poo particles in the vagina, which can cause infections.

Be sure to always wash hands after using the toilet.

Brush those teeth

Dental hygiene is also important for children’s health.  Brushing teeth twice a day, as well as flossing, will help prevent tooth decay.

• Help children brush their teeth with an age-appropriate toothbrush and toothpaste and be sure to rinse afterward.
• Be sure children brush all surfaces of their teeth for at least 2 minutes – you can sing a song to pass the time!

Keep clean in the kitchen too!

Clean – make sure your hands and all food you prepare is clean and washed

Separate– use separate boards and utensils to prepare foods especially uncooked such as meat

Chill- make sure appropriate foods are stored in the refrigerator or freezer to avoid bacteria

Cook – Make sure raw foods are cooked before expiry dates using clean pots and pans

A summary of daily personal hygiene provided courtesy of The Raising Children Network