Health & Fitness

Monday April 20, 2009

Children and good hygiene

Malaysians believe in practising good hygiene with their children. After all, children follow the example their parents and elders set.

In a recent poll conducted by Lifebuoy in Kosmo! newspaper and CloveTwo.com (The Star Online) on how one would encourage a child to practise good hygiene, 72% of the total respondents said they practise good hygiene with their children; 19% explain to their children the importance of good hygiene; 7% reward or compliment their children; and 2% impose punishment on their children for every act of poor hygiene.

Nowadays, most people agree that it is unhealthy to use fear and caning to educate a child. It is believed to have negative consequences to the wellbeing of a child. However, parents can instead dole out duty-based punishment such as getting the child to help with house chores or withholding privileges such as not letting them watch TV for the day when they are caught committing hygiene "crimes".

Regardless of how parents teach their children, it is always good to educate children about proper hygiene from a young age. When children are taught early on about the benefits of proper hygiene such as taking a shower at least twice a day and especially right after coming back from school, these practices will become lifelong habits to them. Children who develop proper hygiene habits may also have a lower chance of frequently falling ill and thus have fewer visits to the doctor. This eventually would enable children to lead a healthy and happy childhood.

Most parents would think that it is a good move to explain the importance of good hygiene. But is merely explaining it enough to get their children to pick up good hygiene habits? Busy parents might have overlooked the need to ensure that their children put into practise what has been taught to them. Another question would be do parents actually practise what they preach? Parents play important role models in their children's lives. If a parent does not shower before changing into his/her pyjamas, how can they expect the children to always shower before changing into their pyjamas before going to bed?

Teachers can only teach children the concepts of good hygiene but parents play an important role in influencing their children to practise daily hygiene routines such as taking a shower after coming back from outdoor activities and before going to bed. Children nowadays do not just limit their learning in the classroom, they learn through observation of the people in their lives.

While it is good to reward your children when they practise good hygiene at home, try not to convey the message that rewards such as toys and money are the ultimate goal of practising good hygiene instead of having a healthy life. Hence, practising good hygiene with your children is considered by many as the most effective and preferred method of encouraging children to cultivate good hygiene habits. It is also a way for parents to spend more quality time with their children.

Parents can actually incorporate fun and creativity into educating their children to practise good hygiene together. For instance, they can create a jingle/song on the proper steps of handwashing and taking a shower to make hands-on learning more interesting to their children. These methods will also enable children to remember the proper hygiene steps better.

It is equally important that parents educate and encourage their children to use antibacterial soaps for proper hygiene care. Washing with just water is not sufficient to get rid of germs which can cause health problems such as fungal infections, diarrhoea and hand, foot and mouth disease among children. Lifebuoy antibacterial soap not only eliminates germs, it also moisturises and makes one's hands and body more fragrant. Lifebuoy focuses on advocating hygiene and arming its consumers with what is most important for their hygiene care and a healthy family.

To help us and other Malaysians know more about Malaysians' hygiene habits and how it affects our health, please continue to support our Hygiene Awareness Poll and vote for Question 5 today. We will have another article related to the 5th and last Question in two weeks' time.