What to do (and not do) when teaching your kids about personal hygiene.

Thanks to our brand partner, EarClear

When my eldest daughter was about eight, she came home from school one day telling me about how her classroom teacher had a talk with all the kids about the importance of hygiene (my daughter likely used the words 'not smelling' instead though).

At first, I thought it was strange for the school to even be having this conversation — surely this was something parents handled at home? But then it hit me: I've needed help with this in my own daughters' early years, so, of course, other parents do too. And let's be honest, you can tell kids the same thing a 100 times and they'll still forget or push back.

I once went down a Google rabbit hole when I noticed a sweet, yet odd smell on my daughter's thick sports polos and, with my littlest love right now, I'm forever chatting to her about the importance of wiping her bottom from front to back whilst she's lazily perched on the loo refusing to wipe it herself.

Let's face it, teaching kids about personal hygiene can be tough — from reminders and resistance to feeling like you've failed when they get teased for dirty nails. Add all the confusing advice out there, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed.

To save you from late-night doom-scrolling, here are some dos and don'ts I've learnt about teaching kids personal hygiene over 15 years of parenting.

Hands.

Hand hygiene is something we teach our kids from a very young age, often without even realising it. From crawling on the floor to touching everything in the toy aisle, their hands are usually the first place germs land.

Teaching regular handwashing with soap and water is important — after using the bathroom, before eating and after playing outside or with pets. Show them how to scrub all parts of their hands, including between fingers and under nails, for at least 20 seconds. I also keep a small bottle of hand sanitiser handy for when we're out and soap and water aren't available.

While germs can sound scary, try not to make handwashing fear-based. Instead of saying something will make them sick, explain simply that washing hands helps keep us healthy. Making up a song can help! And while it's tricky, especially for little ones, encourage them to avoid touching their faces or putting fingers in their mouths.

Ears.

Ear hygiene is an often-overlooked part of kids' personal care. I was reminded of this recently when my youngest complained of an ear ache for the first time. A visit to the doctor revealed she had a wax build-up, which made me think more carefully about how we approach ear care at home.

During the warmer months and school holidays, kids often spend more time swimming and using headphones or earbuds. This can increase exposure to common ear concerns, including wax build-up and swimmer's ear. Like many families, we focus a lot on skincare, oral hygiene and sun protection, but ear care can easily take a back seat.

With gentle routines and age-appropriate products, ear hygiene can be a simple part of everyday personal care. EarClear is one option, offering a range of products designed to support ear hygiene:

Whatever approach you take, it's important to steer clear of cotton tips. Teach kids never to put anything inside their ears, as this can push wax deeper, scratch the ear canal or damage the eardrum. Instead, show them how to gently clean the outer ear using a clean washcloth or wipe, and remember that ears are self-cleaning, so this doesn't need to be done every day.

Skin and body.

Over the years, I've had to encourage and reinforce the importance of baths or showers. I started early with gentle soap play, beginning with making bubbles and then rinsing them off with water from a jug. Show your child how to wash without scrubbing to avoid hurting their thin, sensitive skin.

If your kids are like mine and play sport, sweat and are outside a lot, this is a great teachable moment around the importance of washing away germs, bacteria and odours that accumulate during these activities.

Afterwards, give them a squirt of gentle moisturiser, and let them go at it. My girls always loved when I joined in, drawing pictures in the cream before letting it soak in.

Image: Supplied.

Noses.

Fun fact: I watched my five-year-old daughter wipe a boogie on her car seat yesterday. Her sister got mad, I almost threw up in my mouth, and my husband quietly picked it off and sanitised her hands. Sound familiar? (Please tell me it does!)

As you can tell, we're still trying to teach our little girl to effectively blow her nose, but a friend shared some tips to get us started.

She told us to show her a tissue and explain that it's for catching boogies, then, let her play with it so she can feel it and familiarise herself with it. When she needs to blow her nose, we tell her to sniff in, and then blow, one nostril at a time into the tissue in her hand. When she does it, we celebrate!

Back to hand hygiene, definitely teach kids to wash their hands after touching, picking or blowing their nose. And on the picking, try to reduce this as much as possible and teach kids to, just like their toothbrush, never share tissues or hankies.

Hair and scalp.

Like body odour, unwashed hair can start to smell. Teaching young kids to wash their hair properly can be challenging due to getting shampoo in their eyes, fear of water and general resistance.

What helped me was getting in with them — washing my own hair first and showing how to massage shampoo into the scalp, rinse well, then apply conditioner to the lengths only and rinse thoroughly. My daughter even enjoys washing her dolls' hair alongside us.

Aim to wash hair one to two times a week, or up to three times if it's long. Knots are common, so teach children to brush their hair every morning and night using a detangling brush and spray. For long hair, plaiting it before bed can help prevent tangles and regular trims help a lot.

Image: Supplied.

Teeth.

Skipping brushing at night is one of the most common mistakes I used to make. If the kids were tired or we'd been out late, it just felt like the easy option. That all changed when my eldest ended up with a cavity.

After that, we started brushing together whenever we could. We'd make it fun by doing the same motions at the same time — circles, up and down, front and back. The only rule? Everyone uses their own toothbrush. Sharing is great… just not when it comes to oral hygiene.

Encourage your kids to brush twice a day with a good toothpaste and show them how to clean every surface of their teeth. As they get older, you can introduce flossing too.

Just like everything to do with parenting, teaching personal hygiene takes time. Try and make it fun and focus on the positive routines and independence. As we all know, kids imitate adults, so lead by example and get washing, wiping, moisturising and brushing!

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EarClear offers a complete range of effective and easy to use ear care products that help you clear your ears and relieve discomfort. Formulated with effective ingredients, EarClear is the solution to uncomfortable ear problems, including ear wax build up, swimmer's ear and ear ache. Give your ears the care they deserve with EarClear.
Always read the label and follow directions for use.