Is Your Child Refusing to Practice Their Hygiene?

As a preschool in Potomac, Maryland, we know very well some of the challenges parents face in developing their children’s self-management skills.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in teaching them cleaning & sanitizing. We’ve all been there before: either your child is sensitive, has an attention span too finicky to do “boring” tasks, or is just testing out their ability to do what they want.

It’s frustrating, but it’s also an important skill set they must have for physical, mental, and social wellness. More than just a matter of discipline, learning personal hygiene is also learning how to look after oneself.

As your trusted daycare center, we gladly tap into our expertise to share some helpful tips for cultivating good hygiene when your child is uncooperative:

• Teach them about the consequences.
  Contrary to popular belief, children can understand cause and effect, so long as you scale it to their level. Tell them how not bathing regularly can make them feel itchy or smell bad, or how not brushing your teeth can give you tooth decay. Take care to frame this as a matter of their continuing comfort and wellness, and not as threats.
• Reward proactive behaviors.
  Always recognize any effort to do hygiene tasks. You can even reward them with something tangible or immediate, like stickers or extra time with their toys. Take care that these act as incentives, not bribes. The last thing you want is for them to make you beg them to take a bath.
• Use some educational resources.
  Sometimes, they will respond to more engaging ways of learning skills. You can always provide them with books or videos that better illustrate what good hygiene does.

What do you do to teach your child to maintain their hygiene? As your friendly provider of child care in Maryland, we would love to hear how you develop your child’s self-care capabilities. For more information, contact A To Z Fun Care Preschool & Child Care Center today.