Personal hygiene is a big responsibility for kids. If you’re a caregiver, then you already know that children are (very) messy. Sometimes they’re sticky, sometimes they’re slimy, and sometimes they’re covered in mysterious grime tracked in from the park! 

Being messy is a part of being a kid! They’re exploring, playing, and using their senses to discover the world around them. 

That said, cleaning up and managing personal hygiene is a task that every child learns as they become more and more autonomous. While some kids are prone to keeping themselves clean, other kiddos might need a bit more encouragement with daily routines like brushing their teeth, taking baths, or washing their hands. 

If your kiddo is one who would go a week without bathing if they could, check out these activities that can help make personal hygiene feel like a fun game!

Many fun songs teach kids about personal hygiene. Songs can be educational and engaging, while also motivating kids to build healthy routines. 

For bathroom routines:

• Brushing Teeth – It’s recommended that kids brush for a full 2 minutes. For a child (okay, adults too), 2 minutes can feel like a lifetime. Challenge kids to brush their teeth for the entire length of the “Brushing Teeth” song. Turning those two minutes into a mini dance party and a competition can take the focus off doing a boring task. 

• Washing Hands – Kids should wash their hands for a full 20 seconds. The “Washing Hands” song is a great way for kids to learn when to wash their hands and the steps involved in keeping their hands clean! 

• Using the toilet – Parents who are potty training their children know the difficulties of this task! “The Poo Song” helps teach kids about bathroom hygiene and reinforces the steps of going potty. 

• Taking a bath or shower – While some kiddos love playing in the tub or taking a “big kid” shower, others might need some encouragement getting clean. It’s normal! Check out the Lingokids “Bathtime” playlist for songs that make bathtime a bit more groovy. 

2. Glitter hands 

”Glitter hands” is a great activity to teach kids about how germs stay on our hands if we don’t wash them well. 

How to play:

• Pour some glitter on your child’s hands. The glitter represents germs! 
• Have them give you a high five or hold hands with you. Then notice how the glitter transfers from their hands to yours! Explain how germs can spread easily if we don’t wash them away. 
• Head to the sink, grab some soap, and time how long it takes to wash away all the glitter. 

It’s helpful to keep the tone of this game light and playful. Germs aren’t always scary, but it’s important to wash our hands to stay healthy and keep the whole community safe! 

3. Charades 

Charades is a fun game for the whole family to play together! 

How to play:

• Write down different personal hygiene actions. For young kids, you can also use word cards with action images on them: Taking a shower, brushing teeth, washing hands, using the toilet, etc. 
• One family member at a time pulls a personal hygiene card and acts it out for the others to guess the action.
• Change roles after they have taken a guess and give them a turn acting out the personal hygiene cards. 
• To teach kids more vocabulary (toothbrush, soap, toilet paper), you can ask questions like ”what do you brush your teeth with?” or ”what do you wash your hands with?”

4. Matching puzzles 

This activity is a double whammy! Kids can learn about personal hygiene while building logic skills.

How to play:

• Cut pieces of paper into little square shapes. 
• Write activities on them (washing hands, brushing teeth). For younger children you can draw the actions.
• On the other pieces write down/draw the objects you need to do those actions (soap, toothbrush, water). 
• Have your child match the objects to the action!

5. Educational cartoons

Cartoons can also help reinforce personal hygiene by using characters to show how to go through the steps of getting clean. They can also teach kids why it’s important to have good hygiene. In the “Baby Bot Knows How to Use the Toilet” episode, kids can learn about why we go to the bathroom and how to clean ourselves properly. 

Personal Hygiene and Lingokids

Interested in learning more about how Lingokids helps teach children about life skills such as managing their personal hygiene? Download the app and check out the content on our YouTube channels. 

How do you teach your kiddos about personal hygiene? Let us know by tagging us on social media!