If the most important lessons are the practical ones, then health and hygiene must rate among the most important components of a child’s education. Unfortunately, basic concepts such as “wash your hands” or “eat nutritious food,” are often lost in a sea of academics, but these lessons are paramount to the whole child. After all, little learning is done in a roomful of sleepy preschoolers – or, worse yet, one that is empty due to sickness.

“Teaching children healthy hygiene habits at a young age because these are routines they will carry with them through life,” says Dr. James Sears, pediatrician and author of five books on childcare. So start dispensing those life-lessons – and those sanitizing wipes – to make sure your students are happy and healthy through the school year and beyond.

 
Hands Up!
Of course, all areas of health and hygiene are important, but there’s only so much time in a school day. What’s the most crucial thing to teach young children?

“Hand-washing, hand-washing, hand-washing!” says Sears. “This is the most important part of personal hygiene at any age, and it’s very important to get kids in the habit at a young age.”

Many of the activities planned for preschool and elementary classrooms – including such things as manipulating clay, finger painting and writing on chalk boards – encourage kids to get down and dirty while learning. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you take the opportunity to follow up with a lesson on the importance of cleaning the hands.

That importance cannot be emphasized too much. Some bacteria and viruses can live on surfaces such as desktops and cafeteria tables for up to two hours – plenty of time for a child to touch the surface then scratch his nose, chew on his thumb or hold hands with a classmate. Children average six to ten colds a year – more than an adult’s two to four – and those colds add up to lost learning time. Studies by the Center for Disease Control reveal that nearly 22 million school days are lost annually due to the common cold. That’s a lot of lost learning time!

To assure your classroom is a place that encourages healthy hand-cleansing, make sure the equipment is at the right height. Low sinks are convenient for young children, but a sturdy step stool near a regular sink may be preferred so an adult is necessary to turn the faucets. Make sure you have plenty of soap and paper towels on hand, and a trash can nearby for proper disposal.

Hand-cleaning between activities should be part of your clean-up ritual. Make sure the child uses plenty of soap and hot water (or, in its absence, an anti-bacterial solution). Remember it takes 20 to 30 seconds – or as long as a chorus of “The Alphabet Song” – to get hands cleaned properly. 

Make sure you set a good example by practicing what you teach. Suds up after every activity and before every food-tasting experience and your students will model your behavior.

GERMane Lessons
Let’s face it, there’s no such thing as a germ-free classroom. But young students should be taught about germs and their spread early in their academic career, so they know how to stay healthy (resulting in a healthy classroom, too!).

“It’s never easy to ward off germs, especially during the cold and rainy seasons when kids are cooped up in the building all day,” says Angie Clarke, a teaching associate for Teaching That Makes Sense Inc. She reigns in the bugs in her classroom – and imparts an important hygiene lesson – by instructing her students on the proper way to sneeze and cough.

“We tell them to cover their mouths and noses, but they usually use their hands to do it,” says Clarke. “The moment they touch anything, they’ve passed on bacteria.”

“I have my students practice sneezing and coughing into the bend of their elbow,” says Clarke. “They thought it was funny, but it kept the germ population from growing.”

Sears recommends teaching preschoolers about germs using cute names, such as “tummy bugs,” “sneezy germs” and “cough-critters.” “Then you can have fun wiping away the cooties with disinfecting wipes,” he adds.

Registered nurse Pam Culliton, director of the health and wellness center at Maryville University, suggests using a spray bottle with water or paint to demonstrate the spray of germs in every cough or sneeze. “There are also many science-oriented kits that can be accessed to further the understanding of our world and the part germs play, both good and bad,” she says.

Healthy Home Habits
Hopefully, many of your students will already know the basics of health and hygiene before they enter the classroom. However, you can’t take it for granted that a child has been taught to bathe regularly, get enough sleep, eat the right foods or exercise every day. Therefore, the early childhood classroom teacher needs to be both an instructor and a role model when it comes to good habits.

“I tell children part of life is caring for our bodies,” says Lonna Corder, founding teacher of “The Playgroup.” She suggests letting children wash baby dolls to learn the proper way they should cleanse each evening. Corder also has the children keep a comb in their cubbies for personal hair care. “We need to emphasis good grooming and cleanliness when the child is young,” she says.

Make sure active play is part of your day, and let the children know that play is important to healthy growth. Also teach stretching and other fun dance moves to music, which will help the child to keep exercising even when no play mates are available.

Another musical idea – this one to the tune of “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush.” Try singing while demonstrating the correct way to practice healthy hygiene. For example: “This is the way we blow our nose” (as you breath into your elbow); “This is the way we bend and stretch” (doing toe touches); “This is the way we brush our teeth” (while demonstrating with a toothbrush) and so on. Let your students develop verses of their own.

Always remember the effectiveness of teaching by example. Don’t choose a “couch potato” activity when the sun is shining and the playground’s empty. And make sure snack time reflects your healthy choices – serve fresh fruit and veggies instead of crackers and chips.

Smile Savers
Since smiles should last a lifetime, proper dental care should be a part of all early childhood curriculums. “When children know how to practice positive oral hygiene and actively do so, they prevent cavities, infections and more, thus reducing time lost from school,” points out Dr. Bradley P. Welch, DDS, of Sunstone Dental Care LLC.

Welch says teaching good oral hygiene should be fun, not frightening. Use character toothbrushes and pleasant tasting toothpastes to encourage brushing, as well as a timer to indicate how long they need to brush. “As with any learning experience, the more fun it is, the better one learns the material,” says Welch.

“A game to see who is doing their brushing daily and rewards for those maintaining levels that have been set will keep it fun,” he adds. He suggests visits from favorite characters and role models should also include a mention of their good oral hygiene habits.

The final piece of advice may seem evident, but it’s the rule most often broken. If you’re sick, stay home. And that goes for the teacher, too. “As the teacher, if you’re not feeling well, stay home,” says Clarke. “By coming to school, you’re passing on germs and you’ll end up getting so worn down you’ll miss two or three days instead of just one.”