Dietary Hygiene Practice For Pre-Schooler Children

DIETARY HYGIENE PRACTICE FOR PRE-SCHOOLER CHILDREN

Dietary hygiene denotes health preservation by proper maintaining healthy practices, lifestyles, proper handling of foods, to be careful about our surrounding where we are taking foods by preventing and minimizing the chance of spreading disease along with foods.

Some Tips To Maintain Good Hygiene To Our Preschoolers:

• Handwashing: It is the easiest way of getting rid of dirt and germs which make our kids sick. Make a practice of washing hands frequently with hand wash or soap for at least 20 seconds after using toilets, before and after taking foods, after blowing nose, after playing or coming from outside to clean our hands and also teach them to rinse and dry their hands properly after washing. Cut their nails regularly. If handwashing is not possible because of the unavailability of water then train them to sanitize by using sanitizer. If both sanitizer and handwash is not available such as in rural area then using ash is a good option for removing bacteria from hands.
• Regular Brushing: Generally kids avoids brushing and making excuse so ask them to brush with parents because brushing is very necessary to maintain good oral hygiene. Oral hygiene is very poor among kids and a maximum of them are suffering from dental carries. Daily care is essential to avoid dental caries by providing supervision while brushing and flossing, by checking their frequent sugary snacks, regular breastfeeding after one year and by avoiding night bottle feeding of juices or milk ,except water. Lastly provide them fluoridated toothpaste which makes their enamel strong.
• Covering mouth while Sneezing and Coughing: Teach our child to cover their mouth with the handkerchief, tissue paper while sneezing or coughing during cold as these germs spread very easily through hands while taking foods and make our child sick.
• Dietary Hygiene: It is a very essential to keep away from foodborne illness and digestive problems by proper maintaining hygiene.
• Ask them to wash hands before and after taking meals and snacks.
• Tell them to avoid finger licking.
• Ask them to drink covered and filtered water only.
• Teach them to wash the fruits before eating.
• Tell them to have foods in clean places, tables or not in floors with pets.
• Ask not to take foods from outside sources while mixing with other kids in a playground or also not to eat with dirty hands while playing outside.
• Tell them to throw away the food which drops outside the plate or floor.
• Tell them not to watch television while eating as it delays in eating time and flies get a scope to infect the food.
• Teach them not to eat leftover or uncovered foods.

Though it is very difficult to teach preschoolers about dietary hygiene but we can try it by regularly talking with them about good diet hygiene or by using colorful books or posters to make them clear. We can also make them understands by doing dramatic plays. By doing all this they will learn the healthy dietary habits which keep them safe from various diseases.