Many parents are aware that basic hygiene is not only a social necessity but also helps in reducing the spread of infectious disease.

Hygiene practices can protect our children from diseases that can be caused by germs. As parents we are aware that there are germs lurking out there ready to attack our children. But as much as we are obsessed with germs, infections and bacteria our children are equally obsessed and attracted to touch, feel and at times even taste it. Being the guardians, it is our responsibility to keep them healthy and safe but what we forget is that we too had a childhood playing in the dirt and we survived just fine.

So it doesn’t make much sense to drive our kids insane by continuously telling them to wash their hands and avoid touching dirty-looking stuff. Some doctors even recommend that children should be allowed to play with dirt and soil as it helps their immune system get used to various kinds of germs. What we as parents have to do is learn to draw that line, be a little moderate and take things a little easy. The one thing we can continuously do is to keep educating them about good hygiene practices and how their body and different organs work. Read on and you’ll learn a lot to pass on to your child.

Why do Children Need to Follow a Hygiene Routine?

Children’s bodies work day after day — digesting food, pumping blood and oxygen, sending signals from the brains to the nerves and much more. But there is a group of tiny invaders that can make children sick — they're called germs. Germs are tiny organisms or living things that can cause diseases. Germs are found all over the world, in all kinds of places. There are four major types of germs: viruses, protozoa, fungi and bacteria. Germs are micro-organisms and they creep into our children’s bodies without being noticed. When they get in the body, parents won’t know what hit their children until children have symptoms that indicate that they have been attacked by germs!

What do Germs do?

Once germs invade a child’s bodies, they snuggle in for a long stay. They gobble up nutrients and energy, and can produce toxins. Those toxins can cause symptoms of common infections, like fevers, sniffles, rashes, coughing, vomiting, and diarrhea. Some of the likely infections that they can cause are tabulated below.