I cannot stress the importance of personal hygiene and how it is an essential ✅ part of our lives. I recommend teaching this aspect to kids from a very early age, like I have been doing.
If you are searching for different ways to get your kids to practice personal hygiene habits and maintain an overall sense of cleanliness and well-being, worry not because your search ends here.
Personal Hygiene Activities for Kids
I agree that sometimes, getting kids to complete their basic personal hygiene routines, like brushing their teeth and bathing, can be a time-consuming and challenging feat to accomplish, and these activities can make the process fuss-free and simpler.
You can educate your kids to practice good personal hygiene habits 😁 using fun and hands-on activities to help them understand the importance of adopting personal hygiene habits, self-care, and cleanliness in an engaging way.
In this blog, I have included a list of activities to enable your kids to incorporate good personal hygiene habits into their daily lives ⤵️.
Make Playdough Germs
Germs might seem like an abstract concept to your kids – something they cannot even see, so I found a solution – make real-looking germs with play dough.
My son and I enjoyed modeling playdough into germs 🦠 structures to teach him with a visual reference. Roll green playdough into balls and stick toothpicks or cotton swabs cut in halves only halfway through into the playdough to make them look like germs.
Complete a Word Search Puzzle
My son loves doing word search puzzles, so I adapt them for different themes for him to complete.
Print out a template of a word search puzzle 🧩 with words commonly associated with personal hygiene like shower, toothbrush, clean, wash, germs, dirt, floss, etc.
I guarantee your kids will enjoy finding the list of hidden words to complete the word search while expanding their vocabulary on hygiene.
Read Books
“The more that you read, the more things you will know.” – Dr. Seuss
On a warm afternoon, find a cozy spot and read story books with your kids 📖 that are centered around personal hygiene and the habits one should practice.
Some book recommendations you can add to their reading pile are –
Now Wash Your Hands! by Matt Carr
I Don’t Want to Wash My Hands! (Little Princess) by Tony Ross
Cutie Sue Fights the Germs by Kate Melton
Keeping Clean by Katie Wooley, to name a few.
If you have more book recommendations for kids, please leave them in the comment box.
Pro Tip:
I suggest you choose books with colorful images and illustrations for your kids to get excited about reading.
Eliminate Paper Germs
My son had so much fun doing this craft and learning activity.
Trace your kids’ hands and cut along to make the handprints. Kids can draw germs 🦠 of different kinds in emoji-like styles along with a soap bar, color them using crayons, and cut them. Glue the germs to the fingertips of the handprints and the soap bar to a toothpick.
Let your kids use the soap bar 🧼 attached to the toothpick to eliminate the germs on the fingertips of the handprints, and learn the importance of washing their hands.
Demonstrate Germ Transfers
You can demonstrate to your kids how germs travel 🔄 from one person to the other with a simple activity as a visual example.
Take a plateful of wheat flour and get your kids to press the palm sides of their hands on the plate to transfer flour particles to their hands.
Kids can then shake hands with their peers and find traces of flour particles transferred to their hands, like how germs spread and are carried to people and things.
Make a Soap Foam Sensory Bin
You can make a sensory bin for kids to play with and feel a sense of calm – fill a tray with water, add a few drops of dish soap, and lather to make the soap foam.
Sprinkle glitter on your kids’ hands to represent the germs. To get rid of the glittery germs, they can dip their hands in the soap foam and scrub their hands while indulging in some sensory play experience.
Pro Tip:
I sometimes add a drop or two of food coloring to elevate the color of the foam.
Practice the Hand-washing Routine
Medical experts advise to wash your hands 🧴 for about 20 seconds and follow seven steps to end up with thoroughly clean hands.
Teach your kids the 7-step routine to be followed while washing their hands and constantly practice with kids to help them become familiar with the entire process.
Pro Tip:
I found that my kids do the steps better while singing along to a counting song.
Practice Washing Hands with Air-Filled Gloves
My son enjoyed doing this activity so much, and I guarantee your kids will love it, too.
Take a pair of plastic gloves, blow air in the gloves like a balloon, and close the openings with sealing clips. Sprinkle a bit of glitter on the gloves to represent germs. Instruct your kids to wash the gloves 🧤 thoroughly with soap and water, following the 20-second hand washing rule to remove the glitter germs.
Pro Tip:
You can create the germs by replacing the glitter and having your kids draw on the gloves with markers and sketches.
Play a Game of Hygiene Charades
You can make learning engaging for your kids with a game of charades that is fun and exciting to play.
Split kids into pairs to play this game of charades and write down hygiene habits – brushing, combing, bathing, washing, and so on slips of paper for kids to act and guess as a team with personal hygiene cues within a limited time.
Pro Tip:
After each round of charades, discuss the particular hygiene habit with your kids to help them learn more.
Make Visual Charts and Posters
Involve kids in an art activity to make charts and posters 🖼️ with words, drawings, and illustrations on the basics of personal hygiene, habits to maintain, and its importance for kids to learn visually.
Place them in areas that kids can often see – the classroom, the hallways, outside the restroom, in their room, etc. as a constant reminder.
Try a Pepper and Soap Germ Experiment
If you are looking for ways to show the importance of washing hands to your kids, this fun and simple science experiment is the perfect activity.
Pour water 💧 into a shallow bowl and sprinkle a thin layer of powdered black pepper on the water surface to represent the germs.
Kids can take a small amount of liquid dish soap on their fingertips or cotton buds and touch the surface to watch the magic happen as the pepper germs scatter when they come in contact with the soap.
Try a Moldy Bread Experiment
Demonstrate to your kids the importance of washing hands regularly to prevent the spread of germs with a simple science experiment.
Place 2 slices of fresh bread 🍞 in individual ziplock pouches – use a clean hand to place one of the slices and an unwashed and dirty hand for the other slice. Label them as clean and dirty, and leave them in a cool place, unopened.
After a few days, the bread touched by unwashed hands and rubbed on dirty surfaces grows mold faster and becomes black due to exposure to more germs, unlike the one placed with a clean hand.
Pro Tip:
You can rub one slice of bread on dirty surfaces apart from touching it with unwashed hands for better results.
Match Hygiene Cards
My son loved playing this game to match tools and hygiene actions.
Print or draw images on two sets of individual cards 🃏 of tools like toothpaste and toothbrushes, shampoo, soap, mouthwash, nail clippers, hair brush, hand wipes, and so on, and the hygiene actions they are used for, like brushing teeth, bathing, washing hands, cutting nails, coughing, combing hair and so on.
Lay both sets of cards on the table for your kids to find the tool cards that match the personal hygiene processes it is commonly associated with.
Sort Good and Bad Habits
I found a simple and effective way to teach my son the difference between personal hygiene habits -the good and the bad through a fun sorting activity.
Write down ten good and ten bad personal hygiene habits on small slips of paper, fold and place them in a bowl. Let your kids pick the slips of paper one after the other, read the habit written, and sort it ✅ depending on whether it is good or bad.
Practice Positive Reinforcement
I recommend practicing positive reinforcement by appreciating and rewarding 👏🏼 your kids when they consistently follow their personal hygiene habits and routines to help motivate them to maintain good hygiene and take care of themselves better.
Pro Tip:
I made a chart to keep track of my son’s progress for the first initial years of his personal hygiene journey.
Create Handmade Soap
You can make your kids look forward to washing their hands and having a bath by getting them to make their own handmade soaps 🧼 with refreshing scents and colors they like in creative ways.
I found a few simple tutorial blogs to make some handmade soaps with my son, who loved the soap-making process.
Pro Tip:
I found some inspiration to experiment with different colors and various add-on exfoliants.
Learn to Floss with Playdough
I used this hands-on playdough activity to teach my son to floss his teeth.
Turn an ice cube tray upside-down with the back facing upwards to represent the teeth, and add pieces of playdough between the ice cube ridges.
Your kids can hold a pipe cleaner with both hands and try to clean the playdough chunks from in between to recreate the flossing process.
Pro Tip:
You can do this activity as a game where kids can compete to see who can floss the playdough bits out faster.
Sing Along to Songs
As my son would say – songs and music make everything better!
Sing along to the beats of a catchy and fun song 🎵 with your kids about washing their hands to guide and help them remember the routine better.
I found that including hand gestures while singing along to the songs can help kids register the routine in their memory better.
Complete a Hygiene Practice Survey
You can print out a simple survey template for kids to fill out ✍🏼 to help track their personal hygiene practices.
Frame the questions with a yes/no format so your kids can tick the options to understand and self-reflect on their habits to improve their hygiene habits and take better care of themselves.
Pro Tip:
You can look for question ideas online and tweak them to your preference.
Lead By Example
“Actions speak louder than words,” as the proverb goes, our kids tend to imitate and get influenced by the actions of people around them more than anything else.
You can be a role model and set an example by practicing good hygiene habits by following routine practices and guiding your kids – to brush their teeth, take a bath, wash their hair, trim and clean their nails, and clean themselves regularly.
Play Simon Says Hygiene Game
My son and his friends love playing “Simon Says,” a classic and popular game, so we tweaked this game to make it personal hygiene-related.
Kids can take turns leading the group by giving commands, starting with the phrase Simon Says, followed by actions the others have to mimic.
In this case, the commands are associated with personal hygiene habits for others to follow, like combing hair, brushing teeth, washing hands, and so on.
Track Brushing Routine
Make a tracking chart to check your kids’ progress in brushing their teeth 🪥🦷 every day in the morning and night, and instill a sense of routine in your kids to practice the same.
Write the days in rows and day and night symbols in columns. You can mark their progress by adding stickers every time they brush their teeth.
Watch Videos
Find a comfortable spot on your couch and watch educational and entertainment videos 🎦 on YouTube for your kids to learn about personal hygiene habits and the importance of being clean.
I found that my son engaged and learned better through visual media, and I continue to do the same for my toddler daughter.
Cut Paper Nails
Sometimes, kids can get fearful and overwhelmed when cutting nails, and a simple way to elevate their fear is by letting them understand the process with this fun activity.
You can make outline handprints by tracing along your kids’ hands and cutting them. Glue long and thin strips of paper on the fingers for the nails.
Now, your kids can use a pair of scissors to trim the paper nails 💅 to the needed length as a part of the hygiene practice.
Fill Coloring Sheets
My son enjoys relaxing on the couch and coloring away with his crayons.
Print coloring sheet templates with outlines of objects and practices related to personal hygiene habits for your kids to color 🖍️ and have a good relaxing time.
Pro Tip:
I have noticed that coloring sheets also keep my kids calm and happy.
Cut and Paste the Sequence
Kids can learn the correct sequence of washing their hands by doing this fun activity.
Print or draw images in squares with the steps involved in washing hands, but in a random order.
Instruct your kids to cut ✂️ the image squares first and then paste them in a sequence with all the steps of the hand-washing routine in order.
Make a Self-Care Booklet
Making a self-care booklet is a fun craft your kids will love and an informative medium they can rely on.
Bind a stack of papers together to make an empty booklet. Let your kids design this booklet by drawing illustrations and writing down notable points and notes in this booklet 📒 for them to sift through and help them become better at practicing personal hygiene routines.
Make a Coughing Cup Craft
With this fun and simple craft activity, your kids can learn the correct etiquette to be followed when they cough.
On one side of an upturned paper cup, draw a face with details with markers. Draw the mouth open to represent a person coughing. 😷 You can make the hands with paper in an accordion fold to cover the mouth easily.
Demonstrate the etiquettes to be followed when coughing or sneezing using the paper cup with its movable hands.
Brush the Teeth of the Toys
Kids can involve their toys 🧸 to have fun as they brush their teeth and maintain dental hygiene.
Let your kids choose a toy to place on the bathroom sink in the morning and at night as they brush. Once done brushing their teeth, kids can also brush their toy’s teeth with a play toothbrush as an engaging activity.
Pro Tip:
I also suggest that your kids practice brushing with a chattering teeth toy – a toy set of teeth like the ones they have.
Trace Glitter Germ Trails
Things are about to get messy with this activity for your kids to learn the importance of washing their hands.
Sprinkle glitter ✨ on your kids’ damp hands to make it stick, and let them shake hands with others and touch objects and surfaces like doors, toys, water bottles, and so on to transfer the glitter. Trace along the places your kids went to find trails of glitter germs that they left behind, indicating the spread of germs.
Pro Tip:
Make your kids practice the 20-second hand washing routine afterward to remove the glitter from their hands.
Play a Hygiene Bingo
Kids can play the classic bingo game but with a twist of personal hygiene elements as the theme.
Kids can tick ✔️ the pictures corresponding to the personal hygiene habits words you call out to have a fun time.
Introduce Professional People
Introduce kids to people – medical professionals or health specialists to talk with them about personal hygiene – its importance, the steps involved, and other relevant points.
My son learned a lot from these people and even watched demonstrations related to personal hygiene.
Pro Tip:
I would also suggest getting your family members associated with the medical field to talk to your kids about the same.
Engage in Discussions
I recommend encouraging your kids to engage in conversations and discussions 🗣️ with you on personal hygiene.
Allow them to voice their thoughts and opinions, ask questions, and clear doubts about the topic to help them practice good personal hygiene habits and learn what to do right.
Complete a Hygiene Reflection Form
Print templates for your kids to reflect on their personal hygiene and complete a form 📄 where they answer questions about some personal hygiene habits they follow and rate themselves from 1-10 on how hygienic they are.
Kids can identify habits they follow consistently and the ones they would like to improve and do better at.
Conclusion
The above activities have helped my kids understand the significance of incorporating personal hygiene and self-care habits to improve their quality of life and cleanliness. My daughter is still learning; of course, she is not even two!
I hope you enjoyed the activities that I put together to help your kids with their personal hygiene habits.
Please leave a comment below if you have anything more to share or any questions you want me to answer – I would love to hear from you. ❤️
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. Here to help you with play-based learning activities for kids. ( Check my Next startup Cledemy.Com)