Personal hygiene begins back when you’re a child. You learn good hygiene from your parents. You watch them as they brush their teeth and clean their faces. Over the years, these things will change. From needing to only know how to brush your teeth, this will eventually transition to needing how to floss your teeth, choose the right deodorant, shower daily, change clothes, wash your underwear, and many more things that signify your transition to adulthood.
The list grows to accommodate new habits. This is crucial for a teen’s well-being, self-esteem, and confidence. Can you imagine if you let your teenage kids go to school smelling like they haven’t showered for a week? The backlash they would suffer from their peers is unimaginable
Hygiene is not only about cleanliness, but it’s about your kids’ discipline and focus. It’s about gaining confidence to face their peers. It’s about feeling good enough about themselves that they will pursue their interests and dreams. A lot of people don’t know that personal hygiene affects how teens see themselves. It is your responsibility as parents to make sure they grow up with an understanding of how critical personal hygiene is to their lives.
Go to the Dentist
Of course, teens don’t want to go to the dentist. They don’t want to go when they were kids. They certainly don’t want to go, too, when they were teens. No one loves going to the dentist, except for a few random souls. But dental health is as important as your physical health. It’s a component of that, in fact. There are a lot of diseases one can get from gum diseases and teeth problems.
The teenage years are also the perfect time to have an orthodontist put braces on your kids. Most teens suffer from misaligned teeth at this age, making it the best time to put on those teeth alignment devices. Make it a habit for your kids to visit the dentist at least twice a year for cleaning and general check-up.
Shower or Bathe Every Day
Teenagers do a lot of activities at that age. They go to school. Some of them work. Many of them engage in extracurricular activities. They also play sports and hang out with friends. They sweat a lot as a result of these things. Do you think your teens should just take a shower once a day? Make it a habit for them to shower before doing all their activities for the day and right before they go to bed. There are so many diseases one can get by going to bed while carrying all the germs and bacteria from the outdoors.
Start Using Deodorant
Encourage your kids to start using deodorant as soon as they reach the age of 9 and 13. However, for girls, make sure to use a deodorant that’s sensitive to the underarms. A lot of the formulations available in the market can cause their armpits to go dark. This will not contribute to their confidence, and may actually affect the way they see themselves. Consult a doctor if you are not sure of what brand or kind of deodorant or antiperspirant your teens should use.
Change Socks and Underwear Daily
It’s one thing for your teens to bathe daily, but it’s another thing for them to want to wear the same thing all over again. And yes, teens do that for some reason only known to them. You were once a teen, too, so you know about wanting to wear the same thing again and again. Encourage your kids to wear fresh clothes—especially socks and underwear—every day. Even if they didn’t manage to shower before going to school, they should make sure to change their undergarments.
Clip Their Nails Weekly
This is the time when your teenage girls want to grow their nails and put beautiful designs on them. You should stop them from wanting their nails to look good. However, let them know how important it is to at least trim the ends of their nails a week. This will remove the dirt hiding under their nails. This can cause a lot of health problems when unattended. Buy a nail care kit for them as this will be helpful in nail care and maintenance.
Teenage years are an exciting time for you as a family. This is the time when you will really start getting to know them and what they want to be in the future. The kids will start building their dreams. That will give you a glimpse of who they are going to be and what they will pursue. But also, this is the time to build up and develop their personal hygiene routine, so be present in their lives for this.
