There is a special science about the preservation and strengthening of people's health - hygiene. The word "hygiene" primarily means a daily routine, balanced proper nutrition, caring for your body, giving up bad habits, exercise, preventing the development of infectious diseases.
We all know about the daily routine. But do we all follow it? The daily routine trains willpower, organization, discipline. It is especially important for children. The child should adhere to something like this schedule:
- Wake up no later than 7 o'clock.
- Do gymnastics for 7-10 minutes. Wipe off with a damp towel. Take a shower.
- Food intake. You need to take food 1.5 - 2 hours before starting exercise. And 40 minutes after their end. Have dinner 2 to 2.5 hours before bedtime. Eat 4 - 5 times a day. Eat less salty, fatty and sugary foods.
- Homework should be done at the same hours. Take breaks every 45 minutes, during which you need to get up from the table, walk around. Do some exercise instead of sitting in front of the computer.
- Every student should help an adult. Clean up your room, throw out the trash, wash the dishes.
- In your free time, it is good to do reading, walking on the street, your favorite thing.
- Do not spend a lot of time in front of a TV or computer to the detriment of sleep. A constant lack of sleep is dangerous. It weakens the nervous system. Reduced efficiency, body defenses. But sleeping too long is harmful. The length of sleep depends on age. Children from 10 to 11 years old should sleep 10 - 10.5 hours. When children have intensive training, study, then you need to sleep more. Better to go to bed earlier and get up earlier from 10 pm to 6 am - 7 am.
- Cleanliness is the key to health. Throughout his life, each person should carefully take care of his body. It is important to care for the skin, hair, nails, and the oral cavity, wash your hands before eating and after using the toilet, take a shower in the morning and in the evening, keep your clothes and shoes clean, and your living quarters.
Healthy home climate
The air in the room should be cool:
- for a naked newborn 22 - 23 degrees Celsius;
- for children older than 20 - 22 degrees;
- for a dressed child 18 - 19 degrees;
- during sleep 18 - 19 degrees;
The air should be 40 - 60% humid:
- during the heating season we use an air purifier-humidifier under the control of a hygrometer.
The air must be fresh:
- through ventilation. When children are not at home, then every 1.5 hours for 10 minutes;
- through one window during the cold season and at night during daytime sleep;
- in warm weather constantly;
- the air should be clean, less dust collectors (carpets, etc.);
- regular wet cleaning.
Hygiene of the infant
Cyclicity and rhythm are important for a child. When his day is built on one chain of repetitive actions, the child will feel comfortable, will be confident in the next stage.
Your day should start with your daily toilet. It is best done before the first or second feed. It includes care for the eyes, nasal cavity, ears, skin. We wipe the eyes in the direction from the ear to the nose. A separate swab is moistened for each eye.
The toilet of the nasal cavity is carried out with flagella, it is categorically impossible to use cotton swabs, because they are thick enough for a small child and the delicate mucous membrane is very easy to injure. We moisten the flagella in Vaseline oil and gently clean the nasal passages from the crusts. We also clean the ears with cotton filaments.
It is imperative to take care of the baby's folds; after washing, we wipe them with baby cream or oil. It is necessary to change diapers often - at least 7 times a day, since frequent changes are the best prevention of diaper rash and diaper rash. Also, the prevention and treatment of diaper rash are: frequent air baths, ointments containing zinc under a diaper.
Massage and gymnastics
Massage improves blood circulation, lymph movement, removes congestion in tissues, stimulates metabolism, and improves mood. You need to do it half an hour before feeding or 40 minutes after. The air temperature should be approximately 22 - 23 degrees. The whole set of exercises should last 5-6 minutes. A professional massage therapist should do it. Nevertheless, a mother can do gymnastics with a child too: spread arms, stroke the chest, tummy clockwise, feet, back, hands. Exercises are also effective: bicycle with legs and abduction of the legs to the sides.
Hygiene is primarily about bathing. Does the child need bathing? There is an opinion that daily bathing tires the child, and he is not so dirty as to wash him every day. If you are seriously concerned about your child's health, then daily bathing is essential. Not only as a cleansing procedure, but also as a hardening procedure. In this case, children can be bathed 3-4 times a week with soap, the rest of the time in water or in a decoction of herbs.
The temperature of the therapeutic bath should be 36 - 37 degrees Celsius, the duration of bathing is from 8 to 10 minutes. If you have skin diseases, then you can bathe with a decoction of chamomile or string. If the child has nervous excitability, then you can take baths with pine extract. Until the navel heals, it is better to bathe the child in boiled water in a small bath with a temperature of 36 degrees. After the navel has healed, you can swim in a large bath and do not boil the water.
It is better to bathe a child in a large bathtub, because there is a lot of space and the child can calmly jerk his arms and legs, spend a lot of energy and, most importantly, in this bath he will get tired and hungry. This means that he will eat with appetite and sleep well. Hypertonicity disappears in the water and the baby learns to feel balance, to control his body.
Gymnastics in the water
- up to 3 months performed in the bath, then in the pool;
- usually takes 10 - 20 minutes, the duration is determined by the mood of the baby;
- forms the baby's love for water, allows you to feel confident in it.
Bathing technique
The child's head is on the mother's forearm, and the shoulder joint is wrapped with the fingers. At the beginning, postings are made on the back. Then the child reflexively repels the legs from the sides of the pool. When carrying the child on his stomach, we support him under the head. One hand supports the chest, presses the chin with the thumb, the other controls the back of the head. Preparation for diving. Watering the child from a jug. When water gets on the face, the child reflexively holds his breath, which trains the respiratory system. At the end, pour water over the child at room temperature - harden the baby.
Intimate hygiene rules for children
For washing, running water is used with a temperature similar to that of the body. Regular frequent use of soap gives more problems than giving up on it. It is best to use soap once a day maximum. If you wash every day with soap, it changes the pH of the environment, causes dryness, allergies. Gynecologists recommend using soap 2-3 times a week. Use special soap for children. Strict requirements are imposed on it: a minimum of dyes, no flavors. Also high requirements for Рh. Therefore, it is recommended to buy liquid soaps intended for a baby in the first year of life.
When we wash the girl, soap should not get on the mucous membranes, that is, deeper than the large labia. The girl washes herself with clean hands. Movements from the navel to the buttocks, and not vice versa, so that feces do not enter the genital tract. If there is no water, then only sanitary napkins can be used. They should not contain alcohol and antiseptics.
Often, parents of girls may face such a problem as synechia. Synechiae is a fusion, adhesion of the labia minora. Why is this happening? The work of the genitals is determined by the amount of sex hormones in the blood. The female sex hormones estrogen are very low in the blood of girls, because of this, the mucous membranes can stick together.
Synechiae of the labia minora is not a disease, but a physiological feature. In very rare cases, the labia minora completely grow together, and urine accumulates in the vagina, then this condition must be treated. Also, if there is redness, pain when urinating, itching, discharge. Treatment of synechia is carried out by applying an ointment containing estrogens, 2 times a day on the fusion area for 2 weeks. It is categorically impossible to separate the labia on your own.
Panties for girls should not squeeze, squeeze. They should be made of white material, as dyes can cause allergies, irritations, made from cotton or linen. Linen should be washed with baby soap or powders and must be rinsed and ironed. Baby clothes should not be washed with an adult. It is better not to wear panties at night, but sleep in pajamas or shorts.
Apart from washing the outside with soap, you don't need to do anything for the boy. That is, no one ever recommends something to train and delay. Often, parents are faced with a situation such as phimosis. Phimosis is a situation where head exposure is impossible. Phimosis is of two types - physiological or normal, and pathological.
Physiological phimosis is the inability to bare the head before the end of puberty. That is, phimosis up to 15 years old is physiology, or the norm. See your doctor if urination is difficult or painful, or signs of inflammation (pain, swelling, redness).
Boys' underpants should also be cotton. Artificial fabrics cause sweating, flaking, which can cause unpleasant odor and itching. Boys must wear boxer-style underpants, that is, there must be a testicular muff on the front of the underpants.
The testicles should be kept at a temperature 5 degrees lower than the body temperature, only in this case normal sperm will develop there. And when the panties are strongly pressed to the body (for example, swimming trunks), the testicles heat up to body temperature and may not perform their function.
Dental care
Show by your own example how to brush your child's teeth. You need to start caring for your teeth after they erupt, at 6 months, removing plaque with a napkin. It is possible to teach a child to brush his teeth in the morning and in the evening from the age of 2 - 3, when all his teeth have grown. From 2 to 4 years old, start using fluoride-free paste. Do not let young and middle-aged children use adult paste. The toothbrush is also selected according to age. It is better to rinse your mouth after eating. It's good for the enamel to give the child a cucumber or apple to chew on.
As soon as you teach your child to potty, remind him to wash his hands after him. Also wash your hands before eating and after walking.
Hardening
Hardening is a system of procedures that increase the body's resistance to environmental conditions. Through hardening, the body's defenses are trained, they are prepared for timely mobilization.
Air: during massage, bathing, every time you change clothes, with the door to the bathroom open.
Water: when bathing in a bathroom with a temperature of 33 - 32 degrees Celsius and a pool, pouring cold water after it 2 - 4 degrees lower, gradually lowering the temperature.
Walking barefoot: on the floor, on the ground, on water (ankle-deep) in a bath or lake.
The main hardening method is water. Tempering methods - dousing, rubdown, bathing, contrast shower. Combine them with exercise to increase the effectiveness of hardening.
Hardening rules
Do not start hardening immediately by pouring cold water. You should start with air and sun bathing. Before starting hardening, it is necessary to get rid of infections: runny nose, cough, caries, etc. It is better to start hardening in consultation with your doctor. The first water procedures - baths with water, wiping with cool water. Temper regularly, do not miss a single day. Temper gradually, lowering the temperature by 1 degree every two days.
Follow a work and rest routine
But remember that rest is not "doing nothing." This is not sitting in front of a computer or TV. This is an active type of activity when the child switches from one type of activity to another. These are walks, sports, creative activities, hiking, travel. Movement has a beneficial effect on the development of the nervous system, muscle strength, adaptation to environmental conditions. Muscle loads increase the respiratory rate, improve the cardiovascular system. Children with physical activity sleep better, look good, and are less stressed.
Skin protects us from harmful environmental conditions. During the day, beads of sweat and a layer of fat build up on the skin. If you do not wash it for a long time, sweat secretions accumulate on the skin, which retain dust particles. From it the skin becomes dirty and rough, ceases to protect the body. Of course you know all this. So tell all this to your children, just make it interesting, emotionally, with different adventures. For example, think of a story about good people who protect our bodies from evil bacteria. Make personal hygiene fun for your child.
