Personal Hygiene and Cleanliness

Kindergarten · Health · Study Guide

Learn how keeping your body clean helps you stay healthy and feel good.

Personal hygiene means taking care of your body by keeping it clean. When we keep our bodies clean, we help stop germs from making us sick.

Washing your hands is one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy. We should wash our hands with soap and water before eating, after using the bathroom, after playing outside, and after sneezing or coughing. We should scrub our hands for about 20 seconds — that is about as long as it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice!

Brushing your teeth is also very important. We should brush our teeth twice a day — once in the morning and once before bed. Brushing removes tiny bits of food and sugar that can cause cavities.

Taking a bath or shower keeps our skin and hair clean. When we play outside, we can pick up dirt and germs on our bodies. Bathing washes all of that away.

Covering our mouth and nose when we sneeze or cough helps keep our germs from spreading to other people. The best way is to sneeze into your elbow so you do not get germs on your hands.

Keeping our fingernails clean and trimmed is important too. Dirt and germs can hide under long fingernails and then get into our mouth when we eat.

Key terms

hygiene

The practice of keeping your body clean to stay healthy

germs

Tiny living things that can make you sick if they get into your body

cavity

A hole in a tooth caused by sugar and germs — prevented by brushing

soap

A cleaning product used with water to wash away dirt and germs

bathing

Washing your body with water and soap to remove dirt and germs

Flashcards

Handwashing

Scrubbing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds to kill germs

Toothbrush

A tool used with toothpaste to clean your teeth and gums

Soap

A cleaning product that helps remove dirt and germs from your skin

Bath or shower

Washing your whole body with water and soap to stay clean

Germs

Tiny things that can make you sick — washing your hands helps get rid of them

Sneeze into elbow

The right way to sneeze so germs do not spread to other people

Toothpaste

A special paste used with a toothbrush to clean teeth and fight cavities

Fingernails

The hard coverings on your fingers — keep them clean and trimmed so germs cannot hide

Questions

1. When should you wash your hands?

   1. Only when they look dirty
   2. Before eating and after using the bathroom
   3. Only in the morning
   4. Never
   Show answer

   Answer: Before eating and after using the bathroom

   We should wash our hands before eating and after using the bathroom to stop germs from making us sick.

2. We should brush our teeth twice a day.

   Show answer

   Answer: True

   Brushing teeth twice a day — morning and night — removes food and prevents cavities.

3. What is the best way to sneeze or cough?

   1. Into your hands
   2. Into the air
   3. Into your elbow
   4. On your friend
   Show answer

   Answer: Into your elbow

   Sneezing into your elbow keeps germs off your hands so you do not spread them to others.

4. Washing your hands with soap and water helps get rid of ______.

   Show answer

   Answer: germs

   Soap and water work together to remove germs that can make us sick.

5. You only need to brush your teeth once a week.

   Show answer

   Answer: False

   We should brush our teeth twice every day, not just once a week, to keep them clean and healthy.

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