Personal hygiene is essential to everyone’s life, but it becomes especially important during the teenage years when the body undergoes significant changes. As teens navigate puberty, they experience things like increased sweat production, oilier skin, and the development of body odor. This, plus other changes, is why maintaining good personal hygiene is crucial for teenagers, not only for their health and comfort but also for their self-esteem and social interactions. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of personal hygiene for teens and provide practical tips to help teenagers establish a solid hygiene routine. Let’s dive into the world of hygiene for teens and explore best practices for discussing the tenuous topic of hygiene.
Personal Hygiene For Teens – A Pivotal Time
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Personal hygiene for teens isn’t a new concept they must learn from scratch. From an early age, children learn the basics of things like washing hands, brushing teeth, and other components of personal hygiene.
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However, personal hygiene for teens takes on a new level of significance as teenagers start to experience hormonal changes. Different physical changes begin to put a magnifying glass on the need and importance of good personal hygiene.Â
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These bodily changes also come at a time when teenagers are seeking new levels of independence and self-expression. Personal hygiene for teens becomes a place where individuals can choose different hygiene products and how they fit into their daily routine.
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Teenagers should have safe and healthy opportunities to learn and talk about good hygiene habits. From this foundation, teenagers can begin to build healthy habits that they can use well beyond their teenage years.
The Best Time To Talk About Personal Hygiene For Teens
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When is the best time to talk about hygiene for teens? First and foremost, we shouldn’t wait to let teenagers suffer from poor hygiene before addressing the topic. All too often, teenagers don’t learn about things like using deodorant until they experience the first-hand embarrassment of having bad body odor.
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But good teen hygiene isn’t just about how we handle body odor. Instead, good personal hygiene for teens is about practicing and promoting good health and overall well-being. For example, teenagers can learn about the importance of daily showering to remove germs, dead skin cells, and more. While this might help with things like body odor, it can also prevent illness, disease, and other harmful issues.
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Personal hygiene is about helping individuals find healthy habits preventing illness and disease while making social interactions more enjoyable. Altogether, talking about personal hygiene for teens can support them both in the short and long term. Therefore, one of the best times to start talking about personal hygiene for teens is in late elementary school or early middle school. Whether students are preteens or full-blown teenagers, they can begin to learn about the what, why, and how of good health and hygiene.
Important Considerations For Talking About Hygiene For Teens
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Personal hygiene has long been a topic discussed both at home and in school. Combined, teenagers learn and develop good hygiene habits. Whether you are an adult at home or a teacher in school, there are a few important considerations when discussing personal hygiene for teens.
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It Will Be Awkward, But Don’t Avoid –Â Some parts of personal hygiene can be awkward, but that doesn’t mean they should be avoided. For example, part of personal hygiene is how individuals take care of their genital areas. And just because that isn’t a “fun conversation,” it is crucial that we discuss things like menstrual hygiene as part of hygiene for teens so that we can ensure all individuals take care of themselves safely. There is a lot of misinformation online that can be dangerous or confusing, so it is vital that trusted adults provide safe and accurate information.
Don’t Be Afraid To Review – Before diving into some of the more sensitive topics, don’t be afraid to review and refresh on things like washing hands, oral hygiene, and other basics. This can create a safe place to get on the same page for what hygiene means, why it is essential, and how it looks and feels as part of our daily routines. This will also build trust and comfort before diving into other topics you might be wary to cover.
Don’t Go At It Alone –Â While we have used the term “talking” about personal hygiene, it is okay to tap into resources and materials to help cover the main hygiene topics for teens. There are many great resources like personal hygiene lesson plans that break down key concepts for good teen hygiene.Â
Hygiene For Teens In Action
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Throughout personal hygiene lesson plans, teenagers are encouraged to reflect and plan their own personal hygiene routine. Through this journey students can start to ask themselves important questions like:
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What areas of my own personal hygiene can I improve?
What personal hygiene products do I need to help me?
Is there a trusted adult or person I can talk to if I have questions about hygiene practices?
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This, plus learning the what, why, and how of personal hygiene for teens can equip individuals with practical skills and knowledge that will promote healthy habits.
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More On Personal Hygiene Lesson Plans
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The dreaded topic of personal hygiene has most students and teenagers rolling their eyes and zoning out in class. But with simple and straightforward personal hygiene lesson plans, teachers can cover the basics of good hygiene habits and support students as they become young adults building their own personal hygiene plans.
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One way or another, personal hygiene lesson plans need to be covered by most school districts across the country. PLT4M has developed a painless approach to teaching good hygiene practices via PE lesson plans. These lessons are great for middle or high school students, but we recommend introducing these by the middle school level!
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 PLT4M’s personal hygiene unit covers the following topics:Â
What Is Personal Hygiene
Hand Washing
Oral Hygiene
Showering/Bathing
Facial Hygiene
Deodorant
Wearing Clean Clothes
Nails
Menstrual Hygiene
Daily Personal Hygiene Routine Reflection
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Each lesson contains the topics’ what, why, when, and how via a written lesson. Each written lesson is complemented with a short, honest, and sometimes silly video. Finally, each lesson concludes with 3 reflection questions to check for students’ understanding.
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Check out free hygiene lesson plans here to sample what PLT4M offers in the world of health and hygiene:
FAQ
Does PLT4M have other health related units?
Yes, beyond our personal hygiene lesson plans, PLT4M also offers health related units on things like:
Does PLT4M have other types of non-health related units?
Yes, PLT4M has a full slate of physical activity units and PE lesson plans. Check out some of the other options below:
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