Hygiene and Cleanliness

Personal hygiene habits

Personal hygiene includes regular bathing, cleaning teeth (brushing twice a day), cutting nails, wearing clean clothes, and washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet. These habits should be taught from childhood, because this is the age at which behaviour turns into a lasting habit.

Demonstrating the correct steps of handwashing in class practically — wet hands, apply soap, rub for at least 20 seconds, rinse with clean water, then dry — is considered the most effective teaching method. 'Global Handwashing Day' is observed every year on 15 October.

Common diseases from uncleanliness and prevention

Most diseases can be prevented by the simple habit of handwashing alone — this is the core message of hygiene education.

The Swachh Bharat Mission

The Government of India launched the 'Swachh Bharat Mission' on 2 October 2014 (Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary), aimed at ending open defecation, building a toilet in every home, and promoting community hygiene. This mission also gave priority to building toilets and spreading hygiene awareness in schools.

Community hygiene includes separately collecting wet (organic) and dry (inorganic) waste, cleaning drains, and not littering public spaces — this topic takes children beyond personal habits to an understanding of 'community responsibility'.

Community hygiene and a clean environment

Alongside personal habits, maintaining hygiene at the community level is equally necessary — regular cleaning of streets and neighbourhoods, keeping drains flowing smoothly, and not littering public spaces (parks, bus stands, markets) all together create a healthy environment. One person's clean habits are only fully effective when the whole community participates in them.

Child-led activities such as 'cleanliness monitoring squads' in schools build a sense of responsibility in children — where children take turns looking after the cleanliness of the classroom and campus themselves, preparing them to become responsible citizens in future too.

The link between hygiene and nutrition

Hygiene and nutrition are deeply connected — frequent diarrhoea or worm infections prevent the body from fully absorbing nutrition from food, which can increase malnutrition in children even when they're getting enough food. This is why health experts consider 'hygiene' not just a cleanliness issue but also a matter of nutrition and child development.

Special care of utensils and hands is needed when giving young children weaning food, because their immune system isn't fully developed at this age. This connects EVS topics such as 'hygiene' and 'balanced diet', giving children an understanding of overall health.

Standing water and prevention of mosquito-borne diseases

Hygiene isn't limited to the body and food — preventing water from collecting around us is equally important, because stagnant water is the main breeding ground for mosquitoes. Diseases such as dengue and malaria spread through mosquito bites, so regularly emptying water collected in coolers, pots and tyres is an effective prevention measure.

Hygiene is also important at the school level — regular cleaning of the drinking-water source, toilet cleanliness, and care taken in preparing and serving the mid-day meal are essential for protecting children's health. This is why, under the 'Clean School' campaign, priority is given to toilets, handwashing facilities and drinking-water arrangements in schools.

Food hygiene and safe drinking water

Food hygiene is equally important — washing fruits and vegetables with clean water before eating, keeping food that's out in the open covered from flies and dust, and avoiding stale food are basic habits that prevent illness. If drinking water is not from a safe source, it should be boiled or purified with a proper filter before drinking.

Every year on 10 February, India observes 'National Deworming Day', under which school children are given deworming medicine — this is a collective government initiative to prevent worm infections caused by lack of hygiene. In case of diarrhoea, giving ORS solution immediately is considered the primary treatment to prevent loss of water and salts from the body.

Taken together, these habits address the same risks covered earlier in this note: diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid and worm infections all trace back to contaminated water, food or unwashed hands, which is why hand hygiene, food hygiene and safe drinking water are best taught to children as one connected topic rather than a list of separate rules.

How to teach this to children

Practice Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

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