Parenting: Five cleanliness tips you can impart on your teenager

From their raging hormones to constant mood flips, agreeably, teenagers can be a handful. During this period, if left unguided, many teens drift to having extremely messy rooms and opt not to help in any house chores at all. Even if you started training them when younger, the teen period is when you have to stamp your foot on the ground harder when it comes to cleanliness. No wonder they may find you uncool at the moment, but thank you for the lessons later. Here are some of the tips you might consider to impact these young adults

Brushing your teeth

Have you ever met someone whose breath stinks yet they can't stop talking? Time often seems to move so slowly and unless you excuse yourself, you'll definitely dislike what you'll be smelling. Teaching your teens proper oral hygiene should begin when they are younger as by the teen years, you may even start dealing with tooth cavities. To avoid all this craze, constantly repeat the need of brushing one's teeth twice a day. With all the sugars from junk that most teenagers like consuming, making it a family tradition to do this will encourage them more.

Washing hands often

Killing germs is made simpler by this simple act. Let your teens know the importance of cleaning their hands with soap and water as often as possible. Not only is this practice good but lifesaving. When you are home with your teens, show a good example by washing your hands from time to time. Since kids learn through observation, it will rub off on them that they should clean their hands more often.

Keeping body odour at bay

Aside from the mood swings, you know how body changes come knocking from left, right and centre during puberty. This actually calls for better hygiene practices, especially when tackling body odour. Interestingly, it is not uncommon to find some teens defying their bath routines and skipping it for days. Bathing on a daily basis should be a house rule. Buying your teen some pleasant smelling bathing soap and deodorant will encourage them to take keen interest in handling their body odour.

Cleaning the room in steps

If there's a battle that many parents deal with, it's ensuring that their teens declutter and clean their rooms. From cables and dirty clothes here, to sweets wrappers there, walking into some teenagers' rooms can be destabilizing. Creating a culture where you insist on no eating in their rooms so as to avoid food particles building up can go a long way in making their rooms trash-free. Let them understand that a dirty room is intolerable and is part of the house cleaning routine. You can do constant checks so as to ensure they are not endangering their health when in their rooms.

How to clean the house

Should teens, amidst extra homework and extra-curriculum participation be involved in house chores? Lately, this has been debatable among parenting circles. One thing for sure is that, they are set to be more responsible when they participate in their home cleaning. After all, they too enjoy the benefits of being in a clean environment and will transfer that to their homes. Begin with the less complex chores like cleaning the dishes, moving to the complex ones such as scrubbing the bathrooms. You can empower your teenager by teaching them how different products work, especially if you use different cleaning items. Offering an allowance as a reward from time to time can encourage them to participate more.

Much as parenting is challenging, working it through by making your kids have fun while at it can relive the burden. Sometimes you can allow them to pump up the stereo volume while cleaning up. Only be concerned that they get the cleanliness groove going.