Protecting children´s health 275
There are 3 important ways to help children grow up to be healthy and
protect them against many sicknesses:
• Nutritious food
• Cleanliness
• Immunizations
Nutritious food
It is important that children eat the most nutritious food they can
get, so they grow well and do not get sick. Above all, children should
get enough to eat—several times a day (see pages 265 to 266).
Cleanliness
Children are more likely to be healthy if they and their homes are kept
clean. Here are some guidelines:
• Wash children and change their clothes often.
• Teach children to always wash their hands when they get up in the
morning, after they pass stool, and before they eat or handle food.
• Teach children how to use latrines or toilets.
• Where hookworm exists, do not let children go barefoot; use sandals or shoes.
• Teach children to brush their teeth every day and do not give them a lot of sweets
or carbonated drinks.
• Cut fingernails very short.
• Do not let children who are sick or have sores, scabies, lice or ringworm sleep
with other children or share clothes or towels.
• Treat children quickly for scabies, ringworm, intestinal worms, and other
infections that spread easily from child to child.
• Do not let children put dirty things in their mouths, or let dogs, cats or other
animals lick their faces.
• Keep pigs, dogs, and chickens out of the house.
• Use only clean, boiled, or filtered water for drinking. This is especially important
for babies.
• To protect babies and children from malaria, if possible, have them sleep under
mosquito netting or bed nets that have been treated with insecticide.
A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities 2007