24 Sanitation and Cleanliness for a Healthy Environment
Sanitation for children’s health
Children have a high risk of illness from poor sanitation. While
adults may live with diarrhea diseases and worms, children die
from these illnesses.
It is important for children to have toilets that are safe
and that feel safe. When children feel safe using the toilet
and have an easy way to stay clean, they get sick less. Pit
toilets can be dangerous and frightening for small children
because of the darkness and the large hole. Many children,
especially girls, leave school because safe toilets and
healthy conditions are not provided for them.
Allowing children to help build toilets and teaching
them about illness caused by poor sanitation are some
ways to help them develop healthy behaviors.
Every school should have safe sanitation and a way
for children to wash hands after using the toilet.
Helping small children stay clean
Many people believe that children’s feces are not as dangerous as those of adults. This
is not true. All feces carry many harmful germs, and handling them can cause serious
illness in children and adults.
In rural areas, parents can help children too small to use a toilet by making a hole
near the house, and covering the hole after each use. It is also important to:
• Wash babies and young children after they defecate.
• Wash hands after handling babies’ feces.
• Bury the feces or put them in a safe toilet.
• Wash soiled clothes away from drinking water sources.
Teach boys and girls to wipe or wash carefully and to wash their
hands after using the toilet. Girls especially should be taught to
wipe from front to back. Wiping forward can spread germs into
the urinary opening and the vagina, causing bladder infection
and other health problems.