The Role of Parental Communication in Building Early Childhood

Personal Hygiene Independence

Vevi Sunarti

, Ismaniar

, Fhadila Nuryantika

, Rachma Shofy

, Sri Murni

and M. H. D. Natsir

Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia

STKIP Bandar Lampung, Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

Keywords: Parental Communication, Personal Hygiene Independence, Early Childhood, Non-Formal Education.

Abstract: This study examines the relationship between parental communication and children's independence in

maintaining personal hygiene. This study focuses on children aged 5-6 years, who still have difficulty in

independent hygiene. With a quantitative correlational approach, data were collected through questionnaires

given to 34 parents selected using cluster random sampling techniques. The results showed that parental

communication has a significant influence on the level of children's independence in maintaining personal

hygiene. Parents who actively communicate with their children tend to build a higher awareness of the

importance of hygiene. In addition, positive forms of communication, such as providing clear directions and

providing direct examples, have been shown to increase children's motivation to care for themselves

independently. Thus, active parental involvement in daily communication plays an important role in shaping

children's hygiene habits. Therefore, parents are advised to improve more open and supportive communication

patterns in order to instill children's self-care habits from an early age that have a positive impact on their

health and independence.

1 INTRODUCTION

Personal hygiene is a fundamental aspect of a child's

development as it has a direct impact on their health

and self-confidence.(Rukmini Harun & Petronela

Mamentu, 2023). Children who have good hygiene

habits tend to be healthier and have more self-

confidence in interacting with their social

environment.(Meliyana & Septiana, 2018). However,

research shows that many young children still have

difficulty in maintaining cleanliness independently.

Parental communication is a major factor in

shaping children's hygiene habits.(Meliyana &

Septiana, 2018)identified five key elements of

effective communication, namely openness,

empathy, support, positive reinforcement, and shared

understanding. Parents who actively communicate

with their children can provide a better understanding

of the importance of cleanliness and help them

develop these habits early on.(Anhusadar &

Islamiyah, 2020). According to Vygotsky, the social

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environment, including the family, plays a major role

in a child's development. Interaction between parents

and children creates a zone of proximal development,

where children can learn through guidance provided

by parents. If communication within the family is

good, then children will find it easier to internalize

good hygiene habits and apply them in their daily

lives.

In addition, research by(Zuliyanti & Setiawati,

2019)shows that the family ecosystem greatly

influences children's habits, including personal

hygiene. External factors such as parenting, parental

education, and social environment also play a role in

shaping children's hygiene habits from an early age.

Therefore, parents need to understand how to build

effective communication so that children can develop

optimally and have strong hygiene habits. Piaget's

study also shows that early childhood is in the pre-

operational stage, where they learn through concrete

experiences. If parents provide direct examples of the

importance of hygiene, children will find it easier to

104

Sunarti, V., Ismaniar, , Nuryantika, F., Shofy, R., Murni, S. C. and Natsir, M. H. D.

The Role of Parental Communication in Building Early Childhood Personal Hygiene Independence.

DOI: 10.5220/0014070200004935

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Early Childhood Education (ICECE 2025) - Meaningful, Mindful, and Joyful Learning in Early Childhood Education, pages 104-107

ISBN: 978-989-758-788-7; ISSN: 3051-7702

imitate and apply them in their daily lives. This shows

that parental role models are an important factor in

shaping children's hygiene habits.

Furthermore, research by Baumrind in(Paud et al.,

2020)emphasizes that parenting style also determines

how children develop their habits. Parents with

democratic parenting styles tend to be more

successful in instilling hygiene habits compared to

parents who apply authoritarian or permissive

parenting styles. Therefore, good communication

needs to be accompanied by parenting styles that

support children's independence. Meanwhile,

according to Erikson in(Wulandari et al., 2018),

children aged 5-6 years are in the initiative versus

guilt stage, where they begin to develop an awareness

of their own abilities. If parents give children the

opportunity to take responsibility for their own

hygiene, then the child will be more confident in

carrying out the habit.

In research conducted by(Princess, 2016), it was

found that children who received positive

communication support from their parents had a

higher level of independence than those who did not.

Effective communication helps children understand

why cleanliness is important and how they can apply

it in their daily lives. This study aims to analyze the

relationship between parental communication and

children's hygiene independence, focusing on

children aged 5-6 years in Padang City. The results of

this study are expected to provide insight for parents

in forming children's hygiene habits from an early age

and provide recommendations for non-formal

education programs that focus on increasing the role

of parents in supporting children's hygiene. in child

development because it has a direct impact on their

health and self-confidence(Qisthiyah et al., 2024).

However, research shows that many young children

still have difficulty in maintaining cleanliness

independently.(Mardhiati, 2019).

This study aims to analyze the relationship

between parental communication and children's

hygiene independence, focusing on children aged 5-6

years in Padang City. The results of this study are

expected to provide insight for parents in forming

children's hygiene habits from an early age and

provide recommendations for non-formal education

programs that focus on increasing the role of parents

in supporting children's hygiene. However, research

shows that many early childhood children still have

difficulty in maintaining hygiene independently

(Proverawati, 2012). According to(Meliyana &

Septiana, 2018), parental communication plays an

important role in shaping children's habits, including

personal hygiene. Open and empathetic

communication allows children to understand the

importance of maintaining hygiene. In addition,

Vygotsky emphasized that social interaction,

including communication within the family, is a

major factor in child development. This study aims to

analyze the relationship between parental

communication and children's hygiene independence,

focusing on children aged 5-6 years in Padang City.

It is hoped that the results of this study can provide

insight for parents in shaping children's hygiene

habits from an early age.

2 METHOD

This study uses a quantitative correlational approach

to analyze the relationship between parental

communication and children's hygiene independence.

This method was chosen because it allows researchers

to measure the level of relationship between

independent and dependent variables objectively.

(Selviana et al., 2024). The population in this study

were 52 parents who had children aged 5-6 years in

Batung Taba Village, Padang City. The sampling

technique used cluster random sampling, with a

sample size of 34 people determined using the Slovin

formula (Sugiyono, 2019) in (Son & Maha Yoga,

2022). Data were collected through a structured

questionnaire that had been tested for validity and

reliability.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Parent Communication

The results of the study showed that parental

communication in Padang city was mostly in the

medium to low category. The aspects of openness and

empathy were factors that were less than optimal in

the interaction between parents and children. Many

parents did not provide detailed explanations about

the importance of cleanliness, so that children did not

get enough understanding to build good habits.

(Antiani, 2023). In addition, according to Vygotsky's

theory, parents use more direct instructions without

two-way communication that allows children to ask

or discuss their personal hygiene.

In some cases, it was found that parents who have

higher levels of education tend to have better

communication with their children. This is in line

with the findings (Lestiawati, 2013) which states that

the family environment, including the level of

The Role of Parental Communication in Building Early Childhood Personal Hygiene Independence

105

parental education, influences the way

communication is applied in child rearing. Parents

with a better understanding of the importance of

hygiene tend to communicate more frequently with

their children about daily hygiene practices, such as

washing hands before eating and brushing teeth

before bed.

Effective communication from parents is also

associated with increased children's understanding of

personal hygiene. (Lestiawati, 2013)emphasizes the

importance of social learning in shaping children's

habits, where children will more easily imitate their

parents' habits if they get clear and consistent

directions. However, this study found that many

children do not get good examples from their parents,

so that the hygiene habits applied are not optimal.

3.2 Children's Hygiene Independence

The results of the descriptive analysis show that the

level of independence in hygiene of children aged 5-

6 years in Padang city is still low. Many children are

not yet able to brush their teeth independently, wash

their hands properly, or maintain the cleanliness of

their nails without the help of their parents. Piaget

(1952) in (Afifah et al., nd) explains that early

childhood is in the pre-operational stage, where they

learn more through direct experience. If parents do

not provide opportunities for children to practice

independently, then children will have difficulty in

developing independence in maintaining their

personal hygiene.

In addition, the study found that children who

have a structured cleaning routine at home are more

likely to have better levels of independence. This is

consistent with studies (Devi Ardiani & Fitriyani,

2021) which shows that democratic parenting, where

parents provide direction but still give space for

children to learn independently, contributes to the

development of children's independence. In contrast,

children whose parents are overprotective or

authoritarian tend to have higher dependency in

carrying out their hygiene habits.

Environmental factors also influence children's

independence in maintaining cleanliness. (Devi

Ardiani & Fitriyani, 2021)emphasizes that children

who grow up in a supportive environment, such as a

family with good hygiene habits, will more easily

internalize these habits. However, this study found

that not all families have regular hygiene habits, so

children do not have a clear pattern to follow.

3.3 The Relationship Between Parental

Communication and Children's

Hygiene Independence

Statistical analysis using Pearson product-moment

correlation showed a significant relationship between

parental communication and children's hygiene

independence (r = 0.68, p < 0.05). This result

indicates that the better the parental communication,

the higher the level of children's independence in

maintaining their personal hygiene. This is in line

with research (Rohmah et al., 2023) which explains

that at the initiative versus guilt stage, children begin

to develop confidence in carrying out daily tasks if

they receive good support and direction from their

parents.

It was also found that children who were often

invited to discuss cleanliness by their parents were

more independent compared to children who only

received instructions without explanation. According

to (Devi Ardiani & Fitriyani, 2021), early childhood

needs clear and consistent communication in order to

understand the concept of cleanliness and apply it in

everyday life. With open communication, children

are more motivated to maintain their personal hygiene

without always having to be directed by their parents.

However, despite the significant relationship,

there are still some obstacles in forming children's

independence in cleanliness. One of them is the lack

of time for parents to interact with their children due

to work, which hinders effective communication

about personal hygiene. The solution that can be

applied is to create a consistent cleanliness routine

and provide direct examples so that children can

imitate and internalize good habits from an early age.

(Meliyana & Septiana, 2018).

4 CONCLUSIONS

Parental communication has a significant influence

on children's hygiene independence. Children who

receive direction, support, and examples from their

parents tend to be more independent in maintaining

personal hygiene. Therefore, parents are advised to

implement a more open communication pattern,

provide direct examples, and create a supportive

environment so that children can learn to maintain

hygiene independently.

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