National Resource Center for Youth Services

Many youth in care have never been explicitly taught how to care for their bodies—or they may avoid hygiene as a means of self-protection, believing that poor hygiene may prevent further harm. Traditional approaches to hygiene education often reduce the topic to a checklist, overlooking the complex relationship between trauma, body awareness, and self-worth.

This workshop equips youth-serving professionals with a trauma-informed framework for teaching hygiene in a way that fosters safety, autonomy, and dignity.

Participants will:

• Explore the deeper reasons behind hygiene avoidance
• Learn how to teach body care routines that respect youth’s boundaries and developmental needs
• Gain confidence in using correct anatomical terms with sensitivity