Put on your pajamas! Brush your teeth, wash your hands, and when you’re a parent, these simple commands will stick through your day. But the event itself is not so simple. Children are not born with the knowledge of how to properly lather their hands…Adults need to teach them. After all, handwashing is one of the best ways to protect your child, as well as your entire family, from getting sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that proper handwashing can prevent about 33% of diarrhea-related illnesses and one in five respiratory infections, such as hand, foot and mouth disease, < a i=10> common cold and flu. Need help teaching your child how to wash their hands? Here’s our simple guide to getting your child into a handwashing habit.
Teach Children to Wash Their Hands as Early as Possible
There’s no better time to start teaching your child to wash their hands. Instead, parents should let their children develop this habit early and often. That said, children as young as 2 years old can be taught the importance of handwashing – even if you’re the one who actually washes their hands and does their laundry. Between the ages of 3 and 4, most children are already able to wash their hands independently.
Explain Why You Should Wash Your Hands
Why? This is a problem in early childhood, so it’s no surprise that young children want to know why they need to wash their hands. Explain to your child that handwashing can help prevent them from getting sick and make others sick too. But why? When we use behaviors such as potty, playing in the dirt, or sneezing, there is a tiny organism called bacteria that attaches to our hands. We need to wash off these germs because they can make you sick, and when you do, you miss out on having fun!
For more help explaining the reasons for handwashing, Read Your Little One books have proven to be successful tools for improving handwashing habits in children 4 and 5 years old. Try Sick Simon, Wash Your Hands, Mr. Panda, Do Not Lick This Book (written by a kid-friendly microbiologist), and A Germ’s Journey.
Be a Good Example of How to Wash Your Hands
Young children learn best by imitating the behaviors of their favorite adults and older children. This means that when you make handwashing a part of your must-do routine, you set a great example for your child. To help your child gain insight into the idea that handwashing is important, tell your child when and why you wash your hand. For example,”Mom always washes her hands before making dinner” or “I just cleaned out Maomao’s bin, so I need to wash my hands immediately!”
Teach the Five Steps to Hand Washing
To ensure that your hands are clean, there are five easy-to-follow steps to follow. Break it down one by one for your child
Step 1: Wet your hands. Turn on the faucet and let your child’s hands get wet. Since it doesn’t matter if the water is hot or cold, keep the water on the colder side so that children don’t accidentally burn themselves. Turn off the faucet.
Step 2: Apply soap. Both soap and liquid soap work well to remove bacteria, so choose the one that works best for your child. Doctor. Harvey Karp advises against the use of antibacterial soaps. Studies have shown that there are no additional benefits, and that their harsh chemicals may harm the skin of the little ones.
Step 3: Rub the voiceover! Soap and water alone aren’t enough to get the job done. It is important to have your child scrub their hands (palms, backs, between fingers) for at least 20 seconds, which is “Happy Birthday” to sing twice. Experts point out that children tend to focus on the palms of their hands and often neglect their wrists and thumbs.
Step 4: Rinse. Have your child put their hands under clean running water. Wipe them down to rinse well.
Step 5: Wipe dry. Paper towels, public bathroom air dryers, and clean cloth towels are all effective ways to dry your hands. Since germs spread more easily when hands are wet, make sure your child’s paws are completely dry.
Emphasize handwashing during these important moments
Encourage your child to wash their hands throughout the day and emphasize that these are the best times to get work done:
- Before eating or snacking
- After using the bathroom
- After playing outside
- After petting any animal
- After handling pet food or treats
- If you cover your mouth with your hand after sneezing or coughing
- After touching garbage
- When the hands are visibly dirty or greasy
- After touching frequently touched objects, such as doorknobs and shopping carts
It is also important for parents to wash their hands frequently……
- Before, during, and after preparing food
- Before and after caring for people who vomit or have diarrhea
- Before and after treating cuts or wounds
- After a diaper change
- After cleaning up the child who has gone to the toilet
- After handling animal manure
What About Hand Sanitizer?
Washing your little hands with soap and water is always the best way to get rid of germs. But if you don’t have a sink around when you’re outside, you can use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. (Hand wipes with at least 60% alcohol will also help.) But know that hand sanitizer doesn’t eliminate all types of germs, and it won’t work as well when hands are visibly dirty or greasy. Here’s how to use hand sanitizer for your child:
Keep hand sanitizer out of the reach of children. Kids have easy access to small bottles in diaper bags, cars, and purses.
Supervision! Children 5 years of age and younger need your help and supervision when using hand sanitizer.
Apply the gel to the palm of one hand. Squirt a pea-sized drop of liquid onto the palm of one hand.
Rub your hands. Have your child rub the hand sanitizer into every part of their hands and fingers until completely dry. This takes about 20 seconds. (For babies, you’ll need to rub it.)
Can Baby Wipes Wipe Your Hands?
While quick use of baby wipes can make your hands look clean, baby wipes are not designed to remove germs and should not be used to clean your hands. The CDC states. At the same time, the disinfectant wipes you use to clean your counters are designed to kill germs on surfaces. Don’t use them to cleanse your skin!
How to Encourage Hand Washing
The easiest way to get into a handwashing Xi habit is to make it fun! Here are some fun strategies and products to help your child get into the Xi habit of handwashing:
Prepare a step stool. There are plenty of options to suit your personal aesthetic, but if you’re looking for something silly (and sturdy), consider the taller than most Bumbo step-to-foot stools, with a fun design that looks like an elephant’s feet.
Customize your handwashing songs. While it’s common practice to sing “Happy Birthday” twice, know that ABC and “Twinkle Twinkle” also work. You can also insert your child’s favorite songs into Wash Your Lyrics and get instant lyric timing visual mashups.
Use the timer. Not everyone wants to sing while washing their hands. If your child is one of them, place a child-friendly handwashing timer next to the sink to help them count down from 20.
Gossip about your child’s good hygiene. Let your child overhear you loudly complimenting them on their efforts to wash their hands. When your child is around, whisper your compliments to others, even a stuffed teddy bear, or even cover your mouth with your hand, like you want to keep it a secret. (“Mr. Bear, I’m glad Lydia washed her hands after she came back from the backyard.”) Then, repeat the same compliment to the others. Your child will be happy and think, wow, this must be true, because I’ve been hearing this saying a lot lately that makes them want to repeat this beautiful thing behavior.
Start the stamp challenge. In the morning, mark the back of your hand with your child’s favorite rubber stamp…… Then check if it’s gone before you go to bed!
Try using a faucet extender. The handy Playboy faucet extender helps deliver water where your kids can get to their destination safely.
Make visual reminders. Consider making an illustrated and laminated version of the five steps to hand washing and placing next to the bathroom sink.
Buy a good soap. Get a cute soap dispenser (like this cute duck) to make your soap game fun, toy glycerin soap, or fruit foam pump soap.