Aug 25

Tips for Teaching Kids to Wash Their Hands

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Having your kids wash their hands on a regular basis not only helps prevent sticky handprints from getting on furniture, it also prevents illness. This is why getting children into the habit at a young age is so important. But, often children are resistant and find hand washing to be a chore that intrudes on their playtime. Making hand washing a fun activity helps teach kids how and when to wash their hands, and makes it a habit.

Ideas to Make Hand Washing Fun

Which game or activity you use to make hand washing fun will depend on your child’s age and interests. With babies and toddlers, you can “fly” them to the sink making airplane noises. Older kids can sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice to time how long to wash their hands. Other ideas include setting a timer, using a kid’s soap that changes colors and putting toys in the sink for your child to soap up and rinse.

What Kids Need to Learn About Hand Washing

The ultimate goal is to get children to wash for at least 20 seconds and wash thoroughly. Children should learn to use soap and warm water and dry their hands after with a towel. That seems like a lot of steps for a child in a rush to be done with hand washing. This is why children are tempted to skip steps. If your child is skipping steps, find ways to make each step more fun. For example your child may be more likely to dry his hands if he gets to pick out a special hand towel.

When to Teach Hand Washing

It is never too early, or too late to start teaching hand washing. Babies and toddlers will enjoy fun games. With older children, you can slip some fun facts into hand washing time by asking questions. One question to discuss is how many kids your child thinks do not wash their hands after using the restroom.

Proper Set Up

Give children as young as three easy access to the sink. For younger children this means keeping a stool in the bathroom and towels within easy reach. Kids of any age find hand washing more fun if they can do it by themselves.

The Kids Health website reports that in a study of middle school aged children, 42 percent of girls and 52 percent of boys did not wash their hands after using the bathroom. If hand washing is not fun or important to your child, they can easily become one of the 40 to 50 percent that do not wash his hands when out of his parent’s sight. Start early using fun games to help make hand washing a habit that lasts into adulthood.
References:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Clean Hands Saves Lives
cdc.gov/cleanhands/

Kidshealth.org: Defensive Hand Washing
kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/skin_stuff/handwashing.html#

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