How to Teach Children to Wash Their Hands

How to get your kids into the habit of washing their hands? Here are some tips for you below.

Explain why hand washing helps

Why is handwashing important? Explain to your children that handwashing helps prevent them from getting sick and from making other people sick. No one likes to be sick or make someone else sick. Handwashing can help prevent these situations from happening as often.

When to wash your hands

Tell your child to wash their hands before:

• Eat
• To touch his mouth, eyes or nose
• To touch a cut or scrape

And after:

• Went to the toilet
• Having played with pets
• Touching pet food or treats
• Having played on playground equipment
• Having been close to a sick person
• Touching a dirty diaper
• Touching the garbage

4 Steps to Washing Your Hands

Here are 4 easy steps to washing your hands:

• Get wet and soapy. Wet your hands in clean water. Put some soap on your hands and make a lather. And put it back in a soap dish so it can dry.

• Scrub. Rub your soapy hands together long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” twice in your head. Clean your palms, the backs of your hands, and between your fingers. Don’t forget to clean under your fingernails. Fingernails can trap dirt and germs.

• Rinse. Hold your hands under clean, running water. Rub them together to rinse them completely.

• Shake them and dry them. Shake your hands a few times, then dry them with a clean towel or hand dryer. Done!

Your child can't reach the sink?

If your child is small, hold him to help him reach the sink. If your child can stand, use a safety step to help him get up to the faucet.

If your child is too heavy to lift and there are no steps nearby, wipe his or her hands with a damp, soapy paper towel. Use another clean, damp paper towel to rinse the soap off his or her hands. Dry his or her hands with a third clean paper towel. Wash your hands after helping your child.

When should you use hand sanitizer?

Hand sanitizer doesn’t work well when your hands are visibly dirty or greasy. Soap and water are best because they completely remove dirt, grease, and germs. But hand sanitizer is a good backup when you can’t get soap and water. Use an alcohol-based sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.

Tell your child to do this:

• Squirt. Put a quarter-sized amount of hand sanitizer into the palm of his hand.

• Rub. Rub his hands - front, back and between the fingers - until they are dry. Done!

Tips for success:

• Keep it fun, kids learn best when they're having fun. There are many fun soap dish designs for kids.

• Lead by example. Be sure to practice what you recommend to them. Wash your hands before eating or preparing food, after using the toilet, and after working or playing with your hands.

• Be patient. It takes time for a child to get into the habit of washing their hands, and to do it properly. Be sure to give them help if necessary.

• Remind them as often as needed. Children wash their hands if the dirt is obvious, such as mud or finger paint. They should be reminded to get rid of germs that are not visible.