Proper Hand Washing Basics With Kids

Spring time is clearly here in Colorado; the grass is showing green, the wind is starting to blow and my kids have the sniffles.  That’s right sniffles are not just for winter and it almost seems that they get worse when Spring time hits.  The germs come out of hibernation I swear.

We have been spending a lot of time going over hand washing basics to keep the sniffles as far from our house as possible.  It’s only half working but any little bit helps.  I really hope the deep cleaning that takes place at the school during Spring Break keeps those germs at bay as well.

While I am spending the time going over hand washing basics with Coulter and Corbin I figured I would pass them on to you.  I am always open for tips to improve on this process as well because let’s face it not many kids truly like to wash their hands.  It’s pretty much like pulling teeth around here; a saber tooth tiger at that.  Read on for information about proper hand washing basics with kids.

Keep It Fun

Getting kids to wash their hands takes a little bit of effort.  Finding a way to make hand washing fun actually makes the boys want to wash their hands.  We keep things fun in our house by having a treat at the bottom of each soap container.  It’s taken a little bit of time to teach them that if the abuse the soap they don’t get the treat, but the aspect of getting Lego’s for washing their hands is just the right enticement.

Proper Amount Of Time

A quick hand washing doesn’t really do much.  A proper hand washing needs to be 20 seconds long in order to be effective.  Most sources will tell you this is the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday.  We have been using this time to actually count to 20, singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (Corbin’s favorite song) and Coulter’s new favorite song The Farmer and The Dell.

Lather Up

A good hand washing isn’t complete without soap.  Like I said above I put a few Lego’s in each bottle of soap to make sure they actually want to use the soap.  Most soaps contain germ killing ingredients and encourages children to rub their hands together to lather.  Lathering causes friction which Coulter is really into learning about and the friction helps scrub off the germs.

Make Proper Hand Washing A Mandatory Routine

We have made hand washing a mandatory routine before any meal is served.  The boys know it is mandatory before they get to eat anything.  This doesn’t matter if it is breakfast, snack, lunch, or dinner.  The boys wash their hands before anything goes in their mouth.  They then wash their hands (and face) after each meal.  Mostly because they are pretty messy eaters still but it also just re-enforces all the healthy hand washing practices we have been going over.

Soften Up

My boys are lotion addicts and I don’t really mind.  We keep Carmex Healing Cream or Carmex Hydrating Lotion by the bathroom sink to ensure that they walk away with baby soft hands. I just don’t want them to lose that amazingly soft skin. One more way to entice them to wash their hands and wash them good.

Be A Role Model

We all know that children learn by having good role models.  It’s easy to just brush this practice off in our day to day lives but it is such an important practice to model for our kids.  Proper hand washing helps keep germs at bay and not just your average cold germs.

When Should You Wash Your Hands

~   Before eating or drinking
~   After using the restroom
~   After playing outside
~   After petting the family pets
~   After touching an open wound of any kinds
~   After blowing our noses
~   After coughing or sneezing (teach your kids to do this into their elbow for me please)
~   After touching or doing anything icky like changing a diaper, handling raw meat, etc…

**Thank you the Carmex blog network for supplying the review Carmex items for this post.**