Hand Washing for Children & Kids
Hand washing becomes much more crucial when it comes to small children and young kids. Because of their age, kids have less developed immune systems for fighting diseases and infections. As any parent well knows, children are also more likely to get scrapes, open cuts, and dirty hands. For these reasons, kids are more susceptible than adults to being infected with a virus.
Motivating Your Kids to Wash
Convincing children to wash their hands can be as daunting a task as getting them to eat their vegetables. To make this easier, try washing your hands with your kids to demonstrate the proper methods and procedures. In addition to learning how to wash their hands, children may also pick up on effective techniques for getting their hands really clean.
Kids are more open to hand washing if you try to make it fun. Try turning hand washing into a game or singing a song while washing (see below for lyrics). You could also try colourful soaps or foaming liquid soap with their favourite cartoon characters on them.
Sing this to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
Wash, wash, wash your hands,
Get them very clean,
Do the rub, do the scrub,
Germs are very mean.
Wash, wash, wash your hands,
We should sing this twice,
Do the rub, do the scrub,
Being clean is nice!
Starting Early for Good Habits
Like training a puppy, teaching kids to wash their hands should start early. Some people even suggest bringing babies over to the sink and helping them wash their hands there, instead of the damp towel method.
Developing good hand washing habits also entails frequent trips to the sink. Be sure to encourage children to wash their hands before eating or helping in the kitchen, and after sneezing, blowing their noses, and coughing. Kids should also wash their hands after playing with animals (such as pets) and after playing outside.