Six Tips for Really Clean Hands.
Kids enjoy playing outside, going to the park, climbing trees, collecting leaves and sticks, jumping in mud puddles, and more. Once back home from all these little daily adventures, it is essential to take care of their hygiene, and the first step is, for sure, washing our hands.
Especially after Coronavirus, everyone is more conscious about keeping hands clean and disinfected. But Purell is not the only way to prevent disease, and it definitely shouldn't be abused.
Wherever possible, regular hand-washing is one of the best – and easiest – ways to remove germs, and to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
1. WHEN TO WASH OUR HANDS?
The CDC recommends:
Before, during, and after preparing food
Before eating food
Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick with vomiting or diarrhea
Before and after treating a cut or wound
After using the toilet
After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
After handling pet food or pet treats
After touching garbage
But there are ways to make it fun and something that your child will be happy to do, or that you can do together — of course, we all know that sometimes they'll want to wash their hands for a long time.
2. IF THEY DON'T WANT TO DO IT
There are ways to turn it into a more pleasing activity. For instance, you can consider utilizing a foaming soap, giving them their very own personalized towel, or letting them choose which color soap bar they prefer.
Turning boring, repetitive activities into a game is key.
We're not fans of battery-operated tools, unless strictly necessary, but if you're really in trouble, you might consider using an automatic soap dispenser. It's undoubtedly fun and can be seen as a "reward" in and of itself.
3. HOW TO TEACH KIDS HOW TO WASH THEIR HANDS?
After Coronavirus, printables with the steps involved in hand-washing are everywhere. Sometimes a simple picture can help a lot in learning and memorizing the sequence of actions that will gradually become part of our daily routine. Making your own, using handprints, can be fun and instructive.
4. ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND...
Remember to teach them to roll up their sleeves and scrub all surfaces, including the backs of their hands and wrists, between their fingers, and under their fingernails.
This image (1) shows which parts of the hands we commonly miss during hand-washing. We can also use pictures, for example, drawing our toddler's hand (ideally on lamination paper!) so that they can see which part of the hand and wrist needs to be lathered.
5. SCRUB FOR 20 SECONDS!
The crucial step is that they should scrub their hands for at least 20 seconds!
There are different options to measure the time: you can sing a song — a slow ABC will do the job, or you can make up a new song with your kid, it can be fun!) Alternatively, you can set a 30'' hourglass in the bathroom and have your kid flip it right at the beginning.
6. DON'T FORGET THE NAILS!
And while we teach our kids how to wash their hands, we might as well give the same attention to keeping nails clean and healthy. Why?
Because an incredible amount of bacteria lives under (unwashed) nails, and we all know how often kids put their hands in their mouths.
If you want to know more, read (2) and (3).
How? Since their hands are so tiny, you can employ a dedicated soft toothbrush to brush under your kids' fingernails. You can decorate the "nails-brush" to distinguish it from the "real" toothbrush.
Remember to cut their nails regularly, and even if sometimes children run away from you because they don't want to clip their nails, make sure you don't overlook it.
If you want to know more about it, read (4).
A FUN READ
Kids (and sometimes adults) don't have a clear idea of why hand hygiene is so important, and they can't yet see the connection between that and getting sick or spreading disease. Germs are not for sharing (5) is a book that uses simple words and real-life situations to help our children learn the importance of hygiene!
References
https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Human_Han ds_and_Fingernails
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/rr/rr5116.pdf (page 29 and following)
https://www.amazon.com/Germs-Sharing-Board-Book-Behavior/dp/1575421968
https://www.onlymyhealth.com/hand-nail-hygiene-your- child-1298540702
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160622-what-lives- under-your-fingernails
