The importance of handwashing for children | 2 min read

According to WHO, hands are the main pathway of germ transmission during health care. Therefore, excellent hand hygiene is one of the most important steps to avoid transmitting harmful germs and preventing healthcare-associated infections.

To prevent germs and avoid getting ill, children must know how to wash their hands properly. Teach your children to wash their hands from a young age and lead by example. Handwashing is an easy, cheap, and effective way to prevent the spread of germs and keep families healthy.

What is the best way to wash hands?
Wash your hands together often, so they learn how important this good habit is.

Here’s how to scrub those germs away:

Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold). Make sure the water isn’t too hot for little hands.
Lather up with soap, including the back of your hands.
Scrub hands for 20 seconds and make sure you get in between your fingers and underneath the nails where germs like to live.
Rinse hands thoroughly.
Dry hands with a clean towel.

When do hands need washing?
Wash hands to prevent germs from spreading. It’s essential to have a routine for hand washing. Building handwashing skills takes time. Your child will need regular reminders of how and when to wash hands.

Teach children to wash their hands in these instances:

Before cooking and eating
After touching animals and pets
After using the bathroom
After sneezing, coughing, and blowing the nose
After cleaning around the house / being outside
Before and after taking care of or visiting a sick person
As most parents know, it can be challenging to get children to wash their hands, let alone for the recommended 20 seconds

We’ve got a few suggestions to help make washing hands fun and entertaining:

Invest in a soap dish or dispenser with their favourite cartoon character on it.
Have them join in a sing-along of their favourite nursery rhyme.
Homemade treasure-filled soap. Kids will enjoy washing their way to a hidden toy.

Once handwashing becomes a habit and a regular part of your child’s day, they will practice it throughout their lives.

Homemade soap with a toy inside: Make Now

Make clean hands your habit – it protects us all!

Sources:

https://thrive.psu.edu/blog/the-importance-of-handwashing-for-kids
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/hand-washing.html
https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/handwashing-family.html
https://mtelizabeth.com/handwashing-how-to-teach-children-good-hand-hygiene/
https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=teaching-kids-to-wash-their-hands-1-972