TODDLER
How to Teach Kids to Wash Their Hands...the Right Way!
One of the best ways to protect your kiddo from getting sick is to teach them how—and when—to wash their hands.
Written by
Happiest Baby Staff
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
PARENT PICKS
Bestsellers
TODDLER
Written by
Happiest Baby Staff
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Bestsellers
Put on your pyjamas! Brush your teeth! Wash your hands! When you’re a parent, these simple commands pepper your every day. But the activities themselves aren’t so simple. Children aren’t born knowing how to properly suds and scrub their hands clean…a grownup needs to teach them. After all, handwashing is one of the best ways to protect your kiddo—and your whole family—from getting sick. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that proper hand washing can prevent roughly 33% of diarrhea-related illnesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections, like hand-foot-mouth disease, the common cold, and the flu. Need help teaching your child how to wash their hands? Here, our no-fuss guide to getting your child into the hand washing habit.
There’s no perfect time to start teaching children to wash their hands. Instead, it’s a habit that parents should expose little ones to early and often. That said, a child as young as 2 years old can be taught to recognise the importance of hand-washing—even if you are the one who’s actually doing the washing for them. Between the ages of 3 and 4, most children can wash their hands independently.
Why? is the question of toddlerhood, so it’s no surprise that tots want to know why they need to wash their hands. Explain to your tyke that hand washing helps prevent them from getting sick and making other people sick, too. But why? There are teeny tiny organisms called germs that get on our hands after we do things like use the potty, play in the dirt, or sneeze. We need to wash those germs off because they can make you sick and when you’re sick you miss out on having fun!
For more help explaining the whys of handwashing, reading your bub books has been shown to be a successful tool in improving 4- and 5-year-olds handwashing practices. Try Sick Simon, Wash Your Hands, Mr. Panda, Do Not Lick This Book (written by a kid-friendly microbiologist), and A Germ’s Journey.
Lead by example! Young children learn best by copy-catting the behaviours they see from their very favourite adults and big kids. That means, when you make handwashing part of your must-do routine, you’re setting a fantastic example for your children to follow. To help hit the “handwashing is important” notion home, narrate to your child when and why you’re washing your hands. For example, “Mummy always washes her hands before making dinner” or “I just cleaned Fluffy’s litter box, so I need to wash my hands right away!”
There are five easy-to-understand steps to follow to ensure clean hands. Break down each one for your kiddo
Step 1: Wet hands. Turn on the faucet and let your child’s hands get nice and wet. Since it doesn’t matter if the water is warm or cold, keep water on the cooler side so children don't accidentally burn themselves. Turn off the tap.
Step 2: Get soapy. Both bar and liquid soap work great at removing germs, so choose whatever is easiest for your kiddo. Dr. Harvey Karp recommends skipping antibacterial soap. Studies show that there’s no added benefit, plus their harsh chemicals can be rough on little one’s skin.
Step 3: Rub a dub! Soap and water alone are not enough to get the job done. It’s important to have your child scrub their hands—palms, the back of their hands, between their fingers—for at least 20 seconds, which is the “Happy Birthday” sung twice. Experts note that kids tend to concentrate on their palms, but often neglect their wrists and thumbs.
Step 4: Rinse. Have your tot hold their hands under clean, running water. Rub them to rinse them fully.
Step 5: Dry off. Paper towels, public bathroom air dryers, and clean cloth towels are all effective ways to dry hands. Since germs spread more easily when hands are wet, make sure your child's paws are totally dry.
Encourage your kiddo to wash their hands throughout the day, stressing these times as the best times to get the job done:
And for parents, it’s also important to wash hands…
Washing little hands with soap and water is always the best way to get rid of germs. But if you’re out-and-about with no sink around, it’s okay to use a hand sanitiser that contains at least 60% alcohol. (Hand sanitizing wipes with at least 60% alcohol work, too.) But know that hand sanitiser does not eliminate all types of germs, and it doesn’t work well when hands are visibly dirty or greasy. Here’s how to use hand sanitiser with little ones:
No! While a quick once over with a baby wipe can make your hands look clean, baby wipes are not designed to remove germs and should not be used to clean your hands, notes the CDC. At the same time, disinfecting wipes that you may use to clean your counters are designed to kill germs on surfaces. Don’t use them to clean your skin!
The easiest way to make hand-washing a habit is to make it fun! Here are some fun strategies and products to help your kiddo embrace hand washing:
***
REFERENCES
Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider. Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, mothers eat a healthy, balanced diet. Combined breast- and bottle-feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of a mother's breastmilk and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. If you do decide to use infant formula, you should follow instructions carefully.
