Happy national handwashing awareness week! Hand washing is an important element of our everyday life. It can prevent the spread of germs, and keep us from getting sick. Although it may seem simple, teaching children about handwashing at a young age can be the very first step into preparing them to learn and display many habits all relating to hygiene and health. Down below are some awesome tips to help children learn how to wash their hands.
1. Make it a song!
Hand washing songs
One way that can be incredibly helpful in teaching children to wash their hands, is to use songs to help them remember what they have to do. Below is a fun song all about handwashing. You can use this song to help make it easier and more entertaining when teaching your kids all about washing their hands!
Wash, Wash, Wash Your Hands
(Sing to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”)
Wash, wash, wash your hands,
Play our handy game.
Rub and scrub and scrub and rub
Germs go down the drain
(repeat)
Good and Clean
(Sing to the tune of “Happy Birthday”)
Wash my hands so good and clean
Wash my fingers and in between
Watch the germs all go away
Now they’re clean, I’ll go and play
(repeat)
2. Make it a game!
A great tip for not only trying to teach hand washing, but also having the children be excited about doing so, is to make it a game. You can include things such as:
- trying to see who can remember when they have to wash their hands
-who knows how long we have to wash our hands
-who can be the first to wash their hands
-who can make their hands the soapiest
You can use a chart to help them remember the steps, and if they have done everything they need to. Congratulate them on the things they remembered, and guide them through what they still need to achieve. We've included a few songs to help encourage toddlers who may be resistant to washing their hands. These songs try to make the process fun, and you can use them to signal when it's time to wash their hands.
3. Practice counting how long
Another tip for helping learn handwashing is learning how long you should scrub your hands. It’s shown that 20 seconds is the best amount of time. You can take this opportunity to practice counting and going over your numbers with your children. We recommend having them try to count to ten two times. If they are having a hard time counting, or are younger, in order to help, we suggest singing the “Happy birthday” song from the beginning to end at least twice!
4. Practice the order
There are a couple of different steps to washing your hands, that can easily be mixed up with children. In order to help, it could be beneficial to help them practice the order in which they wash. Break down the process into simple steps such as:
Step one: Turn the water on and wet your hands
Step two: take soap and scrub the front and back of your hands
Step three: scrub in between your fingers
Step four: rinse your hands
Step five: turn of the water and dry your hands
In addition to this, we have also found another song down below to help you as well.
5. Demonstration
One of the most important and helpful ways in which children learn is by observing others. One great tip we have, is to carefully point and explain situations in which we need to wash our hands and why. Here are a couple of situations and ways that you can help explain handwashing:
- When you are cooking and trying a fun new recipe with the children, gently remind them how we have to wash our hands when handling the food.
-Before and after eating, explain to them how we don't want to get anything on our food, or have leftover food on our hands that might make us sick or make anything we touch "sticky"
-After playing outside, explain to them how there are outside germs that need to stay outside and not inside
-When someone is sick, and you explain to them that they need to wash their hands in order to not spread the germs
-When someone is hurt, explain to them how important it is to keep their cuts and scrapes clean, and how washing their hands can prevent germs from spreading to their openings
All of these tips can help make the process of learning how to wash your hands easier, as well as explain when and why it's important to do so.
Down below, we've also included additional links for more information that helps explain the importance of handwashing, as well as some more fun songs to help teach your children!