If spending years living in the shadow of a global pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of proper handwashing techniques. Reminding adults how to wash their hands properly is one thing — trying to get kids to do the same is like trying to nail Jello to a wall. That doesn’t mean that hand hygiene isn’t essential. In young kids, who touch everything and exist to be tiny germ factories, it’s even more important than in adults. Adults, at least, know to keep their fingers out of their noses without being told. Repeatedly.
If you’re struggling to get your littles to watch their hands properly, here are a few tips and tricks that might help make it a bit more fun.
1. Wash the Rainbow
Kids love bright and vibrant colors. It’s evident — often painfully so — in their clothing, food choices, and any other product or service targeted toward younger demographics. For younger children, bright colors stand out more and are easier to focus on as their eyesight develops. You can use this to your advantage by picking up some brightly colored soaps. The ones with fun scents or additional party tricks such as colored bubbles can also help to spice up the otherwise mundane task of washing your hands.
2. Dance Party Time
Washing your hands is boring. It may be necessary, but for small kids with short attention spans, boring automatically means that keeping their attention for any length of time is a challenge. According to the CDC, you need to wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds, so why not put on some fast-paced music and turn it into a 20-second dance party? Pick a song, set a timer, break out the soap and start dancing. It’ll be over before you know it, and you’ll have your kids begging for the next dance party.
3. Build a Sanitizing Station
While proper handwashing is the best option, sinks and soap aren’t always available. Hand sanitizer is a good alternative, but leaving out a jar of sanitizer — especially when dealing with younger kids — can result in an even bigger mess. A hand sanitizer station makes it easier to encourage kids to sanitize their hands between washes properly. Opt for a station that uses foaming sanitizer or a motion-activated dispenser to make it more fun for young kids.
4. Make a Mess
The easiest way to teach kids to wash their hands properly is to get them dirty first. Before you teach a lesson on handwashing, get everyone’s hands dirty. Tempera paint or other washable and water-soluble brightly colored mess-making materials are ideal. Cover their hands with the paint — making sure to get into every nook and cranny — and then have them wash their hands. Kids love making messes. Time to make getting clean just as fun.
5. Create a Sticker Chart
Stickers make everything more fun. Earning them for something like handwashing can be a great way to make it something that kids are happy to do. Set up a fancy sticker chart and hang it on the wall. You can design one of your own or pick one from the many available on the internet. When your kids wash their hands properly, they earn a sticker. Then, after a certain number of stickers, they have the opportunity to earn a treat or a prize. Sometimes that gold star sticker is the best motivation.
6. Break Out the Glitter
I hate glitter. It gets everywhere, and once you’ve got it, the chances are high that you’ll never get rid of it again. Use that to your advantage. Sprinkle a little bit of glitter onto wet hands and have your kids scrub their hands until they get rid of all the glitter. Note, for this tip, I do recommend choosing chunkier glitter. If you opt for ultra-fine glitter, you’ll never get rid of it. This is supposed to be a fun and useful tip, not something that’s going to make you spend hours in the bathroom while you try to get rid of every last speck of glitter.
7. Lead By Example
We say to do as we say, not as we do, but sometimes the easiest way to get a kid to do something as simple as washing their hands is to lead by example. Don’t just point them to the sink and tell them to wash their hands, join them. Show them how to wash their hands by washing your own. Sometimes it’s really just that simple.
Stay Healthy Out There
Between COVID-19 which will likely become endemic, and other endemic viruses like the flu, we’ve got our hands full — pun intended — when it comes to staying healthy. Take the time to teach your kids how to properly wash their hands. It might take some repetition, it but it’s one skill that everyone should learn, and one that will serve them well throughout their lives.
