Last Updated on December 5, 2020
Why do you need to wash your hands? Well, firstly, because it is the best way to avoid spreading germs, bacteria, and viruses around, and secondly, because clean hands can help you prevent all sorts of health problems and viral infections.
The Minnesota Department of Health has stated that washing your hands at least 4 times a day can prevent 24% of the colds you might get and reduces the chances of contracting a stomach virus by 51%. But, unlike adults, kids don’t respond well to statistics, and their tiny curious dirty hands are all around every germy surface there is. Therefore, you must explain to them the importance of good hand hygiene.
You are well aware of why you need to wash your hands, and this is a message you need to pass on to your kids. But how to encourage handwashing and how to make handwashing fun for yourself and the little ones?
Here is a list of fun activities for hand-washing that will make it easier for you to pass this personal hygiene habit on to your kids.
1. Sing A Song
Specialists say that hand washing should take at least 20 seconds to be effective and to kill all the germs. A nice way to make sure that your kids wash your hands during that period of time is to associate a song with the action of washing hands. Happy birthday sang twice is the perfect fit, but you have other options, like singing the chorus to Macarena twice, or the chorus to “I am Moana.” You can even get creative and add a little choreography. Turning a task into something enjoyable is a great way to create habits in kids. All you need is water and soap, and 20 seconds of creativity!
2. Tell Them The Tale Of Germs
If you are trying to figure out how to teach children to wash their hands, you can apply some educational features into the process. Simplify the concept of germs and bacteria to terms they will understand, and explain to them why it is so important to “defeat” those tiny bugs that live in our hands and skin. You can even exemplify by representing the germs in their hands using bath crayons, and then show them just how simple it can be to wash them off and solve that problem.
