ADVICE RATING |
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Hand washing is an important skill to teach your child.
This is a brief overview but more information can easily be found on the link at the bottom.
There are many reasons to do this properly not least proper hygiene and good health. Especially as
children grow older they pick up different germs on their hands, but by learning these simple habits at a young age they will become habits for life and hopefully mean less episodes of sickness.
There are several times throughout a family day when it is good to wash your hands:
- before meals, after meals,
- "Toilet, hands, face and teeth" routine
- When coming inside from playing,
- After getting messy hands with gluing/painting,
- Before and during cooking/baking,
- After playing with animals,
- After changing/handling nappies.
Technique:
The most effective way to cleanse your hands is to wash them in soap and water and to rub them all over including between each finger. There are various different soaps on the market and each has advantages and disadvantages to them as wih all things, but the simplest most effective method is simple soap and water, so when you are in the shops looking at all the varieties just remember that generally at the end of the day it does not matter.
Anti-bacterial hand soaps
Anti-microbial hand soaps
Soap and water
Alco gel/foam type cleansers
Hand drying:
The only thing to remember is to dry them thoroughly. If they are left slightly damp they may over a period of time get chapped and/or broken which is very painful and can potentially lead to health problems, with this in mind it is also good to use hand lotion when hands appear to be getting dry.
This so far is about hand washing in the home. In hospitals and places where adults/children are being cared for it is important to use anti-bacterial hand washes to protect yourself, prevent passing what may be a harmful virus from one person to another and to always wear gloves for self-protection.
The best way to teach a child is by example - so check your personal habits. Do you wash your hands regularly? Do you often forget? What about other people who play a major role in your lives or care for your children? Without becoming obsessive are there times when you should wash your hands simply to encourage them.
One statistic that continues to amaze (and horrify) me is the one regarding peanuts in a bar/pub. ugh! What a disgusting breeding ground for the germs from peoples unwashed hands. A lot of this is widely known as "common sense". 
The best advice I can offer for hand washing is to keep it simple.
It really is as easy as that.
Peace
EF.x 
(January 2007) (
