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HandyTM
the Octopus and Softsoap® Lather Up for Good
Health® have fun tools and tips to help teach
your young children the important habit of hand
washing and make it fun for the whole family! |
Knowing
that hand washing is important is only the first
step. Repeating the message often, modeling the
behavior, and praising children for healthy habits
can help children internalize hand washing- so
it becomes second nature as they grow. The Softsoap®
Lather Up for Good Health® education program
has fun tools that make this task easy and fun
for parents, teachers, and caregivers. The colorful
website www.latherupforgoodhealth.com
has interactive activities, printable charts,
and a flash movie, all to make hand washing fun
and memorable.
The
Lather Up for Good Health® program was created
to help teach families and young children how
they can follow the recommendations of the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
and also health experts at hospitals and professional
associations. According to the CDC, “frequent
handwashing is one of the best ways to help prevent
the spread of germs that cause illness.”
(An Ounce of Prevention Keeps the Germs Away Aug.
18, 2003, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
For more expert advice see “From the expert”,
where Dr. Barbara Hatcher, Director of Scientific
and Professional Affairs of the American Public
Health Association gives more tips for parents.
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Here
are some special extra tips for all those you
care about at home:
Crawlers
and toddlers:
As you may notice, young children touch everything
as they explore their new world, often on the
floor. They put their hands in their mouths frequently:
a real combination for spreading illness causing
germs. What’s a parent to do? Introduce
hand washing early on:
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Frequently bring the child to the sink and wash
their hands with a mild liquid soap and water. This
is especially important before they eat, if they’ve
been on the floor or outside, or handled their dirty
diapers. Liquid pump soaps, such as Softsoap®
brand Liquid Hand Soap ( www.softsoap.com),
are easy to use and spread on little hands. You
may need to hold ‘crawlers’ while you
do this; a safe children’s stepstool may make
it easier for ‘walkers’ – but
stay with them for safety.
• Start teaching hand washing when teaching
how to use the toilet or potty. Focus on generating
and spreading the lather over the hands, between
the fingers and under the nails. Rinse and dry well
with a clean towel.
• Reinforce the pleasurable aspects of the
water, bubbles, and the clean smell to help form
positive associations early on.
• Keep their finger nails short and clean.
Germs love to hide there.
• When outside, teach them to minimize touching
and leaning on everything: the trash cans in the
park, litter, the stroller wheels, the public restroom
floor and toilets.
• Make hand washing a ‘bonding’
moment, just like bath time and story time. Sing
the ABC song as you wash to encourage washing for
20 seconds AND teach the alphabet at the same time. |
| Remember:
You are teaching your child a critical health protecting
habit that will stay with them for a lifetime. |
| Preschoolers
through first grade:
Research* has shown that children as young as three
can learn the how and why to wash their hands, when
taught in a fun engaging manner. Key simple messages
for young children include: |
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Germs are invisible. They are everywhere and some
can make you sick. (See the flash movie “What
is a germ” at www.latherupforgoodhealth.com)
•
Proper hand washing helps remove germs.
• Wash the right way by paying attention
to all fingers, surfaces and under the nails and
working up lather for a good 20 seconds. Singing
the alphabet song while they wash will make sure
they spend the time.
• It is especially important for boys and
girls to wash hands at these times:
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o
After using the bathroom toilet or urinal.
o Before eating or handling food
o After playing outdoors, coming home from school,
sneezing or coughing.
o After handling ‘communal’ things:
money, playground equipment, etc.
o After handling garbage
o After touching or tying their shoes |
| Sometimes
children like to rush back to playing after toileting.
In fact, many hesitate to stop playing to use the
toilet. Encourage children to take the time to use
the bathroom as soon as they need to and to always
wash when done. Offer praise when done correctly.
The Lather up for Good Health® website program,
www.latherupforgoodhealth.com,
has fun printable tools to keep track of hand washing
and reward behavior. Interactive activities are
fun too. |
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| 2nd
grade -3rd graders:
Children this age are beginning to master personal
hygiene and should be encouraged to take pride in
hand washing on their own and modeling the behavior
for younger siblings. Involvement in outdoor activities
increases at this age, so it is especially important
to reinforce hand washing after playing sports,
attending dance class, doing gymnastics, etc. See
www.latherupforgoodhealth.com
for printable ‘seek and find’ materials
for this age group. |
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Older
Children and Teenagers: As children grow
into teenagers, interest in fashion and external
appearance increases. Some teens experience facial
blemishes and acne. What does hand washing have
to do with this? It helps to minimize transferring
dirt and germs to the face, aggravating pimples.
It also helps to stay healthy- to look great and
do all the fun things older children want to do.
In addition to what younger children learn, teens
should be instructed to wash their hands:
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Before touching or applying makeup
• Before handling contact lenses
• After sports, dance, and other outside activities.
• Before touching their faces |
| Adults:
Adults benefit from hand washing too. Being sick
makes it tough to do everything on a busy parent’s
schedule. Parents can take a leadership role by
washing the right way and reinforcing the importance
of hand washing at critical times. Some adult habits
to practice include: |
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Wash your hands when arriving home:
Make it a habit that washing with soap and water
is the first thing you do when you get home from
anywhere: school, work, shopping, etc. Take off
your coat and go straight to the sink and wash.
• Wash before eating, feeding, or
breastfeeding: Always wash with soap and
water before touching food or breastfeeding. When
eating out, place your meal order, and then go wash,
taking your children with you to do the same.
• Make a grand bathroom exit:
Men and women should wash properly after using the
toilet or urinal.
• Wash after changing a diaper, or
handling trash.
• Wash, wash, wash when handling food
in the kitchen: Germs love your meals,
and can multiply easily in them. If cooking includes
handling raw meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, wash
your hands regularly between touching these and
before touching ANYTHING else.
And never use any utensil or dish with these items
and then on food that will not be subsequently cooked,
such as fresh fruits and vegetables that will be
eaten raw.
• Wash before attending to family
members with special needs: Wash your hands
before and after caring for someone sick, the elderly
or family members who have compromised health status. |
Pick
a product that meets the skin care needs for those
in your family and makes the task enjoyable. Softsoap®
Liquid Hand Soap offers a wide range of products
that help eliminate the dirt and germs your family
encounters. With exciting products for adults
and fun Foam Works® for kids, hand washing
can be so enjoyable for everyone; they might just
forget they do it to help stay healthy!
Softsoap® Brand "More Than Just Clean…To
Care For Your Skin!”®
Visit www.softsoap.com
for more information.
*
Data on file, Colgate-Palmolive Company.
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