Getting your kids to wash their hands is a great way to help them avoid getting sick. But more often than not, it’s rushed, or done without care. Children especially need to learn the importance of washing their hands properly and regularly, as they are more likely to touch their eyes, nose, or mouth repeatedly without washing their hands first. This is how germs and colds can spread so quickly. Use the following guidelines for good hand-washing technique:

• Always use plenty of warm, running water.
• Use liquid soap, or make sure your bar soap is clean.
• Make sure you scrub the entire hands and even wrists, and remember to get between your fingers and under the fingernails.
• Scrub for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
• Rinse well to thoroughly wash off soap.
• Dry with a clean towel.

Make It Fun!
Try these five ways to make hand washing fun for you and your children.

1. All shapes and sizes. Use playful soap, such as animal and fruit shapes or bright colors.
   
2. Sing while you clean. Tell them to wash their hands for as long as it takes them to sing their ABCs or “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” (once slowly or twice quickly).
   
3. Take that, bad germs. Put cartoon stickers on soap dispensers so the characters can help “fight germs” with your kids.
   
4. Smells good. Use different scented soaps to make a guessing game of the scents.
   
5. Everybody wins. Make a chart to track your children's washes and let them compete with star stickers.