How to Minimize Kids' Germs
Young children seem to be the ultimate germ magnets -- they touch everything and continue playing without washing their hands, they share juice boxes and grubby handshakes at school. They also tend to cough and sneeze openly -- sometimes right in your face. As a parent, it's crucial for you to teach your kids about the dangers of spreading germs and to promote habits such as proper hand washing that keep germs to a minimum in your home. Using simple, kid-friendly explanations and turning germ-reducing practices into fun activities can help them understand and eagerly try to adopt healthier habits.
Things You'll Need
- Flour
- Paper plate
- Hand soap
- Tissues
- Disinfectant
Instructions
Explain to your children about what germs are and how they are easily spread. Read them a children's book that explains germs in kid-friendly terms. For example, for kids ages 4 and older, the book "Germs Make Me Sick!" by Melvin Berger, uses colorful illustrations and simple words to explain the concept of germs. Alternatively, demonstrate how germs are spread. Pour flour onto a paper plate and have one child press her palm into it. Have that child then shake someone's hand, open a door and pick up food. Explain that just like the flour, the germs stay on everything touched if she doesn't wash her hands. Teach your children how to properly wash their hands. Demonstrate how they should wet their hands and rub a dollop of soap all over them, on both sides down to their wrists, between fingers and underneath their nails for at least 20 seconds to effectively kill most germs. Have the kids choose a short tune to sing that lasts about that long, such as the birthday song. Instruct them to finish singing before they rinse the soap off their hands. Teach the kids when to wash their hands, such as after using the bathroom, after coming from outside, before and after meals, after nose-blowing and after touching animals. Demonstrate how to cough and sneeze without spreading germs. Show them how to cough into the crease of a bent elbow, which some people call a "cough pocket," or teach them to lift the neck of a shirt and cough inside of it. Leave tissue boxes within easy reach around the house and encourage your children to use them to fully cover the mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing. Tell them to discard the tissue and wash their hands right after. Wipe down play areas and other commonly touched surfaces daily with soap, water and paper towels. The Centers for Disease Control recommends regularly cleaning and disinfecting things that are touched repeatedly such as toys, doorknobs, counters, door frames, all hard toys and sink handles. Teach your children when it's not OK to share. Tell them not to share drinking cups or utensils, especially when one of them is sick. Remind them to never share their toothbrushes. Ensure each child has his own separate washcloth and towel for bath time.