Wait! Pause! Wash Your Hands!
Why Wash Hands?
Because it’s icky if you don’t… but there are some pretty serious health consequences too. Germs are bacteria and bacteria gets you sick. It is so easy to spread germs – touching dirty hands, contaminated surfaces, blowing your nose… essentially everything can hold onto bacteria, so make regular handwashing a part of your daily habits. Read on for ways to make it fun!
When to Wash Hands?
Any time is a good time to wash your hands, but there are a few very important times to scrub!
For you kiddos out there, listen up. I’ve been preaching the playing, and encouraging activity, and I want you to keep doing those things! But I want you to be safe, and so do the adults taking care of you. So make sure to remember to always wash your hands after doing any of the things I’m about to mention:
- finger painting a lizard from memory
- building play-doh sculptures
- making potions and petting puppies out in the backyard
- BLOWING YOUR NOSE, SNEEZING, OR COUGHING! (also, please cover your mouth with your elbow when you sneeze or cough! I promise the cool kids do it, and you’ll thank me later..)
- before and after visiting your sick or older friends or family
- after picking up your stuff and helping clean the house!
- post-bathroom break
- before you eat (anything. even the things you think your hands won’t touch. again, the cool kids wash their hands, and they’ll be impressed if you do it too)
How Do I Wash Hands?
Do you ever get excited and rub your hands together with glee?
Do you know how to sing happy birthday?
Then you’re pretty much 100% of the way there.
STEP ONE is wet your hands in clean water (whatever temperature is comfortable for you, but try to steer clear of high temperature, it can dry out and damage your skin. Come back in a two weeks to learn about how to take care of the largest organ in your whole body in the winter months!)
STEP TWO is lather your hands with soap and scrub your hands together for 20 seconds. Make sure you get in between your fingers, and scrub your nails against the palms of your hands so you can get those nasty germs from under your fingernails – that’s where a ton of your hand germs live and they can make you really sick.
“Annie, what did you bring the Happy Birthday song into this for?”
Great question! Are you easily distracted? Maybe you just really hate counting?
Instead of trying to count 20 even seconds, sing the Happy Birthday song to yourself twice!!
Two birthdays are better than one, and lots of germs are way worse than none! So lather up, scrub down, and rinse ’til you’re done. Remember you’re a cool kid, so you won’t be the only one!
Handwashing poem by me, the author, annie
STEP THREE is grab a clean towel and fully dry your hands. I know I said you should come back for more, but I’ll leave you with one bit of post-handwashing advice. Keep some lotion nearby! If you’re anything like me, and most people, your skin gets dry, especially your hands and face. Washing any part of your body, even gently, removes surface oils from your skin. Sometimes, when you wash more frequently, your skin needs a bit of help replacing those oils! So grab a water-based moisturizer and give your hands a little love. I’ll give bonus points if it’s fragrance free, but to know exactly why come, back in two weeks and hear it from me!
Take heed and make haste – don’t let hand soap go to waste!
Okay, I’ll translate. Seriously, make sure you pay attention to when you should be washing your hands (take heed.) Don’t dilly dally between play and hand washing (make haste.) Washing your hands is one of the easiest ways to take care of your health, so do this for you!
You deserve to be healthy, you deserve to be clean. Make frequent handwashing your daily routine!