Hand Washing for Children and Adults: When and How

Hand washing is important for preventing communicable and infectious diseases. Parents, educators, and children should regularly wash their hands.

In a childcare, educators (most situations apply to parents as well) and children should wash their hands as follows:

• Upon arrival to the childcare and before leaving,
• Before and after handling food,
• After blowing own nose or wiping a child’s nose,
• After using the restroom,
• After changing nappies,
• After cleaning up, handling art materials, or collecting garbage,
• After playing outdoors with sand or touching animals, and
• Before and after administering medications.

(Marotz, 2015; National Health and Medical Research Council, 2013)

In addition, Marotz (2015) indicates that when handling food, hands should be washed as follows:

• Before touching food,
• Before wearing and after disposing of gloves,
• After handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs,
• After touching dirty dishes or garbage,
• After coughing, sneezing, or blowing own nose,
• After using tobacco, eating, or drinking,
• After touching hair or skin such as ears, nose, or arms.

Washing procedure:

Washing thoroughly with soap and water remains the recommended method. Although alcohol-based gels are increasingly gaining popularity, they should not substitute hand washing. Alcohol-based gels could be applied when hands are not very dirty and the rubbing of the hands should continue until the hands are dry.

When rubbing hands and wrist with water and soap, the friction breaks down the germs. The rubbing should continue for 15 to 20 seconds. It is better to wet hands before applying soap, so the hands don’t get dry by repeated washing.

In the case of infants and toddlers, it is important to disinfect the floor and play areas until they develop an understanding of diseases and illnesses. The baby’s hands should be washed after crawling on the floor and before eating or sucking fingers.

How can we help children remember to wash their hands?

• Educators and parents could post the steps in the bathroom in pictures.
• Children could be taught a song that gets attached to hand washing.
• Parents and educators should model washing hands and verbalize what they are doing.
• Educators could include activities where children role play the correct procedure for hand washing.
• Educators should communicate the importance of hand washing to parents so children listen to the same message at home and in the childcare.
• Washing hands should be a fixed daily routine; otherwise, it is going to be difficult to implement consistently.

To build the concept of hygienic procedures for children, parents and educators could start by alerting children to wash hands before eating and to not touch eyes, ears, nose, or mouth while playing as those areas are the most common means for the spread of communicable and infectious diseases.

Hand washing should be part of an overall wellness program that highlights health promotion as a priority for children and adults. In a globally connected world, it becomes important to practise hand hygiene along with other preventive health measures.

References:

Marotz, L. R. (2015). Health, safety, and nutrition for the young child (9th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

National Health and Medical Research Council. (2013). Staying healthy: Preventing infectious diseases in early childhood education and care services (9th ed.). Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/staying-healthy-preventing-infectious-diseases-early-childhood-education-and-care-services

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