How to get Children to Wash Their Hands
For smaller children, ask them to start washing their hands while singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Have them keep rubbing their hands together with soap and rinsing until the song is over. This makes it fun and helps them to understand how long hand washing should be done.
Sometimes all it takes to get a child interested in washing is letting them choose their own fun soap. Our kids love foam soaps and will wash “just to wash” with that foamy goodness. Others may prefer novelty soaps, such as the glycerin soaps that have plastic toys in the middle.
Take a few soaps and melt them in a pot over the stove. Pour the soap in fun candy molds and let them harden. Let your child pick the one he or she wants to use.
Look online for a “Blue LED Faucet Light.” These are fairly inexpensive and lots of fun. Simply unscrew the end of your faucet and screw the faucet light in. Every time you turn on the faucet, the water turns bright blue! This is especially fun to watch when the bathroom light is off.
Get an old fashioned push bell – you know, the kind you would find on the counter and push to make the bell ring? Place it on the sink. Tell your children that every time they wash their hands, they can ring the bell. This sounds like a small thing, but when a child is only allowed to do something at a “certain” time, it becomes fun!
