6 tips to make your children wash their hands

Step 1

Sing, chant, jingle or cheer. Kids need to lather up for at least ten to fifteen seconds to kill germs. Singing the ABC's once slowly or twice quickly does the trick for young kids. Have older children recite multiplication tables or a jingle from their favorite commercial to fill the time. When they are done with the song, they are done with their hand washing.

Step 2

Hang posters in the bathroom representing good hand washing technique. Soap companies and preschool education websites are a couple of resources.

Step 3

Blast germs with superheroes. Put stickers of your child's favorite superhero on the soap container and tell your child that he is going to fight the germs. This is even more fun if you talk the part of the soap hero and let your child be the germs or vise versa.

Step 4

Buy two different types of soap with different scents. Tell your child to wash up and then try to guess which soap they used.

Step 5

Use waterless alcohol-based, antiseptic gel which is much quicker and more convenient than soap and water. Let your kids pick their favorite scent and keep it in their backpack. Use soap and water if hands are soiled.

Step 6

Compete with your kids. Put up a chart and have everyone put a sticker on it each time they wash their hands following the proper rules. Let the winner have a special treat.