• As a parent, you know the virtues of hand washing. I don’t know what age we are when we finally understand that washing our hands (especially after using the bathroom) is so vital. It seems my kids think that hand washing is completely optional.

    My daughter will do it, but only when she sees something on her that needs to be washed off. I don’t want to freak her out by telling her about all the germs that live among us invisible to the naked eye, but then again, I want her to wash her hands!

    When we wash our hands, we sing a song. The kids each get to pick what song they sing, and they each have to make their bubbles until the song is all finished.

    My son, who is only 21 months also needs encouragement. He isn’t potty training just yet, but I hope to instill this habit before he even gets there. Just like any other habit that you want your child to pick up (or not for that matter) what you do really counts. Most of your child’s behaviors, good and bad, are some reflection of their parents.

    That being said, be diligent about washing your hands. Buy fun “just for hand washing” soaps or a special hand washing soap dispenser to make it exciting. For us, we have a princess pump, and a Toy Story pump to get the kids excited to use their own soaps. We also splurged on special “hand drying towels.” When we wash our hands, we sing a song. The kids each get to pick what song they sing, and they each have to make their bubbles until the song is all finished. We have turned washing hands into a reward. For my son, he is rewarded for not fussing during a diaper change by getting to wash his hands when we finish up.

    I’m hoping that this behavior will just follow through to potty training. Again, that is my hope!