Hand Washing
By Jessica Jordan, MS, OTR/L
Hand Washing: An OT’s Perspective
We all know hand washing is essential to stop the spread of germs, but for some children it is a daily routine or habit that often lacks excitement or purpose to them if they do not directly see the dirt coming off their hands. I know this from experience with my own children, but here are a few tips and tricks that I love to use in order to build confidence in children when washing hands.
Tips & Tricks For Hand Washing
The height of the faucet, sink, handles, soap, and stream of water matter! By far my daughter’s favorite thing in our bathroom is her stool. It assists her with any height discrepancies, as she would not be able to reach the sink otherwise. She can independently move it around (which also provides added proprioceptive input). We have also purchased a faucet extender which is customizable to all different sinks and faucets! This allows the water to be streamlined to where the children can reach their hands in the sink. This one is flexible enough to change from one side to the other side on the sink, but also sturdy enough that my children haven’t ripped it off if they use too much force by accident.
Soaps are a game changer! This is the one part of the hand washing process that can be customizable to the child’s sensory needs! Allow your child to pick the type of soap (i.e foam, silky, more liquid based) and scent. Some scents may be considered aversive to your child, so be mindful of that. Currently my children are digging Mickey mouse foaming soap. I have linked a similar one here, but if that’s not available, just think of making the soap intrinsically motivating to YOUR child. Tap into your child’s current passions and interests. Maybe it’s toy cars? Take some extra car stickers that you have around the house and put them all over the dispenser. Added bonus, is if your child gets to do it, as they are working on those fine motor skills specifically the intrinsic muscles of the hand.
So we mentioned it previously, but just to dive in deeper…washing hands is a sensory experience! One that can be customized to your child’s own sensory preferences. Be mindful of scents of soaps, textures of soaps and towels (fabric or paper), as well as the temperature of the water! Temperature matters big time, as it can be a trigger to activate our fight or flight response!
Most children and adults like some type of structure. Whether it's knowing what you have planned for the day, or the parameters around hand washing. The CDC encourages individuals to wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, therefore our recommendation is to form some structure with those 20 seconds! That might look like singing a certain song when you wash your hands or singing a song or a familiar prompt to introduce hang washing. Or even providing your child with a visual timer. The Countdown timer app is a free visual timer available for iPhones that we love. This is a great tool to have, as you can have it with you wherever you go (i.e. home or out in public) for greater carryover!
If you have a toddler, just learning these steps and tricks, know that most children thrive with visuals in their environments. Therefore, we suggest listing out the steps in a picture. This new skill also takes time to sequence the steps and the motoric actions. Supination and pronation of the hands and wrists can be tricky so be patient with your child! Just know the more you are practicing this skill, the more it will become ingrained in their neural pathways.
Lastly, do not forget to have fun! A child’s primary occupation is play so bring the fun into washing hands. Maybe your child’s dinosaurs want to wash their hands too, or your child’s Cocomelon figurines are taking a bath. Be silly and have fun!
We want to hear from you!
Did we miss any tips and tricks you love? Feel free to shoot us a comment below with any of your favorite strategies!