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Proper Handwashing Techniques for Child Care Providers

Everyone knows the importance of handwashing (ESPECIALLY child care providers), but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we know how to wash our hands properly. With the recent COVID-19 pandemic, more focus than ever has been placed on educating the community about how to thoroughly wash their hands to reduce the risk of infection.

When to Wash Your Hands

According to the Mayo Clinic, wash your hands before:

Preparing or eating food
Treating wounds
Caring for a sick person
Handling contact lenses

You will also want to wash your hands after:

Preparing food
Using the toilet
Changing a diaper
Touching an animal
Blowing your nose, sneezing or coughing
Treating wounds
Caring for a sick person
Handling garbage
Handling pet food or treats

How to Wash Your Hands

Thoroughly washing your hands should last 20 seconds (singing “Happy Birthday” twice) and consist of these steps:

Wet your hands under warm running water.
Apply and lather soap.
Rub your hands vigorously for 20 seconds (singing “Happy Birthday” twice).
Rinse well.
Completely dry your hands with a clean towel.

Here is a handy (no pun intended) visual from the WHO that you may wish to print out and place in your bathrooms:

If no soap and water are available, hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol is an effective alternative.

And finally, don’t forget to teach the kiddos! Try this fun experiment to visualize what soap and water does to germs so kids will have an easier time understanding why hand washing is so important:

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Learning about the importance of washing our hands!🧼 I wish you all could’ve seen how truly shocked they were that the “virus,” (pepper) moves away from the soap! So much fun and very informative! The things you learn from #TikTok 😂 #prekactivities #coronaviruspreventiontips #dabbooratnani

A post shared by Amanda Lorenzo (@mandysmunchkins_) on Mar 10, 2020 at 1:14pm PDT

Michael writes for HiMama's early childhood education blog and ECE Weekly newsletter. When not developing content for early childhood professionals, he can usually be found out and about with his wife and daughter exploring all that Toronto has to offer, or playing music with his karaoke band.

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