Washing Hands After the Potty

I agree with the others who stress the importance of actually washing hands thoroughly with soap and water. That said, I often let my daughter just use a wipe to clean her hands, especially in public restrooms where the sinks are too high and counters often wet.
Good luck,
J.

Hi L.,
I have a 10yo that still gives us a hard time washing his hands after using the bathroom !!!! our mistake for NOT being consistent --- Our 3yo now has no problem washing up! We have him do it EVERYTIME - even when we started potty trainig & I was the one cleaning him, etc.LOL! if I dont want him playing for too long ... I encourage him to go play or do something else. Good Luck!

I know this is a bit pricey, but the Kandoo soap is great. I think really the kids love that it foams so you could probably just get any foaming soap and it would be fine. Or buy the Kandoo once for the cute bottle and refill it with the less expensive foaming kind. Also, if it's really a struggle right now why not just have him use those hand sanitizers? Then he doesn't have to wash his hands. Although, I know a lot of people don't like those because of all of the alcohol in them. It might be better than nothing though until he gets the pottying down and then you can focus on the whole hand washing aspect of using the potty. Wash your hands with him though and sing a song. Twinkle twinkle little star is a good one. It might help keep him focused. If after he goes you say okay it's time to wash our hands. Mommy too. Here we go. Turn on the water and start singing he might think oooh, this is fun.

I agree that hand washing is non-negotiable and should be done every time regardless of poop or pee. Soap and water is preferred over hand sanitizers. With that said, there was a period of time, about 6 months when my son was about 4 when he wanted to be independent but couldn't safely turn on the sink etc. by himself. I let him use hand sanitizer then unless I was assisting him and then we washed. I find that foam wash is easiest and it is easy enough to make your own and reuse a dispenser. Then, they only have to get their hands wet to rinse not to lather up too. Less water. IF your child goes to daycare, preschool, or eventually any school they will teach and expect good handwashing. It is so much easier to get it ingrained from the beginning. My son even washes his hands when he gets up to pee in the middle of the night! I am surprised but grateful that he has adopted it into his routine. One of those things I spent extra time with upfront and then had an unexpected reward later.

GOOD LUCK!

I try to get my daughter (2) to wash her hands after using the potty too, but sometimes just let it go as well. Maybe a hand sanitizer would work better for him at this point? Give him an option - you can wash your hands for 15 seconds (while you sing a specific song) then we turn the water off or you can use this hand gel. Giving him an option may be interesting to him and you can limit the time he uses the water as part of it. Another suggestion would be to put a small amount of water into the sink (with the stopper) and turn the water off. Have him soap up and rinse his hands. While he's doing that, you can turn the water on and rinse his hands fully then remove him and sing "This is the way we dry our hands...dry our hands....dry our hands..." and dry his hands or let him do it.

My daughter is big into washing her own hands and she's pretty clean about it but wants to turn the water on HIGH all the time!!

There are some soaps that come in fun pumps that are scented made especially for kids. Changing them to be "new" on a regular basis will keep hand washing more of a novelty!

I don't have a lot of helpful advice since we are just potty training now but I am taking the approach with my girl that hand washing after toilet use (either poop or pee) is non-negotiable, like the car seat.

So many grown men (and women, but far more men it seems) don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom it's disgusting. I think it's important to ingrain this into children from the start.

We have this issue -- and the issue especially comes up at restrooms in stores. I have three kids -- all under 3 and the middle one is the one that has to go to the bathroom every 5 min. I want them to have clean hands -- but at the same time hauling all of them over to the sink for a water-party isn't fast, efficient or ever neat! Just getting all of them into the public restrooms is a feat in and of itself!

So i have mostly done away with the sinks and make them use hand sanitizing gel. If the doctors in the hospitals/offices can use it rather than the sinks i figure it's just as good for us as well. AND it is much, much easier and i can confine them all the the grocery cart or stroller or whichever when i give it to them. Then their hands are clean AND i can finish my shopping or whichever before all three of them start to get antsy and start to misbehave.

I have had to use the hand sanitizing stuff for a while now because the water and soap make my hands dry and crack.

what about letting him use antibacterial wipes or something like that.. you dont even need to turn water on. i think the brand is sanikidz... and they either come in little packets or in a tub like wipes.. good luck.. i had to let my son play in the sink, but now he washes the hole bathroom after his "hand washing"...

Handwashing is critical and it's being emphasized in medical offices, schools, etc. to help with things like swine flu containment. So regular handwashing has to be part of his routine, potty or not. I disagree with the hand sanitizer thing unless you are somewhere where there is no soap & water (e.g. porta-potties, camping). The key is soaping up and lathering, and not turning the water on until it's time to rinse. Most kids make the mistake of putting soap on their hands and then immediately going under the faucet and rinsing the soap off! Try songs, like the first poster said - the ABC song takes a while, or do Happy Birthday twice. Twinkle Twinkle is the same tune as ABC but he might not realize it. What other songs does he like? Don't pick one with hand motions like "Wheels on the Bus" but try Old MacDonald or anything else he enjoys. Mix it up. Once he's lathered up, then you can turn on the water, either for a sinkful in which to rinse, or a stream. Just put a big beach towel on the floor and hope for the best! But handwashing has to be like carseats - not negotiable. You'll be glad later on when he's wiping himself that you set up the system/habit early on. Urine isn't as big a deal since it is actually sterile, BUT it's hard to get kids to wash after bowel movements if it's optional after urination. Also, when they start using public bathrooms, you don't know what else they are touching, so they need to wash no matter what. Good luck!