How to Teach Child Safety in Public Bathrooms

While parents rarely let their children out of their site in public places, at some point they are old enough to use the public bathroom on their own. If you think your child is at the age where they should be able to go to a public bathroom alone, teach them health and safety guidelines first.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Explain to your child that while bathrooms in public places are not something to be afraid of, they need to be careful. Your child needs to understand that there are bad germs everywhere and sometimes bad people who pretend to be good. Either way, if they are going to be a "big boy" or "big girl," they need to listen to you very carefully.
2. Tell your children that if they need to go to the public bathroom they need to let you know first instead of just running off to the bathroom. You should escort your child to the bathroom and at least peek in the door to make sure there are no outright "strange" people inside. If it is safe, let your child know exactly where you will be when they come out. Teach your child not to speak to anyone in the restroom unless it is an absolute emergency.
3. The public restroom is not a play area, and your child should know this. Take your child to the bathroom and point out all the objects he or she might touch. Let your child know that if any of them are broken to not use them. If the toilet set is cracked, he shouldn't sit on it. If the door doesn't lock right on a stall, it isn't safe. If the water uses hot only, he might get burned.
4. Teach your child germ safety. Your child should know that washing your hands isn't just running them under water and crumbling up a paper towel. It involves warm water, soap, and washing everything, such as the fingernails and under any rings. Tell your child that singing the "Happy Birthday" song while washing is a good amount of time to make sure everything is clean. To avoid getting those door handle germs, tell your child to dry their hands completely and get another paper towel to open the door handle. He can throw the towel away from the door or put it in another trash can outside the restroom.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't scare your child into not wanting to use the public restroom alone. Take a caring but entrusting attitude and your child will feel more like a "grown up" and follow directions carefully rather than skip directions out of fear.