Things You'll Need:
- Cooking Oil or liquid hand soap.
- Good Book Choices for preschool aged children:
- Germs Make Me Sick by Melvin Berger
- Oh, the Things You Can Do That Are Good for You by Tish Rabe
- Germs Are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick
- Wash Your Hands (Little Princess Books) By Tony Ross
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Step 1
READ books that help children see and visualize good hygiene habits.
Check out the suggested list in Things You'll Need. -
Step 2
SHOW your child how easily germs spread. Use their imagination. This is always great to use in a school setting with lots of children but you can do it at home as well. Rub your hands with lots cooking oil.
Shake your child’s hands, then have them touch the table, doorknob, sibling….
You can touch things as well...try putting oil on your lips and kiss your child’s head.
Count all the places you left oil (germs) There are traces of oil everywhere.
This helps your child learn germs can spread by direct contact with a person. -
Step 3
Time to clean up the germs. Have your child wash until the oil is gone…it takes more than a rinse…it takes soap, warm water, lathering up and a towel. Having your child sing a favorite song while washing helps make it fun and keeps them at the sink long enough to be effective.
Then have your child help you wipe up the spots that were touched. Water doesn’t do it. You need soap. You have just shown how easily germs spread, how far they go and how hard you need to work to get rid of them.
This helps your child learn germs can spread by things touched by a sick person. -
Step 4
Show your child how to sneeze and cough on their sleeve or the crook of their arm. Covering their mouth with their hands helps spread germs to friends when they touch toys, chairs, books, tables, door handles and on and on.
This helps your child learn that germs are in the air and to capture them. -
Step 5
SHOW and teach by example. Make a point of washing your hands through out the day, after bathroom time, before and after food, after the park, school, grocery, library times…wash hands. Carrying wipes in the car or your purse makes clean up fast, easy and immediate. Wash your hands if you help them wipe their nose and have them put the tissue in the garbage...then wash.
