1. Park a few favorite toys outside the bathroom for your child to play with after they wash their hands. Consider using toys that are easy to clean and keep organized, such as rubber ducks, action figures, or other waterproof toys.
2. Provide a custom soap dispenser in the bathroom that your child hand-decorated with stickers, markers, glitter, and other fun crafty things. Alternatively, use one that features a cute animal or their favorite animated character. These personalized and visually appealing dispensers can make handwashing feel like a fun and creative experience, encouraging kids to wash their hands more frequently.
3. Sprinkle some glitter "fairy dust" on your child's hands as they soap up and have them "magically" make it disappear as they scrub and rinse it away. Kids love doing "magic tricks!"
4. Use colorful, scented, foaming, and fun-shaped soaps to make handwashing a pleasurable sensory experience. Foaming soaps add a unique tactile element, while colorful soaps make the soap more visually appealing.
5. Incorporate a song into your child's handwashing routine to help ensure they scrub for the full recommended 20 seconds. Have everyone in your household set a good example by singing their own songs during handwashing. Here are some popular choices that meet the 20-second requirement:
The Birthday Song (have your child sing it twice)
Alphabet Letter ABC's Song
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
6. Consider using a visual gel timer and have your child wash until the timer "runs out." Get a little extra scrubbing time in with one of our sensory gel timers.
7. Wash your hands every time your child does! If your child is old enough and is good at multitasking – the two of you can make silly faces in the mirror as you wash, tell knock-knock jokes, or chat about something you'd like to do together (such as a game you'd like to play, what's been the best part of your day so far, what you're having for dinner, etc.).
8. Provide handwashing "tools" that will help motivate your child to wash their hands – things like a footstool that makes it easy for your child to reach the sink comfortably, their own fluffy colorful, hand towel (one with zoo animals, Disney, or cartoon characters on it can be a great incentive), etc.
9. Consider using a sticker chart to provide an incentive for handwashing. Every time your child washes his/her hands, they get a sticker. Getting to pick which sticker they want can sometimes be enough of a reward for young kiddos. For kids that are a little older, brainstorm some fun rewards together that they can choose from when they get so many stickers (a small prize, getting to pick what to watch on tv after dinner or which game to play that night, or perhaps 10 minutes of extra screentime or a special dessert, etc.).
Do you have other fun handwashing ideas or tips that have worked well with your kids that you'd like to share with other families? Please send them to us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Who would have thought washing your hands could be so much fun....? Happy handwashing!
*Updated in May 2024
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