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Stop the Spread of Germs
5 Easy Steps to Keep Your Family Healthy By Harmony Cornwell
How much hand washing is enough? When done correctly, there is no such thing as too much hand washing. Proper hand washing needs to be done for 15 to 20 seconds. The CDC recommends that children sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice as they are scrubbing their hands to increase the chances that most germs will be washed away. Liquid soap is a better choice over bar soap, and when someone is sick, instead of using a hand towel it is better to use paper towels to dry your hands, then dispose of them after each use.
"If [we] keep up on [our] hand washing we can usually prevent the other children from getting sick," says Amanda Schippers, a mother of four from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. She has her children wash their hands when they come home from school, before and after meals, after coughing (even if they use a tissue) and of course after going to the bathroom.
Vermeer even labels her children's drinks to prevent the spread of germs that can occur by drinking from the same cup. If you have young children that mouth their toys, give them a laundry hamper full of toys to play with that is only for them until the contagious period has passed. But make sure you sanitize all the toys before putting them back into circulation. A good way to sanitize children's toys is to fill your bath tub with hot water and put in a fourth cup of bleach; let the toys stay in the solution for two minutes in order to kill any germs or bacteria.
Give each child their own pillow and blanket too. Patty Underhill, a mother of two boys from New Brunswick, Canada, washes her children's bedding daily when they are sick to keep the germs at bay.