A few weeks ago, my Mothers of Twins club welcomed a guest speaker to discuss illness prevention––a timely topic with the onset of cold and flu season.
Proper handwashing techniques are key to staying healthy. Many of us moms nodded in agreement when we heard the familiar recommendation to help our kids wash with soap and water while singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" two times. Simple enough if there is one child per caregiver, but what if you have twins or more?
I don't know about you, but I always get a twinge of guilt when I hear that advice. Our family had four kids within four years [including our twins]; the mom:kid ratio is 1:4! Clearly being outnumbered, I honestly didn't have the luxury of individually leading each child to the bathroom sink for a good, proper handwashing session before every meal.
Enter hand sanitizer. Handwashing IS best, but if you are not near a sink and [be honest] you know at that particular moment that you can't dedicate some time to soap and water, hand sanitizer is an acceptable substitute. We even keep a sanitizer pump ready in our family car for the kids to use after grocery shopping or preschool pickup––preschool, with the shared toys, can be a virtual petri dish of infectious agents!
A couple caveats to the wonders of hand sanitizer, though––for one, many common brands contain alchohol. Do not leave any bottle unattended with young kids, and don't let toddlers "lick" their hands when using the product, minimizing the risk of ingestion. Also note that when you visit a playground, your kids' hands can get a bit grimy and dirty; handwashing is best in this case, as hand sanitizer will just move the dirt around.
Do your best to keep the kids' hands clean, but when a virus strikes, do not despair! Ride out the storm and keep the silver lining in mind; each illness gives your kids' immune systems a healthy boost, fighting off the infection.
2 comments:
That's great advice. We also use hand sanitizer when we aren't near a sink.
Thanks for blogging about these important tips! If a sink or sanitizer are nowhere in sight, parents can grab a wipe from the diaper bag as the next best thing. I like to keep a travel pack of baby wipes in my car so everyone can wipe before eating a snack on a long ride.
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