How To Wash a Toddler's Hands

(PS - I updated my Enormous Toddler Bib/Napkin post to show a pic of the bib in action!)

Little hands can get every bit as dirty - or dirtier! - than big hands. Every time I think that Goose is mostly out of the sucking and chewing on fingers phase, I find her hand in her mouth. I think she might have some molars moving, as she's been chomping a lot lately.

So, I've been trying to pay a bit more attention to keeping her hands clean. Here's how we do it.

We have a stepstool that we keep in the bathroom. She uses it to get on the potty, and to wash her hands.








Our soap of choice is Johnson's Buddies soap. If you read MoneySavingMom.com, you know that there are often printable coupons to get the soap for free. Can't beat that! I like how the soap foams up quickly as it has a fabric covering, and it smells GREAT. Best of all, it doesn't contain triclosan. (Click through below to Katie's post to read much, much more about it.)









Since Goose still doesn't quite have the hang of lathering her own hands, I help her. I start by working up a lather with the bar myself, then I put it in her hands and wrap my hands around hers as shown in the picture. While I admit we probably don't wash for the full 30 seconds, I try to work up a good lather and then spend almost as much time rinsing and rubbing her hands under the water.

As I mentioned earlier, I am participating in Spring Cleaning: Get the Junk OUT! at Kitchen Stewardship. Go read Katie's post on Get the Antibacterials Out (and bleach), and read what other bloggers are doing on the subject.