My youngest son (the one we call Grumpy) has an aversion to washing his hands. Every time he uses the toilet we have a little battle and so I am pathetically grateful for anti-bac hand gel which he will tolerate - just about!
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| Grumpy should definitely wash his hands after stroking dead mammals! |
When he first went to pre-school the staff were fantastic and popped some little fish into a washing up bowl and got him to try and catch the fish while they quickly gave his hands the once over - but frankly I can't be bothered to pander to him and he'll just have to put up with me gelling him and/or holding his hands under the water while he shrieks! I'm trying not to think about what happens in the school toilets…..
He doesn't realise how lucky he is - so many children all over the world don't have access to running water, or indeed a nice clean flushing toilet.
It's something we take for granted, if we are honest, and yet being able to wash hands properly can actually save lives.
Unicef recently held Global Handwashing Day and World Toilet Day to highlight the importance of their hygiene teaching programme.
It may sound simple but teaching children and families about handwashing and safe toilets is apparently a crucial part of their work to change the lives of children across the world.
I was shocked to learn that every year, diarrhoea kills 1.5 million children and affects the health of millions more. The cheapest, simplest way to prevent it isn’t a vaccine or medicine; it’s clean water and a bar of soap. That’s how powerful handwashing is. It's so simple so children, wherever they are, need to be taught to protect themselves from disease by washing their hands.
Even my teens are a little bit lazy about washing their hands so I showed them this bonkers youtube clip from Unicef which demonstrates good hand washing techniques with a too-catchy song and dance. It made me realise that even I am a bit careless and since watching the clip I have tried harder to wash my hands more carefully.
Check out the video. I'll apologise in advance as you WILL be humming that tune for the rest of the day!
And if you want to do your bit to help save lives in developing countries head on over to Unicef's website and donate now!
