Germs are waging a battle all around us. They are anxious to get into our body system to live their lives and do their damage. Germs can't be totally eliminated. They are all around us. We even have bacteria on our skin. Our fight is to keep the germs under control. From the perspective of an owner or director of a preschool, this is a daily or even an hourly fight. We are concerned about the health of the children and the teachers.

From the perspective of a parent, the health and safety of their child is a main concern. Therefore, as children go back to school they need to practice some healthy habits. As a parent or a teacher we will want to teach our children the practices that will help to prevent the spread of diseases and one of the most important health habits is frequent hand washing.

This has been confirmed by Dr. Oz on The Oprah Winfrey Show and even the President of the United States in his speech on Wednesday, July 29, 2009. Barack Obama said that individuals must "keep their hands washed".

In a preschool setting the ITERS (Infant Toddler Environmental Rating Scale) and the ECERS (Early Childhood Environmental Rating Scale) are used to indicate the quality of an early childhood learning program. Higher ratings come with more frequent hand washing. These scales recommend for the child or teacher to wash their hands when first getting to their preschool (to wash off the germs from the car and home) as well as when leaving the preschool (to wash off the classroom germs). During the day hands should be washed after going to the bathroom (and diaper changing) or blowing a nose. Before and after preparing or eating meals and snacks is another necessary time for washing hands. When coming in from the playground hands need to be cleaned. Other important times would be when using shared items like play dough or the sand and water table.

There is a technique to correct hand washing. Many children just put soap on their hands, rinse the soap down the drain, and then dry their hands. This is simple but not effective. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, correct hand washing takes running water, soap, and time. Teach and supervise your child to complete each step thoroughly and in the right order. There will be a future article on teaching and setting examples for your child.

First put hands in water to get them wet. Apply soap in the palm of the hand. One squirt is enough. Rub and scrub for at least 20 seconds. Be sure to wash in all the locations where germs love to hide including front and back of hands, between fingers, around fingernails, and wrists. Sing the song "Row, Row, Row the Boat" all the way through two times to be sure enough time is spent rubbing and scrubbing for the soap to do its job. Rinse and dry hands and place the paper towel in the trash. One paper towel is enough for a child's small hands. Be sure your child follows the right sequence in order to obtain maximum benefits. Remember, hand washing is stage 1 for winning the war on the germs.

Washing hands when going shopping, to the doctor, or just for a fun outing with parents needs to be remembered. Future articles will provide information on antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers.

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