Importance of Hand Washing

With all of the germs that have a tendency to follow us around, one of the easiest things that we can do is remember to wash our hands. Not only does washing your hands prevent the spread of germs to other people, but it also keeps you from spreading germs to yourself. You should always wash your hands before eating and especially after you have used a public restroom or your own bathroom.

When you stop to think about it, germs are everywhere. If you stop to think about how often you touch a door handle or shake someone else's hand, it can seem overwhelming to think about all of the germs that you come into contact with on a daily basis. At best, washing your hands doesn't seem like it is nearly enough to rid yourself of germs that could potentially make you or someone else you love sick. However, when you go to a fast food restaurant, you will usually see posted signs so employees reminding them that it is against the law to not wash your hands prior to handling someone else' food in the restaurant.

One industry in which washing your hands is key is the child care or educational industry. Often times, parents will bring young children in to a day care with runny noses or other little colds in which the child's hands are on their face, in their mouths, on the floor and then in another child's face. It is not uncommon, therefore, to have children who make other children sick as well as adults. This is part of the reason that all teachers in elementary schools are required to keep up-to-date on their flu shots and vaccinations. On the one hand, they don't want to catch any colds that children might be bringing into the classroom; and on the other hand, they don't want to give children any germs.

Additionally, classrooms are excellent breeding grounds for germs because throughout the course of the day, different children come into and out of the classroom in order to use the desks, pens, pencils and books. Therefore, while it may be the responsibility of the maintenance people to clean the classrooms at the end of the day, the teacher should also assume responsibility for cleaning up after the children at the end of each class period or a few times throughout the day. Simple things such as wiping the desks off with some disinfectant spray and/or employing the help of the students can make a huge difference.

Children need to be made aware from a young age how important personal hygiene is. Typically, this would be the responsibility of the child's parents. However, teachers can certainly reinforce this notion by spending a few minutes each day with the class discussing how it is important to wash your hands and use a tissue if you have to blow your nose or sneeze. Often, if a child needs to be excused to use the bathroom, the teacher will escort him or her to the bathroom and gently remind them that they need to make sure that they wash their hands with soap and warm water.