hand washing

coolcat · Jan 17, 2013

a quick question !!
do your kids wash their hands with soap and water everytime they eat anything ??i mean everytime ...even when out ??
This question i am asking because it seems that i am being a paranoid mom to my kid ...i force my child to wash his hands frequently , everytime he eats ...
sometimes because of this he doesnot like eating ...and feels out of place when he goes out with other kids ...as other kids eat without washing hands
i feel because of this my child does not eat frequently and is develpoing negative assocations with food .
my only worry is that if my child eat anything with dirty hands then he would get sick ..and he has weak immunity ...Please help me friends..
worried mom ..

ramyaramani · Jan 18, 2013

My DD is 18 months old. I wash her hands with water before eating, after eating and obviously when she has touched something dirty. So in a day I would wash her hands 5-6 times a day somedays 3-4 times. When we are outside and I have to give her a snack I just wipe her hands (sometimes forget to do that). When with kids, I just allow her to do as others.

The kids who grown in villages, slums, construction places have much more immunity than our kids. While it is good to be careful, being paranoid is an another world.

If he is having negative feelings towards food, then maybe you can tone down a bit. In a few years they would start realizing the importance of washing their hands.

vjbunny · Jan 18, 2013

Hi coolcat
Did you explain why DS should wash his hands before eating food? I guess if you can get him understand this it will become an automatic habit for him.. Since your daily reminders are not working I guess you should ask your Dh to speak to him gently to tell why he should wash hands... Make sure all of you wash hands before eating for more often kids emulate their parents habits...