Everyone should partake in preventing the spread of diseases, and it begins with keeping good hygiene. When you maintain good hygiene, you can stop the spread of germs, like bacteria and viruses, that make people sick. You can spread these germs when you touch an infected person, pet, toy, or surface. Infected people can also spread germs through the air when they cough and sneeze.

So, how do we slow the spread of illnesses?

Washing hands

As COVID-19 continues to spread, one of the best ways to keep you and your children safe is to wash your hands and your children’s hands. Wash your hands, and teach your kids to wash their hands before and after doing the following activities:

1. Using the toilet, or helping a child use the toilet
2. Cooking or eating
3. Touching, holding, or cuddling a sick child
4. Touching objects that a sick child has used or touched
5. Breastfeeding
6. Feeding a child
7. Touching or playing with pets or other animals
8. Changing a nappy
9. Touching a wound
10. Your hands are dirty.

How to wash your hands

It’s important to teach kids how to wash their hands properly, before and after performing any of the aforementioned activities. Here are steps to take in handwashing. 

Wet your hands.

Apply soap or hand wash, and rub your hands together for 15-20 seconds (you can tell children to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice while doing this to measure the time).

You can also use hand sanitizers (antiseptic gels) instead of soap and water. You can purchase them from pharmacies and supermarkets.

Ensure you wash the back of your hands, between the fingers, wrists, and under fingernails.

Rinse and dry your hands with a clean towel. 

More good hygiene habits to follow

Other good hygiene habits to slow the spread of diseases include:

1. Coughing or sneeze into your elbow (if you don’t have tissues)
2. Using tissues instead of hankies
3. Throwing tissues into the bin as soon as you have used them
4. Washing your hands after discarding tissues
5. Keeping unwell children away from others until they are well again.

On a final note, be sure to keep Vitamin-C on hand to contribute to the health of your children.