Problem: Your three- and five-year olds touch stuff in the bathroom (cups, toothbrushes, etc.) after going to the bathroom, but before washing their hands. You are tired of saying "No, WASH YOUR HANDS FIRST!" every time they use the bathroom.
Fun solution: Put baby powder on your hands. Lots of baby powder. Say that the baby powder is "pretend germs". Then touch your face, cups, doorknobs, etc. etc. Look! Germs everywhere! Make a big show of washing your hands off. They will of course immediately demand to get "pretend germs" on their hands and make a mess of everything. Encourage this.
Warning: May cause general hilarity, sneezing.
Thanks! I've been looking for a way to give my son both obsessive-compulsive disorder AND germphobia!
The key is, of course, to shout "GERMS EVERYWHERE," especially as a means of waking the child in the morning.
Comment #1 :: link :: August 17, 2006 3:45 PMDon't know if this will work on 3- or 5-year olds, but Sarah came up with a great method for our 21-month old. She puts water and soap in a big bowl, which our daughter enjoys splashing her hands in.
Warning: May cause large puddle of soap and water on floor.
Comment #2 :: link :: August 17, 2006 9:28 PMNext, we're going to give the kids spaghetti as "pretend tapeworms." That'll teach em!
Comment #3 :: link :: August 18, 2006 10:11 AM. . . and you didn't videotape this event?
Comment #4 :: link :: August 21, 2006 7:49 PM :: homepage
