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Proper Hand Washing for School Children1
Amy Simonne2This publication is best viewed as in PDF format. Click here to access the PDF.
Germs can hide under long fingernails and on dirty hands. Keeping your fingernails short and washing your hands often, are the most important things you can do to stop germs from making you sick. Germs that cause illnesses such as colds, flu, diarrhea, and vomiting can get on your hands from touching things around you. People, pets, raw foods, toys, soil, and objects used in our daily lives can all have germs on them. When you wash your hands properly it helps remove germs from your hands.
Figure 1. Keep your fingernails short. If you need to, ask an adult for help cutting fingernails.
Figure 2. Wet your hands under running water, then add soap.
Figure 3. Rub your hands together with soap while singing the Happy Birthday song twice.
Figure 4. Rinse your hands under running water.
Figure 5. If you are in a public restroom, use a paper towel to turn off the water.
Figure 6. Dry your hands with clean, disposable paper towels. Wash your hands before:
Wash your hands after:
- Eating and snacking
- Drinking
- Preparing foods
- Touching your mouth
- Visiting the restroom
- Coughing or sneezing on your hands
- Playing outdoors
- Handling pets
- Doing other activities that dirty your hands
Footnotes
1. This document is FCS8783-Eng, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Original publication date November 2005. Visit the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Amy Simonne, Ph.D., assistant professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.