By now, you have likely been indoctrinated like the rest of us around hand washing. We know that washing our hands and getting our children to wash their hands is the key to avoiding illness for ourselves and helping to NOT spread germs and illness to those others we come in contact with. Knowing the benefits of hand-washing and getting our children to wash their hands regularly and thoroughly are two entirely different things, however.
There are things you can do to encourage hand washing and make it a little on the fun side—in hopes this will inspire your children to at least tolerate washing their hands a few times a day.
First of all, make it easy and convenient to wash up—a stool that is readily available so that the child does not have to work hard to get up to sink and counter level; an easily-workable faucet and sink; an enticing mirror so they can watch themselves as they wash; and easily reachable towels and cloths to finish the job. If children have to reach and climb and it takes several tedious steps to wash up after using the bathroom or before a meal, they will not be eager to run the gauntlet in order to get clean, OR they will need to much help and adult supervision and that will make it less likely to happen often as well.
Consider fun supplies for hand washing: colorful and fun-smelling soap, soft and fun towels, and even playful decals for the bathroom mirror can all encourage children to linger and get a little wet. When my children were small, we use to keep some “toys” in the bathroom that were entirely waterproof and when they were reluctant to wash up, I would ask them if they could give the toys a bath. This was decidedly more fun than washing their own hands since they got to “play” in the water!