Teaching
Children Proper Handwashing
this Cold and Flu Season
(ARA)
- With the cold and flu season here, one of the
most vulnerable populations are young children
attending schools and daycare. To keep kids healthy,
handwashing continues to be one of the most simple,
yet effective ways to fight disease, according
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The main way that illnesses like colds and flu
are spread is from person-to-person in respiratory
droplets of coughs or sneezes, called “droplet
spread.” This can happen when droplets from
a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through
the air and come in contact with the mouth or
nose of people nearby, or when germs land on shared
items such as toys, desks and doorknobs. If a
person fails to wash their hands after touching
these surfaces, they can become vulnerable if
they touch their eyes, mouth or nose.
To
help kids protect themselves, kids and their parents
can now benefit by getting help from The Scrub
Club, an animated Web site (www.scrubclub.org)
developed by the not-for-profit NSF International.
The new Web site teaches kids and their parents
the importance of washing hands in the fight against
infections and food borne diseases through interactive
games, activities, a handwashing song and even
an animated webisode.
“The
Scrub Club was created to raise awareness about
the benefits of handwashing,” says William
Fisher, vice president at NSF International, a
public health and safety organization that independently
certifies products and writes standards. “By
offering children, parents and teachers a fun
and educational Web site, our goal is to reduce
the number of school sick days and ultimately
improve the overall hygiene of children and adults.”
Six
Steps to Proper Handwashing
The
Scrub Club
Web site features seven “soaper-hero”
kids -- “Hot Shot,” “Chill,”
“Squeaks,” “Taki,” “Scruff,”
“Tank” and “P.T.” -- that
transform to represent each of the six steps to
proper handwashing.
Step
1: Wash with warm water. “Hot Shot”
and “Chill” turn into hot and cold
faucets and then combine to make the warm water
essential for proper handwashing.
Step
2: Apply soap -- bar or pump are both
fine. “Squeaks” can transform into
various forms of soap, from bars of all sizes
to pumps of all kinds.
Step
3: Wash for a full 20 seconds, rubbing
hands together to lather soap. “Taki”
becomes a clock that counts down the required
20 seconds for thorough handwashing.
Step
4: Clean around your fingernails, using
a nail brush if you have one. “Scruff”
reminds kids that hands aren’t clean until
the nails are clean.
Step
5: Rinse away soap with warm water. “Tank”
turns into a sink and serves as a reminder to
rinse away germs.
Step
6: Dry with paper towels or warm air
dryer. “P.T.” transforms herself into
paper towels.
At
www.scrubclub.org, kids see the six steps to proper
handwashing in action through an interactive webisode
and can also sing along to the Scrub Club theme
song. The first webisode, “The Good, the
BAC and the Ugly,” finds the Scrub Club
battling the loathsome, but lovable character
BAC (from the Partnership for Food Safety Education’s
Fight BAC! food safety public education campaign),
and one of his partners in “grime,”
“Sal Monella,” in a Wild-West themed
adventure.
Interactive
games, including one that features the evil villain
“Influenza Enzo” called “Stop
Fluin’ Around,” teach children how
illnesses and food borne diseases are spread and
how to prevent them. Additionally, Scrub Club
visitors can also download materials such as a
Scrub Club membership card, posters, stickers,
games and activities as well educational materials
for teachers and information for parents that
not only enhance the site but also make it fun
for kids to return to the site time and time again.
For additional information, visit www.scrubclub.org.
Other helpful resources include www.cdc.gov/flu/school,
www.fightbac.org
and www.cleanhandscoalition.org.
Courtesy
of ARA Content
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