How do I get my 3 yr. old to wash her hands after using the restroom?

Question

Our daughter has been potty trained for about a year now and she does pretty good for being 3 yrs old (at least I think!), but sometimes she skips a step, like she'll wipe but forget to flush or flush and not wipe, but my main thing is getting her to wash her hands after using the bathroom. Her daddy doesn't even bother washing her hands most of the time, but we have a 4 week old baby now too and I want our older daughter to get the hand washing thing down. Do you think it's ok to just let her use hand sanitizer after each time she uses the bathroom. She goes quite a few times a day and I don't know if that would be using the hand sanitizer too much, but she can do that easily. And yes, I did hear about the toddlers who 'overdosed' on hand sanitizer, but she doesn't try to eat it or anything! We use it alot when we're out and about and there's not restroom to wash our hands in, so she's good with the sanitizer. So, what do you think?

Answer 1

Let her pick out her own soap, maybe the kind in the foaming bottle just because it is fun;).  Go with her when she uses the bathroom the next few times and take her with you just to show her the routine.  Teach her a song to sing while she washes her hands (abc's, twinkle twinkle, ...).  When she washes them on her own, give her LOTs of praise!

Answer 2

I would buy some Kaboodles kid soap. You could try taking her into the bathroom when you use it so that she sees that your washing your hands.

Answer 3

I'd go to the store & buy this "kan-do" toddler soap, I believe it foams & it's in a funky-colored bottle. Next, if your girl has little bath toys, maybe throw those in the sink.Perhaps she'll want to "give ducky a bath" after she uses the potty. Maybe by playing w/ those under the running water, she'll get those little hands washed & not realize it!

Answer 4

I have a 3  year old son and he LOVES to wash his hands but often forgets. The same with either flushing or wiping..hardly ever both! Ha. I went to the bathroom with him a few times and just stood outside the door and spoke the steps to him to get him into a routine. Like, use the potty, wipe, flush, now hands!!! He has a stool to stand on in the bathroom too so he can reach and he's pretty much the only person who uses our half bath anyway. He's done much  better with a little coaching. He'll come in the livingroom and say..oops! I almost forgot to wash my  hands!

Answer 5

you just have to be consistent with it, i got my daughter to do it by telling her there was germ bugs on her hands but you can't see them.  if you have to google germs and let her look at the pics and tell her that there very tiny but the soap and water will wash them away, it worked for my daughter and now she washes her hands!  just remind her because sometimes my daughter still forgets but if i mention it to her she will go wash them right away.  good luck!

Answer 6

It's not good to use hand sanitizer on a regular basis, so I don't suggest to do that. Really, all you can do is "tell" her she needs to wash her hands. When my daughter uses the bathroom, I tell her step by step as a reminder. "Don't forget to wipe, don't forget to flush, remember to wash your hands." If you're not in there with her, you will know if she washed her hands or not because most kids don't dry them very good. If her hands aren't wet when she comes out, take her back in there and tell her, "always remember to wash your hands afterwards." She will get the hang of it.

And yes, I think it's a guy thing... my husband "forgets" most of the steps when taking her to the bathroom. All he cares about is her going in the toilet. LOL

Answer 7

Just make it part of the routine. Let her pick out some kid-friendly soap and go with her a few times at first to show her how it's done and before you know it, it will just be habit! :)