'Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...'

This little girl's hand-washing routine would be aided by some fun soap -- and a step stool.

At TSL Adventures, we’re crazy about cleanliness, grumpy about germs.

We’re sure you are in your home, too. But how do you get your preschoolers, as well as your older children, to learn good hand-washing techniques? By making it fun through use of entertaining soaps -- yes there is such a thing -- and a song.

The Centers for Disease Control says that clean hands are vital for kids to avoid getting sick and then spreading their germs to other kids. Using soap and water to scrub hands is the first step in stopping the spread of disease. The CDC says children should be taught to wash their hands this way. Even young children should learn early to develop a lifetime of good habits.

Here’s the statistics on how good hand washing can reduce the chance of disease, from the CDC. And here are the organization's tips on how to get your kids to excel in hand washing.

• Use clean, running water -- either warm of cold -- to wet their hands. Turn off the water. That will save water, and conservation is another awesome skill for kids to learn. Put a stool by the sink if your little one is still too little to reach.
• Rub liquid or bar soaps all over their hands to create a good lather. Make sure the soap is applied to the palms of hands, backs of hands, between fingers and under nails. Lathering and scrubbing create friction that helps to lift dirt and all the other icky stuff from hands.
• Scrub for a minimum of 20 seconds. How long is that? Kids can sing or hum the “Happy Birthday” song twice in that time.
• Turn the water back on and rinse the hands well. Rinsing to remove all the soap helps to lessen the chance of skin irritation.

Remember, it’s never too early to instill good hand-washing habits!

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