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Kid's Forum

Hand Washing
By Jacqueline Seewald

How long should you REALLY wash your hands? What are the most effective soaps to deter germs? These are some of the questions parents ask.

According to Mayo Clinic, anti-microbial wipes or towelettes are just as effective as soap and water in cleaning your hands but aren't as good as alcohol-based sanitizers. Antibacterial soaps are no more effective at killing germs than regular soap! Antibacterial soaps may actually lead to the development of resistant bacteria, making it even harder to kill these germs in the future. This is the same problem as with overuse of antibiotic drugs.

Regular soap is fine. The combination of scrubbing your hands with soap then rinsing them with water loosens and removes bacteria from your hands. Teach your child to wet his or her hands with warm, running water and apply liquid soap or a clean bar soap. Lather well. Rub hands together for 15 seconds. Scrub everything, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails. Rinse well. Dry hands with a clean towel. Use a towel to turn off the faucet.

Is frequent hand washing is necessary? Recent outbreaks of norovirus -- also known as stomach flu -- indicate the contagious, fast-moving virus is again a public health concern. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has six simple steps to protect families against noroviruses. They state that frequent hand washing is the best defense.

Hospitals worldwide battle infections on a daily basis. One of the most difficult is Clostridium.difficile. Dr. Michael Libman, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), studied the most effective ways to eliminate C.difficile bacteria from the hands of health care workers. The highest honors went to soap and warm water!

Hand washing can save lives in many developing countries especially regarding children. Regina Ejemot of the University of Caliber, in Nigeria, showed that teaching people about hand washing can reduce the incidence of diarrhea by up to 30 percent and might have as great an affect as providing access to clean water. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that diarrhea is responsible for over 2.2 million deaths annually, especially in children under the age of five. An important cause of malnutrition in poor countries, it can contribute to decreased resistance to infection and harm children's growth and development.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers - that don't require water - are an acceptable alternative to hand washing, particularly when soap and water aren't available. They're actually more effective than soap and water in killing bacteria and viruses that cause disease. Commercial hand sanitizers contain ingredients that help prevent dryness. But not all hand sanitizers are created equal. Some don't contain alcohol. Only use products that contain at least 60 percent alcohol.

Wash hands after using the toilet, changing a diaper (wash the diaper-wearer's hands, too), after touching animals or animal waste, before and after preparing food, (especially before and immediately after handling raw meat, poultry or fish ), before eating, after blowing your nose, after coughing or sneezing into your hands, before and after treating wounds or cuts, before and after touching a sick or injured person, after handling garbage, before inserting or removing contact lenses, and when using public restrooms.

You can help your children avoid getting sick by insisting that they wash their hands properly and frequently. Teach by example. Wash your hands with your children and supervise their hand washing.

Tell your children to wash their hands for as long as it takes them to sing their ABCs, "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" or the "Happy Birthday" song. This works especially well with younger children, who often rush when washing their hands. Older children and adolescents also can use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Younger children can use them, too - with an adult's help. Just make sure the sanitizer has completely dried before your child touches anything. This will avoid ingestion of alcohol from hand-to-mouth contact.

Hand washing is especially important for children who attend childcare. Children younger than 3 years in childcare are at greater risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, which can easily spread to family members and others in the community. To protect your child's health, be sure your childcare provider promotes sound hygiene, including frequent hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Does that convince you yet? Good!

Family Fun Time
By Veronica Scott

Nothing is more fun and exciting than getting together with family on a Friday night and having a great time. Order a pizza, pick up some pop and a movie, and settle in for a great evening of family activity! There are countless options that can make for a wonderful family fun night, too. Let the kids pick an activity for a change or schedule it so that a different family member gets to pick the activity for each different family fun night.

There are several things you can do to ensure that family fun time goes off without a hitch and becomes a planned activity for the whole family, each and every week. The first thing you need to do to accomplish this is to plan for it, of course.

Plan Ahead

Most people have extremely busy lives and are juggling soccer practice with piano lessons and homework. For today's busiest families, the prospect of family fun time might seem like a distant fantasy instead of a reality. With a little bit of planning and dedication to family, however, family fun night can become a reality and can be a functioning part of your family's schedule. The first step to making this happen is setting aside some time for it.

Set aside a weekend night, preferably. Family fun nights work best on Friday nights or Saturday nights, as most people are home from their workweek and their school week. Kids and adults alike are ready to unwind and relax for the weekend, making Fridays the ideal night for ordering takeout and playing board games.

Setting aside one night a week is a good first step, but that night needs to be effectively reserved for family fun night. Yes, there will be scheduling conflicts and there will be situations that will come up and interfere with family fun night. Treat family fun night like it is the most important part of the schedule because, in many ways, it is. Schedule time with friends, piano lessons, karate practice, and other events around family fun time and make your family's time together a top priority in your weekly planning.

Get Creative

There are several activities that you can plan for family fun night. Sometimes the activity may be simple, like pizza and a great movie. Other times, you may plan something a touch more intricate, like rock climbing or miniature golf. Regardless of the planning, it is important to ensure that each family member has a say in the activity. For this reason, scheduling the "activities coordinator" is a great idea. Let your son pick the activity for the upcoming family fun night, followed by your daughter's plans for the following week and your husband's plans for the week after that. Scheduling the planning process gets everyone involved.

Family activities can be anything from watching a movie to putting together a dollhouse or building something cool. The sky is the limit in terms of ideas for family fun, so get creative and involve the whole family in putting aside great family time!