To wish people would work a bit harder to teach and enforce proper hand washing technique?

[madmomma]

Just this really. Loads of the kids at ds's school have seemingly permanently grubby hands and manky fingernails. I'm not talking about playdoh, paint or pen that has happened in school, but just grime under fingernails and inbetween fingers that indicate frequent hand washing isn't enforced. I find it revolting, given all the sickness bugs and viruses that are going round. Obviously it's not the kids' fault below a certain age but aibu to think it's a bit sloppy to not have hammered the hand washing thing into a child's brain by age 6 or so?

[Wolfiefan]

Unfortunately I think a lot of adults don't even do it properly. I'm slightly obsessed as DS was very ill and immunocompromised when very little.

[mumonashoestring]

YANBU, but as long as schools are so bloody obsessed with their precious attendance figures that they keep yammering on about sending kids in when they're coughing and sneezing everywhere and coating each other in snot I'm not sure hand washing is likely to rank that high up their priority list.

[StewPots]

YANBU OP, I find it utterly disgusting the amount of people who fail to wash their hands..people from all walks of life, young, old, professionals, etc etc. I don't understand how people can go around with dirty hands - they must feel it! Yuck.
I have drummed it into both my kids, and sometimes DS (3) forgets but is taken to the nearest sink and we get the job done.
I'm not a germaphobe by any means (DS is pretty gross sometimes) but I always encourage hand washing at regular intervals, and especially after using the toilet. I even find myself asking DH at times (poor bloke).
I also use alcohol gel whilst out and about because of the amount of people I see leaving toilets without washing their mitts.
On the plus side, we have been noro-free for the past 3 years (and I work in healthcare on the wards so I feel pretty lucky with that!)

[madmomma]

Very true shoestring

[madmomma]

I mean the parents more than schools really.

[madmomma]

Exactly stew you reap the rewards when you're careful. I think it's so basic that people forget that it works! And I think people also believe that constant bugs are inevitable for young kids. Obviously every kid is going to pick stuff up sometimes despite good hygiene, but lots can be avoided. One mum was telling me in detail about her little boy's stomach bug, then in the next breath encouraging him to kiss his sister! Common sense seems to be lacking. Maybe we got lax because we have such good medical care these days I dunno.

[OneFlewOverTheDodosNest]

I totally agree - I don't remember ever been actively taught how to wash my hands until doing Food Tech at secondary. I mean, you'd have teachers reminding you to use soap but the taps were freezing cold half the time anyway so hardly effective.

The number of women I see just running their fingers under the water for a second before leaving the toilets makes me think that there's a real gap still...

[user1485342611]

I can't bear seeing people walk out of a public toilet without bothering to wash their hands. And no, waving the tips of your fingers beneath a running tap is not 'washing' them.

[Bluebellevergreen]

YANBU
I work with children and my team always has 2-3 people sick.
Some parents let them put all the materials in their mouths even when I ask them not to, or they go around with filthy hands touching everything.

Now I know that little hands get messy but people should be washing them better and more. We have hand washing facilities but instead they get those wet wipes out that just made the dirt sticky.

Dislike

[Kiroro]

mumonashoestring actually good handwashing is very effective at reducing the likelihood of catching illnesses such as colds and other mild viruses!

www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/cold-guide/cold-prevention-hand-washing#1

[StewPots]

OP my DS is a typical boy, always doing something everyone else decides is grim (today it was inspecting the dogs nose then eating crisps 🤢) but because he regularly hand washes (and I suspect have an immune system made of cast iron) he is (touch wood) rarely poorly at all...dealing with poorly people all the time in work, it cannot be drummed in enough about hand washing - staff, patients, visitors etc but there are obviously people out there that completely ignore advice and carry on as normal without implementing proper hand hygiene. And it's because of these people I always carry alcohol gel. And then it's straight into the sink for me as soon as I can get to one!

[StewPots]

I also worked in hospitality, again a big deal to have clean hands at all times, so it's a real natural thing for me, but my parents also always insisted on hand washing. The only down side is I have to keep my hands well moisturised overnight otherwise they get too dry and sore 😩

[bumsexatthebingo]

YABU. Kids get dirty. They don't need to be scrubbed up to the elbow. My kids go to school clean but they come home dirty as one of them digs in soil and the other cartwheels on the grass. They will give their hands a thorough wash if told to but left to their own devices they will get them a bit wet and soapy then dried. They are very rarely ill though so I'm not overly concerned.

[madmomma]

I'm not talking about surgical scrubbing up to the elbows bumsex! Just washing them properly. And of course kids get dirty.I'm talking about washing hands properly after each and every toilet trip, before meals, and after sneezing into their hands/sticking their hands down their pants

[bumsexatthebingo]

Well it's wishful thinking to expect kids to voluntarily thoroughly wash after every bum scratch, nosepick etc. My kids wash their hands properly before dinner/when they come in from playing outside because I check. I doubt teachers can check 30 kids. I've always felt lucky that my kids attempt to wash their hands as I know kids who will try to get away with it when they can.
If you work with kids then you need antibac gel at all times and a biohazard suit

[mumonashoestring]

mumonashoestring actually good handwashing is very effective at reducing the likelihood of catching illnesses such as colds and other mild viruses!

I know. So is not having 30 odd small kids in close proximity coughing in each others faces all day 5 days a week. Not much point congratulating yourself on your child having just washed their hands when they walk out of the toilet and immediately pick up a toy or snack another child has just sneezed all over...

[IntoTheDeep]

YANBU, but I've seen plenty of adults who don't bother washing hands properly either.

DS1's infant school did do an assembly on hand washing recently though, so hopefully the kids who don't have good hand washing modelled to them at home will have learnt something.

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

Shrug. We wash DD hands if she sticks them down a poo nappy, or if she has been playing somewhere messy before eating.

She has been FT at nursery since Aug 2015 and in that time has had precisely two days off with a sickness bug that was going round at the time.

Yes, hand washing fine, but really, anti-bac gels, scrubbing all the time etc - I think it's responsible for not developing a decent immune system. Different if you are in hospital or in contact with vulnerable people, but for everyday life, I can't get worked up about a few germs.

[megletthesecond]

Yanbu. I told someone off on the loos at work for not washing their hands once . The kids were having a phase of not doing it and I was on auto pilot.

[madmomma]

I've never mentioned scrubbing, or antibac gels. I don't think either are necessary.

[StewPots]

I use antibac gel when out and about for a day, where I'm going to use public toilets, as I'm fed up of seeing people not wash their hands following using the toilet. I don't continuously use it all day everyday (although I do a lot at work obviously) because nothing is more effective than a proper hand washing