To expect my son to wash his hands when he gets in?

[Whyareyousoannoying]

Ds 16yo has been at work or college, come home on public transport.

Aibu to expect him to wash his hands upon arriving home before he starts touching everything especially the fridge, food, cups etc. he will walk straight in and start going in the fridge making a drink not washing his hands.

When I ask him he shouts at me and calls me a germ phobe.

Everyone else in the house manages to wash their hands when they get in.

@Whyareyousoannoying I think I’d prioritise relationship with ds on this one. Then maybe when you’re having a good moment (like teen car chat 🙂) just chuck in why it’s important to you and you appreciate it when he does it. Then leave it. That’s what I’d do, but god knows whether I’m getting it right.

All the people saying they never get ill. It's not really the point.

You could make someone else ill with poor hand hygiene.

Dad had Covid back when it was doing the rounds. He was extremely ill. Dh, ds2 and I had it a few months later. Ds2 had a sniffle and Dh and I had no symptoms at all.

Besides it only takes once. You could probably lick the rail on the bus and be fine, but one time you won't be.

Handwashing is basic.

She's not washing her hands before touching the fridge, that would be ridiculous. If everyone washes hands on coming home from outside, everything inside will be clean. You can't think it's more reasonable to expect OP to have to wash her hands before touching everything in anticipation of her son having touched it than just having a 'wash your hands when you come in' rule.

Frankly if nurses advocate hand washing when coming home from work/school that's good enough for me.

Thanks. To be honest if he was coming in and going straight to his room I might not even notice.

It's the fact that he's walked straight into the kitchen where I was cooking and started picking at the food etc. I'll just ask can he wash his hands please and he starts yelling.

@Dracarys1 thanks that's just it. I don't wash my hands if I'm home every time I open the fridge or make a glass of water.

I don't think some people understand how germs spread.

To me YANBU. I always wash my hands when I get back in.

Op, you think you are right, absolutely your choice, but why bother posting in AIBU?
Others have given their opinions but you are quite certain YANBU so it all seems pointless

It’s no wonder that cases of Norovirus are still increasing when you read some of these responses. Basic hand hygiene stops the spread of a lot viruses.

I was asking genuinely but then when I was reading some of the replies and thinking about it more it just reinforced why I believe hand hygiene is a good thing.

I also noticed that lots were saying that they might not wash their hands on arriving home, but would before prepping food.

Well that's exactly what ds was doing, prepping food. But it seemed to go over peoples heads.

Yes! People picking their noses and coughing into hands in the supermarket too. Oh. My. God.

Wow. This thread has blown my mind. I had a feeling that people were mingers when all the hand soap sold out during the pandemic (clue: hand washing was clearly new to people), but omg wash your bloody hands if you’ve been on public transport or touched public handrails… I would have thought this was basic common sense.

Yes your son should wash his hands. I’d bollock my kids if they came home from school and touched even the handle of the fridge with grubby school-hands, let alone touch the food in it. Call me a germ phone all you like but if you’re putting your hands all over my house, they better be clean.

Well yes, people should wash their hands after they've been to the toilet. You reckon everyone that has touched the hand rails on the bus home has? Of course you should wash your hands when you get in before you start touching stuff in the kitchen, god knows what you've been indirectly touching 🤢

Have none of the non hand washers heard of Florence Nightingale or seen the glitter hand print test at school?

But it won't always be clean, will it?

Your clothes will be dirty and covered in germs, for starters. Then people will be sneezing, wiping their noses, playing with their hair, touching their phones and keyboards, or handling things like newspapers or packaging - none of which are remotely clean.

Someone washing their hands when they come in doesn't make everything in the house clean in the slightest.

YABU

SlatternIsMyMiddleName · Today 19:10
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I’m with your son on this one. It wouldn’t occur to me to wash my hands when
I came in unless there was something dirty on them.

The whole point is that you don’t know if there’s something “dirty” on them because bacteria and viruses are invisible to the naked eye. “Dirt” doesn’t always look like mud!

Would you be content if your surgeon decided not to wash their hands because they didn’t “look dirty”. Do people, seriously, not know this post-Covid? If that’s the case, humanity deserves the next pandemic.

Jeez, it’s 40 seconds. Wash your bloody hands. Not hard, is it?

@biscuitsandbooks obviously you can't keep everything sterile. I wouldn't even suggest you try.

But the whole point of handwashing is that you're touching everything with your hands as well as eating.

If you've been out all day in public places and then travelled home on public transport you're going to have touched a lot of surfaces.

You wash your hands before you eat, you don't wash your hair.

Clearly most people think you are overreacting. And your reference to germs does suggest that you have issues with germs.

Are you a germaphobe?

we wash hands after the loo
before prepping food
before eating

that’s it

We wash our hands after coming into the house- I often need to remind my DS (16) to do it, but he doesn't make a fuss. I'd just keep insisting, OP.

Ds's school recently had a 'flu outbreak and loads of people got ill so he's well aware that school is a petri dish!

Well some people will say I'm a germaphobe but if you look up the definition of germaphobe then that is not me.

I go about my daily life perfectly normally. I go to work, have children that I take to clubs, I go out to eat and socialise.

I just practice basic hand hygiene.

I reckon germaphobe is just an insult that people who are a bit unhygienic themselves use to excuse themselves.

Yes, you've touched a lot of surfaces.

But you've also just come inside in clothes you've worn outside, do you then spend the rest of the day washing your hands every time you (for example) roll up your sleeves, or reach into your jeans pocket - because those surfaces are covered in the same germs you were worried about being all over your hands.

Do you also wash your hands after touching your phone that's also been outside and covered in germs? What about your handbag or your keys?

The logic just doesn't make sense to me.

I'm also not sure if some people struggle with reading comprehension but I've explained several times that ds was prepping food.

Yet people are still telling me I'm wrong yet saying they wash their hands before prepping food.

absolutely this. I think Brits are actually pretty dirty people these days. Amount of people that sneeze into their hands, pick their mouths and noses, stink and never wash their hands 🤢 people on this thread boasting about only washing their hands when visibly dirty 🤢 wtf.
no wonder so many winter bugs and flus go round. Should be permanent public health campaigns to remind people to wash their hands.

You are not being unreasonable. It's basic hygiene. Pretty normal for teenagers to not be bothered though. I wash my hands as soon as I get in from work, and shopping etc. I'm genuinely shocked at the amount of adults that don't wash their hands before eating lunch at work. It's gross.