Tell Andrex® how you remind your DCs and the rest of the family about the importance of keeping clean - £250 spa voucher and a month's supply of Andrex® toilet tissue to be won! NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

Following the thread earlier this month about the honest things your DC say whilst learning to keep clean, the team at Andrex® would now love to share their “Andrex® Clean Routine” with you and find out how you encourage cleanliness with your family.

Andrex® say, “One in 5 of us doesn’t know, or isn’t sure of how best to keep their bottom clean, which is why we’ve developed the Clean Routine.”

Andrex® want to know what you think – how do you encourage your family, from toddler to partner to keep their intimate areas clean? Have you got any other tips that you have shared with your family that work well?

Add your comment to this thread and you’ll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £250 Spa voucher and a months supply of Andrex®. Please note comments may be used by MN and Andrex® on social media, on the Andrex® pages on MN or possibly elsewhere: anon of course – but please only add your comment if you’re happy for it to be used like this!

Thanks and good luck,


MNHQ

[edandmadsmum]

"Mummy......I dunna poo!!!" It the sentence I drea hearing from DD aged3. We are trying to teach her to be self sufficient, but after a few disasters, it's easier to just help out.

Jungle themed andrex moist wipes are great though for the DS age 6 who very definitely doesn't want help!

[Cherryjellybean]

With my toddler I listen to make sure she has done everything she is meant to. I also ask her when she comes out if I am not sure, luckily she is pretty honest. If I find out she hasn't done something like wash her hands I send her back, and this is happening less than less now :)

[SaltySeaBird]

My DD is too young really to self clean but she likes to have a go. She wipes herself with a moist wipe ... but then tries to suck it sometimes ... we have a long way to go!

[RueDeWakening]

Best thing I've done to teach the importance of washing your hands was to cover my hands with "germs" (pinch of glitter) then just go about the house doing normal stuff. After about 20 minutes I gave the kids some wet wipes and asked them to wipe off the "germs", they had a bit of trouble getting them all :o

Then we did it again, only the second time I washed my hands before carrying on with stuff.

So long as you can cope with the glitter, it's a really effective way of showing how germs can spread if you're not careful.

[Ratbagcatbag]

We used to have real issues with dss (who thankfully now at 15 yo can manage but it was always a battle. We also used the "if it's white, it's right" saying. However hand washing was always a nightmare. He would run the tap but not have his hands under them, we ended up having to leave the door on and supervise.
I have 16m dd now, I think we will use the moist ones with her.
As to dh toileting, I have no idea, I hoping he can manage himself.

[ShatnersBassoon]

I wouldn't dream of embarrassing DH by asking him about his ablutions, or encouraging him to try a new technique! The children are old enough to effectively monitor their own cleanliness too, luckily.

I'm not really sure how we made sure the kids understood personal hygiene when they were little, but they've got the hang of it. I think we probably drummed it into them about not spreading germs and not being smelly, and encouraged them to be independent about it from being toilet trained.

[Pealicious]

"If it's white you've done it right" is the mantra in our house. My five year old is now on her Daddy's case - being a bloke he's not a natural hand washer...!

[Ayaanfb]

Young ones should really wash their bottoms but wipe first using andrex wipes then tissue to dry. Hand washing a must

[Bubbles85]

I always leave out a pack of Andrex Washlets and replace them when empty. If I didn't, once a packet was finished we would never use them again!

[Bigglesfliesundone]

Our 8 year old is appalling at wiping her bum :( I always tell her if she doesn't do it properly she could get a nasty itch or a rash and that having poo encrusted knickers is not an attractive look. I also do it for her if she looks like she may be struggling . We use a special falnnel at times too...Washing hands afterwards is now automatic as we have had the germs discussion.

[digdeepforanswers]

I am lost on this

[GenericDietCola]

When DD was potty training, she loved a video called 'Tom's Toilet Triumph' (available on youtube), which effectively explains how to graduate from nappies to toilet and how to wipe until the paper is clean. She is very keen to make sure she has wiped properly and washed her hands and she knows about 'germs' and the risk of infection. I'm a microbiologist - she's not quite ready for aseptic technique, but not too bad!

[ladybirdandsnails]

I do the hand check - dry hands get returned to whence they came. At 4 and 2 they lie about washing but this gets them every time !

[MerryMarigold]

Oh yes, I do the smell check. Can I smell handwash or did they dip them under the tap?

[ChaffinchOfDoom]

it does take a lot of repetition when they are learning to use the big loo buying fun soap helps them to remember to wash, also lots of ominous talk about ''you'll get tummy worms '' if you have mucky hands... cue wide eyes ''what're tummy worms!'' and invent a suitably horrendous explanation of said worms.

[TheLostWinchesterWife]

Patterned toilet paper, doing a little dance for my daughter that has a little song 'wiggle, wiggle and a wipe..down the loo, flush the toilet, bye poo. Now let's wash our our hands like good girls do'
Very cute when a 3 year old says it ... not so much a 37 year old who has it stuck in her head.

[TheHoneyBadger]

if one in five people don't even know how to wipe their own arse the human race is in trouble.

[Rigbyroo]

Same as most people here, keep wiping until tissue is clean. We use the moist wipes to start with.

[MerryMarigold]

Honey, I think it was a skewed question. I can see myself saying, 'no' if asked whether I know the best way to keep my bottom clean . I mean however well you wipe you are never clean until you wash. I would be wondering if there is some magic way to be really clean that I'd missed. Clearly not!

[macmissy]

We're going through a ton of toilet roll at the moment, but I would rather that than him have a dirty bum!

We call it the drill - wipe until toilet roll is clean (which generally is a fair few tries) flush, wash & dry hands - shower every day to make sure bum is clean (which is funny as he won't go in without a shower hat on!)

[MrsMoo38]

Decent toilet roll & wet wipes!! My two have reached the age of 'feeling' clean or not, thankfully! A handwash dispenser make handwashing more 'novel', they wash every time!! I always make sure they have a flannel on hand to dry

[Snoopygirl81]

Mostly nagging my older step children, I see to think I spend most of my life saying "have you flushed" and "have you washed your hands"!

[222333]

Ds is only 4 and is starting to clean herself but refuses to use normal toilet paper only uses "special tissue" to wipe her bum and "special hand wash" for her hands. Requirements for "special tissue" paper have to be must look nice and must smell nice, as for the hand wash it had to be dettol no touch anything else and won't wash her hands without a bribe.

[gonnab40]

Starting off toilet training - moist wipes are great. But kids can get a bit messy and i found even the toilet gets decorated. So heres what worked for my son who has aspergers and tends to be lax on personal hygiene - hes almost adolescent now and its not a big issue.
get a plate spread chocolate/ desert sauce on it and challenge them to practice wiping the plate clean using toilet paper without getting any sauce on themselves. Show them how to wipe so that the plate is clean and sauce is on one side of the toilet paper only.

I also advised if they think they are clean give it one last check.

its all about consistency - not in the poop but in your method - I know that when I stick to one route and don't swap about its easier for my kids to grasp whats needed, so I showed them their pants if they were going in the wash dirty and I told them about the germs in poop and showed them a picture of worms - that worked a treat!

[lifesavingnoodles]

We have lots of animals and i have told the children ( mine and visitors) that the minute one of the children gets sick from an animal then the animal is going to a new home

this gets them in a couple of ways. it reminds them to wash thier hands after petting and it reminds them to clean the cages out!