Blog — handwashing
The Importance of Handwashing in the Classroom (And How Time Timer Can Help)
Repetition is the key to learning new tasks for children. Handwashing is one of those tasks where repetition is important to learn it properly. In today’s blog we talk about the importance of proper handwashing in the classroom and how Time Timer is here to help during that process.
Tips for Keeping the Family Safe from Foodborne Illness this Summer
With the most recent outbreak of Hepatitis A in strawberries, we are reminded of how important safety in food handling can be for the health of our families. Here are some ways to keep you and your kids safe this summer.
Potty Training Tools for the Summer
Toilet training with your child this summer? Discover our best tips for stress-free potty training and the Time Timer product duo to help.
Support Your Goals in the New Year with Time Timer
As we look ahead to the new year, Time Timer is excited to share our new product line-up designed to support you and your goals for less stress and more fun.
Take Time This Holiday Season
Happy Holidays from Time Timer! Learn how Time Timer visual timers can help you make every moment count with your friends and family. Read our blog for 4 tips for taking time and a holiday message from our President, Heather Rogers.
Global Handwashing Day 2021
October 15 is Global Handwashing Day. Established in 2008, Global Handwashing Day is a global advocacy day dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of the importance of handwashing as an effective and affordable way to prevent diseases and save lives.
Helpful Tools for Managing OCD and Germaphobia Anxiety in Everyday Life
If you or someone in your household, workplace, or classroom struggles with washing their hands for an excessive amount of time (or not enough time!), the Time Timer WASH Touchless Handwashing Timer is a game changer. This amazing little timer provides visual cues for each stage of the handwashing “process” as determined by the CDC.
Safe In-Person Learning for Your Classroom this School Year
This back-to-school season will be another transition with new precautions to keep educators and students safe. Read about some safe in-person learning practices for the classroom to help keep students safe and in-person this school year.
Summary of Back to School Guidelines from the CDC and AAP
We will be giving you a quick summary of The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) guidelines for in-person learning. The AAP actually recommends a return to in-person learning, one of the reasons being that it is probably better for students’ mental health. The rates of COVID transmission among students can be quite low, under the condition that the correct preventative measures are taken. Among these preventative measures is proper handwashing, which we’ll give special focus to in this article, along with how you can include the Time Timer WASH into you and your children’s handwashing routine.
Get Classroom-Ready with Time Timer WASH
If there’s one thing the Coronavirus pandemic has driven home, it’s the critical importance of keeping your hands clean and away from your face. That’s easier said than done in a classroom full of kids – particularly younger children. Learn how the Time Timer WASH is the perfect tool to implement in the classroom this year.
“Toilet Time!” Training | A Proven Routine Based Potty Training Method for Healthy Habits
"Toilet Time!" Training is a time-based potty training technique with a focus on creating healthy bathroom habits. This potty training process helps toddlers tune into their body cues while reinforcing a holistic bathroom routine.
Time Timer Potty Training Bundle
Today we are sharing a potty training bundle that makes the perfect duo for any child new to potty training!
Product 1: The Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute
As you begin to potty train your child, it is important to have a schedule. Starting out you will want to have your child try to use the potty every 30 minutes. After a few days of the 30 minute schedule without any accidents, bump it up to 1 hour. After a few days of an hour, you can push it to 2 hours. After 2 hours you can try to go without the time increments.
The Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute is the perfect tool for establishing this schedule. The PLUS 120 Minute can help keep you and your child accountable for this time. If you set the Time Timer, you are less likely to start folding laundry, get sucked into a work project, or get distracted in doing a task around the house while you’re in the depths of potty training. The high contrast colored disk helps you continue to do what you need to do while quickly and easily seeing how much time you have in your peripheral before you will need to help your child make their way to the bathroom. Losing track of time and breaking the schedule may result in your child having more accidents.
In addition, young children can easily understand the colored disk. Your child can know that once the “purple disappears,” it’s time to go to the toilet. They don’t need to understand what time it is or how long a half hour is. This gives your child control and a sense of independence. In fact, you may find your child going to the bathroom on their own once the purple disk is gone, or reminding you while you are working on something else!
Once you remove the potty training schedule, there may be a period of regression where your child starts having a couple of accidents. With the Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute, there is no need to fret. You can easily go back to your 2 hour time schedule, just as a reminder for your child to head to the bathroom and try to potty. By keeping a schedule, you can reduce the stress of potty training for you and your child. Also, you can make it a fun independent task, where after your child potties, they get to set the Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute again.
Product 2: The Time Timer WASH
According to the CDC: “Good handwashing early in life may help improve child development in some settings*” And what better time to start enforcing good handwashing habits than when you are potty training? Kids have shown that they can understand handwashing as early as 18 months, and understanding the importance of handwashing after using the potty is an essential part of toilet training.
The Time Timer WASH is the perfect tool for teaching proper handwashing. This visual handwashing timer can help children of any age or ability understand the handwashing process.
The WASH breaks handwashing in a simple 3 step process:
- Soap
- Scrub
- Rinse
Depending on the age of your child and if they have been exposed to proper handwashing yet, your child may not get the full 20-seconds of scrubbing that is recommended by the CDC at first. However, the Time Timer WASH will help them understand the steps and work up to the proper duration. It gives them a tool that is understandable and is easily used independently. And if you have a child that likes to dance, the Time Timer WASH includes an option to play a song. The music can remind your child that handwashing (and using the toilet!) is fun!
Keeping a routine is very important while potty training and using the Time Timer WASH as part of the routine can further help them grasp potty training while staying accident-free and safe.
During this time, it is especially important to keep your children and their fellow classmates safe and healthy. The CDC cites a study that found that “Handwashing education reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%**” As your child gets potty-trained and into the daycare or classroom, these skills will not only keep them and their classmates healthier, but it also will give them a more consistent routine and schedule, furthering a healthy development.
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*Bowen A, Agboatwalla M, Luby S, Tobery T, Ayers T, Hoekstra RM. Association between intensive handwashing promotion and child development in Karachi, Pakistan: a cluster randomized controlled trial.external icon Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012 Nov;166(11):1037-44.
** Wang Z, Lapinski M, Quilliam E, Jaykus LA, Fraser A. The effect of hand-hygiene interventions on infectious disease-associated absenteeism in elementary schools: A systematic literature review.external icon Am J Infect Control 2017; 45: 682–689.