A lack of hand hygiene can contribute to the spread of seasonal flu and other illnesses, and can be a contributory factor in cases of food poisoning. But in a survey of 3,000 parents carried out by the Co-operative Pharmacy, it was found that 75% don’t remind their children to wash their hands before eating, and one in five parents don’t ensure that their children wash their hands after using the toilet.
Even where parental supervision is spot on, the bathroom can be an unwelcoming place for children: inaccessible and uninteresting. Making a bathroom more child-friendly can help improve a child’s hygiene practices: if a room is set up to make hand washing and other tasks simple and fun, there’s a very good chance that most children will adopt good practices – then stick to these habits throughout their life.
So, what can you do to make a bathroom with fitted bathroom furniture more appealing and user-friendly for your kids?
First of all, the basics. Basins are frequently difficult for a child to reach: a vessel basin sits on a washstand between 700 and 900mm high and, crucially, is also tucked back onto a flat surface that the child must reach across. A simple, brightly coloured step will not get in your way too much, and makes it far easier for a child to get level with the basin. Choose interestingly coloured and scented soap too, in an ergonomically designed dispenser: a sleek, neutral design might look great in your minimalist, pre-child bathroom, but it’s not crying out to be used by an infant!
If you’re refitting your bathroom, choose easy to operate taps so that your child can regulate the flow of water themselves without difficulty – they’ll be more satisfied that they’ve not needed help, and you’ll be happy when they’ve not sprayed water everywhere because the lever was difficult to operate!
In terms of accessories, try giving your children appealingly designed items that are just for them to use – their own bright hand towel (only to be used after they’ve washed their hands properly with soap and water, of course), toys to make bath time a little more fun, and waterproof bath books so you can aim for educational and hygienic in one fell swoop. Remember to keep bath toys clean, though – an extraordinary amount of bacteria or mildew can build up even on a simple rubber duck if you don’t attend properly to cleanliness.
Don’t forget to make sure that potentially harmful items such as medicines are kept out of the way in your child-friendly space: bathroom cabinets are often a child-proof feature of a bathroom, situated high up on a wall, well out of reach.
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