For immediate release: May 1, 2009

Media Contact:    Dennis Nelson

Parents, teachers, child care providers urged to get kids washing their hands.

Bozeman, Mont., 01 May, 2009 – From swine flu to the common cold, hand washing is the simplest, most effective way of preventing germs from spreading. According to both the World Heath Organization and the Center for Disease Control, the first and most important way to prevent infection and illness is to wash your hands.

But how do you get kids to properly wash their hands? Sing! To get kids focused on hand washing, and empower them to take responsibility for their health, Project WET created the Hand Washing How-To activity. Kids sing the Hand Washing Song: 20 seconds of soap, water and brisk rubbing rinse the dirt and germs away—including those that may transmit swine flu and other infections.

Hand Washing Song (sung to tune of Frère Jacques)
Lather with soap
Rub your palms together
Now the backs
Of your hands
Interlace your fingers
Cleaning in between them
Now the thumbs
Clean your nails.

In the activity, kids rate the merits of soap, brisk rubbing and rinsing with clean water and practice their hand-washing technique. They are reminded of the “before” and “after” of hand washing. Wash your hands before preparing food, eating, or going to bed, and after using the toilet, coughing or sneezing into hands, or blowing your nose.

Project WET is making Hand Washing How-To available to teachers, community educators (leaders of Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H, etc.), parents, day-care and after-school providers on its web site and encourages everyone who works with children to conduct this activity as soon as possible.

Hand Washing How-To is important for schools, communities and families, and enables adults to lead by example.

Download Hand Washing How-To.

About Project WET

Since 1984, Project WET, an award-winning 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has dedicated itself to the mission of reaching children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education.  Project WET achieves its mission of worldwide water education by:

• publishing water resource materials in several languages.
  
• providing training workshops on diverse water topics (i.e., watersheds, water quality, water conservation).
  
• organizing community water events, such as Make a Splash with Project WET water festivals and the Global Water Education Village™.
  
• building a worldwide network of educators, water resource professionals and scientists.

On the web at www.projectwet.org.