Backs and Fronts

What you need

• soap
• a hand towel

How to do it

1. Soap up their hands and say 'palms first' while you rub them together.
2. Turn their hands over: 'now the backs'.
3. Wiggle their fingers together: 'in between'.
4. Same three words, same order, every single time.

Why it matters

Washing hands is really three small jobs, and naming them in the same order each time is how a toddler eventually starts doing them without being told.

What they're learning

Following the order

Three steps in the same sequence is a routine they can eventually run themselves.

Words for their hands

Palms, backs, in between: early words for parts of themselves, learned while using them.

The bits they'd miss

Backs of hands and between fingers are the parts nobody does unless someone points them out.

What to look for

Watch for them turning their own hands over when you say 'backs'.

A tip

Doing it properly is your job for a good while yet. Most children aren't washing their own hands well until they're about four. Yours is the pair that finishes.

More like this

All Gone from 20 months · 5 min Monster Teeth Brushing from 24 months · 10-15 min Backpack Treasure Carry from 20 months · 10-15 min Spit, Don't Rinse from 28 months · 5 min