Muddy Hands

from 16 months · 5-10 min · Everyday helper

What you need

Let them get properly mucky first, digging in the garden or squishing a tub of soil, and don't wipe their hands.
Go straight to the sink and let them look at the state of them.
Wash together, watching the water run brown and then clear.
Dry properly and admire the clean hands.

Real mud gives a toddler the one thing soap usually can't: something they can actually see coming off, which makes the whole business make sense.

Rubbing to a finish: Mud gives them a way of telling whether they've done enough.
Clean and dirty: Seeing the difference is how the idea of washing starts to mean something.
Coming in from outside: In from the garden, straight to the sink: a habit worth having early.

Watch for them checking their palms to see if the mud's gone.

Get the worst off under running water before the soap goes on, or you'll spend the whole time washing the soap instead of the hands.

Easier: rinse the worst off first so the job isn't too big

Harder: let them work at it until their hands are properly clean