Germs are microscopic organisms that can cause disease, and are made up of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. They exist in many places, including the air, soil, water, on our skin, and inside our bodies.
Minimizing exposure and risk are in everyone’s best interest, but having a discussion of things that are so tiny that they can only be seen with a microscope may be challenging for kids.
When educating kids about germs, it is important to strike the balance of knowledge, caution and empowerment. I asked my friend Brittany, who is a wonderful therapist to weigh in.
It is in nobody’s best interest to have your child crippled from anxiety and terrified of these invisible monsters. Even in the best of times, over the years I have seen dozens of kids tormenting their parents as they went through germaphobic stages (that is the actual term!) Lady Macbeth had nothing on these kids as they would scrub their hands raw every time they came into contact with anything suspect.
Knowledge
Here are some kid friendly talking points
The world is full of tiny things that we can’t see without a microscope. This might be just the time to read Horton hears a Hoo! There are also loads of great age appropriate books to read specifically about germs. Brittany likes this book and it has the option of being read aloud Germs Make Me Sick! By Melvin Berger.
Most of the tiny things, including many types of bacteria, are good and important. Some of the tiny things that we can’t see are called germs. These are not so good and are usually considered troublemakers.
People aren’t generally impacted by germs unless they manage to get into our bodies. If they do get in, they can grow and spread. If you can stop them from getting in, you win!
Have your kids figure out the openings in their body where the germs can enter; mouth, nose, eyes...maybe even a cut. A germ that gets into a cut can cause an infection, but most viruses are getting in through the face.
Once the germs get into the body, they might make the person a tiny bit sick or very sick. Sometimes the person with the germs inside doesn’t feel sick at all but is still able to spread the germs to someone else. Germs are sneaky!
If a sick person coughs, sneezes, sings or yells near you, you can breathe in the germs through your nose or your mouth. That is one way for the germs to get inside.
The longer you are near an infected person, the bigger the chance of breathing in their germs. Luckily the germs don’t stay in the air for too long.
Here’s a fun activity: Get out some bubbles and blow a few. Imagine that the bubbles are full of germs. Notice how they float for a while and then land and pop. Once the bubbles land, that surface now has the germs on it. If you touch it and then touch your face, that is another way that the virus has found a way in.
Actions/preventions
Hand washing is key
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It is important to be thorough. Don't forget fingers and thumbs If you have long nails, make sure to get under them
We should wash our hands for at least 20 seconds. Hum a song; your kids might have fun finding a favorite little ditty that helps them keep time. Happy Birthday is a popular one
Running water is much preferred than a bowl of standing water, so that the bacteria gets washed away
Water temperature doesn’t actually matter
Damp hands can transfer way more germs than dry ones, so make sure to towel off or use an air dryer after washing.
Hand sanitizer is not as effective as soap and water, but sometimes that is all you have available. Make sure you use enough to cover the hands, rub around for 20 seconds and make sure you let it dry.
Other actions
We should take off our shoes before coming into the house to prevent outside germs from tracking indoors
Teach your kids to cover coughs and sneezes. If there is no tissue handy, then cough into your elbow
Avoid crowds when possible. If someone has any symptoms of illness, please consider wearing a mask when out in public. Mask wearing is a good way to protect you from being exposed. It is also an easy reminder not to touch your face.
Stay up to date with immunizations. When I would give shots I would explain to kids that I was putting magic protection into their body so that if certain bad germs got in, this could protect them
What do we do about thumb suckers?
Habits are hard to break.
Here is a link to an earlier blog post.
As most of you know, nagging doesn’t work.
Talking about germs and doing some fun experiments, might be helpful tools to add to your arsenal
Do some fun experiments.
Glitter is a great example of how things easily spread.
Do this outside (my niece Rose says that glitter is like the herpes of the art world)
A playground is perfect.
Put a little glitter on your hands
Set a timer and play on several pieces of equipment for about 10 minutes.
Get out a magnifying glass (it makes it more fun)
Retrace your steps and see if you can see little pieces of glitter
A little olive oil and cinnamon can show you the value of soap and water
Mix some cinnamon or nice smelling spice in some olive oil.
Coat your hands with the substance.
Now wash it off with just water, no soap. It becomes clear that the oil and scent are not going anywhere, you need a good scrub with soap to get your hands clean.
Soap can make things scatter
Get a bowl of water
Sprinkle in some black pepper
Stick your finger in the bowl and you might indeed see how some pepper sticks to the finger
Wipe the pepper off of the finger
Now rub some liquid soap on your finger
Stick the finger in the bowl and watch how the pepper scatters
You can see how cool this one is on this short video on youtube
Bottom line
Brittany kindly reminds us that the point of this post is to educate and empower our children. If you are dealing with a child that seems especially stressed about the existence of these microscopic threats, first validate that what they are feeling is perfectly alright. Remind them that there are always things within and outside of our control. By focusing on the things within our control their big feelings will get smaller (see talking points above).
If you’re a parent who gets the creepy crawlies just thinking about germs, your personal discomfort might contaminate the conversation. If that is the case see if you can pass on this particular task on to another trusted adult.
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