Need Help with Etiquette Regarding Private School Policy & Hand Sanitizer

Ask to write a paragragh to put into your school newsletter. Also, please bear in mind that while the media can take an "issue" and turn it into something larger than life, if you where to ask the real life moms you know about their own experiences with hand sanatizer, most of them would tell you the alchohol evaporates before the kids can get enough of it off their hands to make a dent in their blood stream. If you cannot get your entire school to get on board with this concern, it is okay to have your own feelings on the subject. you will have to decide at that point if it is a stand you want to enforce for your own child. After three kids one very important lesson I've learned is that I can not make everyone conform to my parenting beliefs, I can only enforce them with my own children.

I really don't have any advice on this. I just wanted to write and let you know "Thank you", I didn't know that there was Non-Alcoholic hand sanitizers. Also, I have another comment to about these lists that the teachers and schools put out for supplies, I have heard from other parents that they HAVE to buy what is one the list. The exact Brand, Kind, Size, Ect....Which I think is silly and stupid. What is the difference between the store brand and the name brand. Anyway, I am not looking forward to that part of school. I have a few more years left before that adventure. Best of luck with this Sanitizer situation.

At my daughter's school, they did the same thing. I told the teacher that I wanted my daughter to "wash" her hands with soap. She said it took to much time for every child to wash. This put me off. I gave her information about the importance of washing hands and how it cuts up to 50% chance of disease.
I think it's really dumb that they don't have the kids wash their hands the "right" way. I told my daughter to wash regardless of what the teacher said. I explained to her that she was responsible for her own body and helping it to fight diseases. She accepted it and has been fairly well all year. I think that's why.

I suggest giving the principal and the teacher a copy of the article and the Snopes report along with the brands and costs that you listed in this message. And when I was with other mothers I'd pass along the same information in a conversational manner.

Another thing that you could do with your daughter is to explain that using only certain hand sanitizers is similar to the way that one teaches a child with an allergy. Many students including my granddaughter are allergic to peanuts. My granddaughter from early on in kindergarten would ask, "does this have peanuts in it?" before taking a bite. And/or you could ask your daughter to keep her hands out of her mouth.

My granddaughter is in the second grade and the school has had no difficulty with using all of the hand sanitizers. Perhaps this is because, as a part of their health emphasis, they tell the kids to keep their hands out of their mouth. It is my memory that a child would have to lick quite a bit of the sanitizer to become ill and that the alcohol evaporites rapidly and so there is only a danger when the child licks their wet hands after they have put large amounts of the sanitizer on their hands.

Summary: Best way to get the school to change policy is to in a calm professional manner, give them documentation of dangers.

I appreciate knowing where I can buy the non-alcoholic brands. Thanks!