I have an incredibly active 8 month old (she is almost walking independently!) who loves to get into everything. I encourage the exploration, but am unsure of the best measures to clean her hands afterwards. What is best to sanitize, but still safe for her to stick her hands in her mouth afterwards? When around the house, I can just wash her hands with a mild soap, but when outdoors (which is much more often now) I am unsure about whether diaper wipes will be okay, or if there is something better.
If her hands are flat out dirty, then diaper wipes sanitzier whatever you can find.
Keep in mind germs are a good thing to a extent, and it's good for kids to build up their immuninities and get use to germs. You can't keep them germfree/clean 24/7 Back in the day they didn't have wipes and sanitizer when mom's took their kids out it was wait til they got to a sink with a bar of soap.
Hi S.! Here is what I do....at the park or anywhere a sink is not available I sanitize their hands with the gel stuff or a wipe and then I rinse their hands with a bottle of water that I keep in the car just for that purpose. It's just a bottle with a sport top that I fill at home.
Whatever you do, don't use Melaluca's sanitizing wipes. I used them on my hands and touched the skin by my eyebrow a few minutes later. My skin burned for 3 days and left a huge welt. Yikes!
You got some really good advice, but something that I feel really passionate for is that the use of anything antibacterial should not be used on a day to day basis. Antibacterial is in essence an antibiotic and is helping develop resistant bacteria meaning bacteria that has evolved and gotten smart and no longer reacts to any sort of antibiotics. These are making us sicker and the bacteria stronger. Germs have been around as long as we humans and even longer. Wash your kids hands with soap and water or wipes and know that you are helping build up a healthy immune reaction by introducing bacteria naturally and in small amounts. We were meant to come in contact with them so we can build up immunity to common bacteria and germs that are around us on a daily basis. Soap and water is the best and I think that baby wipes work perfectly fine. If it works on your childrens bottoms when they have a poopy diaper they will work on your childrens hands when they are out playing..
We started taking Young Living's Theives hand sanitizer around with us. Natural ingredients. My husband loves it. Not sure on the alcohol, cant remember the label just now. Go to YoungLiving.com to find out more.
wipes are fine however carrying a small bottle of hand sanitizer is really handy!
Just be careful with the hand sanitizers. Find one that is alcohol free, so that it is safe for your babe to get in her mouth. I know CostCo has some alcohol free stuff that we use.
You are doing a great thing for your daughter by allowing her to be active and into everything. Here is a little perspective from a mom of 4 very healthy children (ages 3, 7, 9, and 13 years):
I washed their hands with mild soap (not antibacterial).
When outdoors, their hands stayed dirty until we came inside - unless they had to get a lot of mud or dirt off, then we rinsed in the hose. If we were outside and were going to eat, we washed off in the hose or with wipes if we were away from home.
We lived in the city, the suburbs, the country with animals...
No antibacterial stuff. My children are all strong and healthy, no illnesses other than a minor cold now and then.
Don't get too worried about germs - they are a normal part of life and help our immune systems to be strong.
Whatever you use, be careful with the waterless hand sanitizers--most of them contain a significant amount of alcohol (listed right on the label as the active ingredient), so if your daughter sucks her thumb/hand at all, you want to avoid these. We just always used plain (unscented) wipes until we could get to running water and soap.
With our 9,5, and 2 year olds, we have always had a stash of wipes in the car, stroller, diaper bag, wherever we might need a quick clean up. I actually prefer them to hand sanitizers b/c they will actually wipe off the dirt rather than rub it around. If they were really digging in the dirt and will be eating, I would follow the wipe up with sanitizer, but I use that sparingly. Find something that works and strike a balance.
Actually Melaleuca products are great for that. They have no chemicals or toxins in them.
There isn't one product out of over the 350 products that we have to offer that is harmful to a child.(unless that child has an allergy to something specific) But our products are safe and effective.
I have a hard time trusting the products on the market these days due to what I know.
Scope has DEET in it, yet people buy it and rinse their mouths out on a daily basis. Pledge has butane & propane gas in it. But still people buy it and spray it on their furiture to clean it. Clorox wipes has more chemicals in them, the parts per million is off the charts! Lysol is the worst!
It gave me a lot of peace of mind when my kids were little. And our pets as well. Just knowing that I didn't have to keep locks on my doors, there was simply nothing toxic in my house that any child or pet could get into that would harm them.
Check out our website:
http://yourchoice.healthyhometour.com
Educate yourself.
God Bless & have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!
J.
We use all natural products. I have my kids wash their hands every time they come in the house from outside playing or if we have gone somewhere. I don't want the germs of the world all over my house. As far as inside the house, they only wash after using the bathroom (of course :o) and right before eating.
We stay pretty healthy.
I used to use diaper wipes to wipe hands but they are full of chemicals so we don't even use them anymore at all. We wet a paper towel for diaper changes and use that. Works great - much cheaper too :o)
J.
Mom to 4, soon one more through another adoption and hopefully more :o)
