It is never to early to instill good hygiene habits in children. The best way to teach your child proper hand washing is by example, follow the ABCs below:

After...

• using the toilet
• changing a diaper
• helping a child with the toilet
• blowing your nose (or wiping a child's)
• touching raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs
• eating or fixing food

Before...

• Fixing food
• Eating food
• Setting the table

Clean your hands with...

• Warm running water and soap. Plain hand soap and water is effective in reducing bacteria on hands. Anti-bacterial soaps will work also but are not necessary.
• Wash for 20 seconds. Teach your child to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while washing his/her hands to make the 20 seconds fun.
• Wash the front and the back of your hands and between your fingers. Don't forget under your fingernails.
• Rinse hands well with warm water and dry with a paper towel or other clean towel.

When feeding young children up to about 4 years of age, supervision is important.

• Young children do not have the ability to judge how to eat safely, and may engage in running, jumping and other inappropriate behaviors while eating. Make sure your child is seated at the table, or at least sitting down, when eating.
• Keep in mind this list of foods that could cause choking
  
  

  Hard candies Nuts, seeds and peanuts Whole grapes Raw peas, beans, carrots Whole or round-cut hot dogs Mini-marshmallows Spoonfuls of peanut butter	Fish with bones Raisins and other dried fruit Popcorn Ice cubes Pretzels Chips Chunks of meat or cheese

Packing A Safe Lunch

• Always keep it clean. Make sure your hands, food preparation surfaces and utensils are clean. Use hot, soapy water to effectively get rid of BACteria. Teach your children to wash their hands before they eat. Also wash fruits and vegetables before packing them in your child's lunch.
• Be sure to keep hot foods such as soup, chili or stew hot by using an insulated bottle. Fill the bottle with boiling water and let it stand for a few minutes. Empty the bottle and then fill it with piping hot food. Keep the bottle closed until lunchtime.
• Cold foods should stay cold, so invest in a freezer gel pack (available in supermarkets and kitchen supply stores) and an insulated lunch box. Freezer gel packs will keep foods cold until lunchtime, but are not recommended for all-day storage. Any perishable food (i.e. meat, poultry, or egg sandwiches) not eaten at lunch should be discarded.
• If your child chooses a brown paper bag to carry lunch, it's especially important to include a cold source. A freezer gel pack or a frozen sandwich works well. Because brown paper bags tend to become soggy or leak as cold foods thaw, be sure to use an extra paper bag to create a double layer. Double-bagging will also help insulate the food better.
• Tell your child to use the refrigerator at school, if one is available. If not, make sure they keep their lunch out of direct sunlight and away from radiators, baseboards and other heat sources found in the classroom.
• Every parent should have a supply of shelf-stable foods for easy packing. These include fresh fruits and vegetables, crackers, peanut butter sandwiches, packaged pudding and canned fruits or meats.
• Freeze single-sized juice packs overnight and place the frozen drink in your child's lunch. The juice will thaw by lunchtime, but it will still be cold. The frozen drink will also keep the rest of the lunch cold.
• If you make sandwiches the night before, keep them in the refrigerator until packing up to go in the morning.
  

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