My latest goal is to start teaching our younger child how to wash his own hands and face.
I often get frustrated trying to teach my children a skill because I forget that I need to break it down into the smallest of steps. For example, teaching my two-year-old to wash his own hands and face actually involves at least eight steps.
- Bring potty stool to sink and stand on it.
- Turn on water.
- Pump soap into hands.
- Scrub hands.
- Wash face around mouth.
- Rinse hands with water.
- Rinse around mouth with water.
- Dry hands and face on hand towel.
For our training, I made a picture chart with blank spaces for star stickers each time he successfully does a step. After a certain number of earned stickers, I will give him a reward. (There is a toy dinosaur waiting in my closet for just such a purpose.)
When we were potty training our older son, my husband made a chart like this which was very helpful.
If anyone is interested, I have made it a public document you can view here. The images I used are mostly from www.clker.com.
A little tip: The chart my husband made for potty training worked very well; the only problem was how dilapidated it got in a damp environment like the bathroom. This time I plan to slip it into a plastic sheet protector and hang that on the bathroom wall where my child can see it.
P.S. I've already realized I missed a step in the chart. There is no step to put the potty stool back where he found it after using it. And the only reason I don't add it is because I want to keep this washing-hands thing to one page!
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