Our curious little monsters are always on a mission to explore. “Touch, see and inspect” are the only thoughts running on their minds. Jumping in a muddy puddle, playing with dirt, running their hands on different surfaces or exploring dirty gooey stuff is a thrilling experience. Even feeding their stuffed toys is a way of role-playing and learning. On a daily basis, kids touch some of the ickiest and dirtiest things around them. Here are nine of the dirtiest things that your child touches every day.
9 dirtiest things in your house your kids touch every day!
1. Remote Controls
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Kids are a big fan of remote controls; they love holding these while eating and watching TV. Even an 8 months old baby is fascinated by a remote control and tries to lick it as the most delicious edible item. Remote Controls are hubs of germs as they change a lot of hands, which have been everywhere. Remote controls are often loosely thrown here and there, sometimes on the floor, inside bathrooms, and under the sofas.
2. Toys
A child’s partner in crime and playmate during all their playtime, toys tend to hold a lot of bacteria and grime. The most played with are the dirtiest of all. Not to forget the ones that have been out in the playground, playdate, restaurant, or anywhere outside the house. Bath toys also are major culprits of hosting bacteria and germs. When left wet or soapy, they grow fungi.
3. Training Potty / Toilet seats
It’s always a proud moment for mommies when their little ones start using the plastic training potties or toilet seats. Potty training is a must and can’t be ignored but these plastic training potties and toilet seats are a hub of germs. While sitting on a training potty or toilet seat, your child is exposed to a lot of dirt. Dirt that your baby touches and might even consume. Kids are really fascinated with the function of the toilet seat flap, how it goes up or down and some might even wash their hands inside the pool of water. And, that’s definitely a frightening scene to see for any parent.
4. Car Seats
Car seats go through a lot of drama and are constantly showered with a variety of filth. A car seat has to face a lot of puking, spitting, food spillage and even diaper leakages. While travelling and sitting in that hot spot of muck, your child is exposed to a lot of dirt, if the car seat is not cleaned properly and regularly.
5. Drawer Handles and Doorknobs
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Whether at home or at school, your child touches many doorknobs, door handles and railings. These knobs and handles are similarly touched by many at school. Some might have had dirty hands, some might have sneezed or some might have been sick passing the germs. Well, you never know. At home, the same scenario is replicated. The main culprit, whether at home or outside, are the toilets, main doorknobs and drawer handles carrying a load of filth and germs.
6. Washbasins
Washbasins are among the dirtiest things, which hold a lot of potential infectious bacteria. Washbasins are one of the favourite places of a child to play with water. There’s always less washing of hands and more of touching the basin, mostly in the dirty corners. Putting their little fingers in the drains, running their hands on the edges or even stopping the water by putting their hands on the drain is all fun for them.
7. Light Switches
Kids are fascinated with light switches and love switching them on and off, again and again. We might think, dirty? How? These are one of the culprits to which we never pay much attention. Light switches host a lot of dirt and bacteria as they too are touched by many hands carrying germs and dirt.
8. Shoes
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Wherever your child goes, the shoes go along. Be it toilets, playgrounds, malls or a restaurant. These shoes are given an occasional splash in the muddy puddle and the toilet visits are a bonus field trip to germ land. Soles and shoelaces of the shoes are the dirtiest things that your child touches on a daily basis. And most of the time, kids don’t wash their hands after touching them.
9. Sports equipment
Your child, whether a toddler or older, uses many sports equipment like bats, balls, knee pads, helmets, elbow pads and hats. Equipment drenched in sweat and dirt develops bacteria causing skin infections and diseases later. We might dismiss them as being sweaty and wet, and that they will dry off eventually, but with little dirt and bacteria, they will develop germs.
It might seem like common sense to avoid some of these everyday items, while others are less obviously dirty. Above all else, it’s important to maintain good hygiene practices to keep your little one free from all these dirty germs that can lead to sickness.
4 ways to keep your child free from germs
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You cannot stop the little pair of feet from exploring stuff, but you can keep an eye on these target areas and can prevent a lot of trouble.
Here are a few tips to keep things clean:
Make Sanitizers your friend
Modern-day sanitizers are a blessing for moms; make them your best friend. Keep them at home, kitchen, bathroom, and even in your bag suiting your requirement. Things like remote control, sports equipment, light switches, drawer handles and doorknobs can be regularly sanitised by using a good sanitizer. It’s safe, hassle-free and effective cleaning kills a good number of bacteria and germs.
Periodic cleaning of toys
It might be impossible to clean the swarm of toys in your house, but you can keep an eye on the ones that are being used regularly. Stuffed toys can be machine washed on a gentle load and the ones that cannot be washed should be wiped with a clean cloth. Small cars, dolls and similar toys carried outdoors should be sanitised with a sanitizer, regularly. You don’t have to wage a cleaning war on toys and make a washing time-table for them, but yes, the washable ones can be cleaned as and when required. Also, the squeaky bath toys are fun but aim to buy toys that do not collect water.
Use disinfectant
Clean the toilet seat, training potty and washbasins with good disinfectants on a regular basis. Soak them for about 15 minutes, spray disinfectant and clean them nicely. Focus more on the corners and edges. Dispose waste immediately from the training potty and rinse it with water even if it is pee. Wash with disinfectant on a regular basis to keep it clean and germ-free.
Decontaminate shoes, car seats and sport’s equipment
Wash the car seat, if possible, with good disinfectant and blow-dry it. You can also clean the car seat’s surface with a wet cloth using a disinfectant. Shoes and sports equipment can also be wiped with a cloth. Canvas shoes can be washed and few of them can also be wiped with a wet cloth. If you cannot clean shoes and sports equipment, then keep them in the sun for some UV treatment.
Although some teeny-weeny grime and dirt are good for kids as it helps in building the immunity of a child, in the long run, a little attention and care can prevent a lot of infections, sickness and episodes of crying.
Some of the dirtiest things are often unwashed because they’re so frequently used. Follow these guidelines on how to keep these items clean to keep your family healthy.
ALSO READ: Best Baby-Safe Disinfectant Brands To Keep Your Child’s Surroundings Clean