Fashionable Media Review Policy: The featured product for this review was provided to me, at no cost, by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the sole purpose of product testing. Opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by monetary compensation.
Did you know that children can touch over 300 surfaces in just 30 minutes, and with germs surviving on those surfaces for up to 72 hours (Resource: US Census Bureau, 206-2008 American Community Survey)? Did you know that the average toddler catches between 6-8 colds per year? (Resource: “Helpful Hints for Families,” 2009, Alliance for Consumer Education, 27 Oct. 2010). And finally, did you know that children who wash their hands properly at least 4 times a day experience 24 percent fewer sick days from cold and flu, and 51 percent fewer sick days due to stomach ailments? (Resource: “Hand-washing: What You Need to Know, Why it’s so Important,” 2010, American Public health Association of Child Care Professionals.)
Those are interesting statistics to say the least. However, I know the above information is true because our children do not even come close to being sick that many times in a year. We usually have a couple colds and maybe one outbreak of stomach flu, if that. I believe it is probably a combination of a healthy diet and hand washing. The same with my husband. He says that he became sick more often before we got married because I was the one to educate him on the importance of hand washing. I was a bit anal about it to be honest because I would have him wash his hands upon arriving home from work because I didn’t want to get sick! Then by the time children started arriving he was already in the habit of washing his hands when he got home that it helped stop the spread of germs from his work place to our home. To this day, he does this and it has kept us healthier.
We also try to wash our hands multiple time when we are out. It is not always as effective because the younger ones usually put their fingers in their mouth before we manage to wash their hands. It is still a good practice though.
Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap and APHA ‘Get Ready’ Hand Washing Timer
We received a Softsoap liquid hand soap (decorated in Sponge Bob for all you fans out there) and a cool APHA ‘Get Ready’ hand washing timer to review. The children love pump soap, but I think they love this timer even more! It has truly helped them become more aware of how long they are washing their hands. The timer acts as a reminder. Even though we have tried to get them to sing the ABCs or Happy Birthday while they wash their hands, I think the timer is more effective because it doesn’t stop until the song has ended, whereas, the children can get side tracked singing and stop their song before it is completed.
The ‘Get Ready’ timer is very easy to put on over the Softsoap pump spout. It simply slides over it. The Softsoap itself is very nice smelling and leaves our hands smelling fresh and clean. The pump is a foam pump so it helps save on the amount of soap used. We always mix the soap with water as it gets down so we can make it last even longer.
The only negative things, in my opinion, are the ingredients because they are mostly chemicals. Although, so far no one has had any reactions to the soap, so that is actually a positive. We have used Softsoap in the past and pretty much knew this was a relatively ‘safe’ product for our family to use. As many of you are aware, we have children that have chemical sensitivities so we tend to read labels closely and that is why chemicals are considered a negative for our family.
Overall, we would rate this product a huge thumbs up and a great hand washing tool to help prevent the spread of illness in our home. Here’s to staying healthy for the rest of the winter! Here! Here! 🙂
