Pre-Schoolers Learn To Wash Away Germs
Thanks to Protex, thousands of pre-school children across the country are scrubbing up on proper hand washing
techniques. Today marks the launch of Protex’s interactive educational programme Clean Hands Good Health™ designed to
educate pre-schoolers on the importance of hand washing.
The national hand washing campaign aims to remind New Zealanders that good hygiene practices need to be taught from an
early age to lay the foundation for good health throughout life.
Protex is taking the initiative to educate children, as hand washing and good general hygiene practices in particular
are essential to help reduce the spread of germs. “Kids are particularly susceptible to spreading germs as their immune
systems are still developing. Reinforcing proper hand washing can make a difference in keeping families healthy,” says
John Garside, General Manager of Colgate Palmolive.
The Protex Clean Hands Good Health™ programme will run in conjunction with Colgate’s oral health education programme, Bright Smiles Bright Futures™ now in its 15th year in New Zealand. This programme reaches 500 million children across 80 countries and is designed to
increase oral health awareness and promotes positive oral care habits.
The new Protex Clean Hands Good Health™ programme is designed to educate children on when, where and how to correctly wash their hands. As part of the
programme, 5,000 preschools will receive fun filled educational kits containing an animated DVD, teacher’s guides,
children’s take-home hand washing materials and a sample of Protex hand wash product. This will accompany the oral
health care materials in a kit.
To make learning fun, Handy the blue octopus and his four colourful ‘hand’ helpers Pointy, Dexter, Digit and Pinky, take
kids through an exciting undersea exploration of why, when and how to wash hands - all the while singing, “You gotta
wash, wash, wash your hands”!
For more information or to download some fun tips on how to get your kids washing their hands, visit the Protex Clean
Hands Good Health website at www.protexhandwash.co.nz.
Did You Know?[i]
• The unwashed hand contains an average of 84 different germ colonies
• It is easy for a germ on your hand to end up in your mouth
• Washing your hands properly is the best way to stop germs from spreading
• You will have 1000 more bacteria on your hands after you have washed your hands if you do not dry them correctly
• Germs love to hide around your fingernail beds and often remain there even after hand washing
• There are more germs on the average computer keyboard than there are on your toilet.