Songs To Sing While Washing Your Hands (Other Than Happy Birthday)

Proper hand washing is an important way to protect against germs. But you have to scrub with soap for 20 seconds for it to work. If you’ve started getting your kids (and yourself) to sing the Happy Birthday song two times while hand washing, to make sure you spend 20 seconds, I’m guessing you are just as tired of it as I am.

If you are tired of explaining that it really isn’t anyone’s birthday today, or you’ve ever found yourself telling your kids to go back and wash their hands “FOR REAL this time,” you need some fun songs to sing for hand washing.

Before we talk about songs, let’s look at how to best wash your hands!

How to wash your hands:

• Get your hands wet and then pump some soap onto them.
• Rub your hands together, away from the water, for 20 seconds.
• Rinse your hands under running water until all of the soap is gone.

If you are away from home, add these steps:

• Dry your hands with a clean, disposable paper towel. Make sure your clean hands don’t touch anything.
• Turn off faucet using paper towel (if it’s not an automatic faucet).
• Throw the used paper towel into a hands-free trash can.

Now, on to the fun songs!

Songs To Sing While Washing Your Hands

1. Row Row Row Your Boat

Row, row, row your boat / Gently down the stream / Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily/ Life is but a dream

Repeat this one two times to hit 20 seconds.

2. Raspberry Beret by Prince

She wore a raspberry beret/ The kind you find in a secondhand store/ Raspberry beret/ And if it was warm she wouldn’t wear much more/ Raspberry beret/ I think I love her

3. Shape of My Heart by Backstreet Boys

Looking back on the things I’ve done. I was trying to be someone. I played my part, kept you in the dark. Now let me show you the shape of my heart.

4. We Will Rock You by Queen 

We will, we will rock you (rock you)

You repeat this one three times to hit 20 seconds. It’s WAY more fun than singing Happy Birthday! And your kids will enjoy it, too.

Bonus: You can also hum the Jeopardy music – it is 30 seconds, but a little extra time washing your hands won’t hurt.

Do you have a favorite song or chorus that’s 20 seconds long? You can use this website to generate a graphic showing proper hand washing technique with the lyrics.

Jessica  — Mom of Sophie & Jake