I rarely promote products in the content on my blog Sweetney, but very occasionally I run across something so spectacularly useful that I simply must share. This is one of those instances. Brace yourselves, and PREPARE TO BE DAZZLED.

As parents are all too aware, young children are festering disease carriers. I mean, okay, it’s not really their fault or anything, but let’s face facts: they feel compelled to handle every single object in their environment, even those visibly caked with filth (putting most in their mouths as well, because they’re smart like that), and the dangers are quadrupled if they attend daycare or school. So what’s a parent to do?

We’re told by pediatricians that handwashing is the answer, but most kids interpret “handwashing” to mean running their grubby hands under the faucet for two seconds, then proceeding to wipe their still-soiled digits on your good towels. Not exactly helpful. So when I ran across this new product — Squid Soap — it seemed like the perfect answer to the less-than-perfect hygiene of our youngsters.

SquidSoap by Airborne® is designed to teach and train proper hand-washing technique to children. It’s the only liquid-soap dispenser with a specially designed pump that stamps a child’s hand with vegetable dye. It takes about 20 seconds of thorough hand washing to remove the ink mark, leaving the child with clean hands. So it literally takes the guesswork out of whether or not your kids have washed their hands thoroughly. It’s easy, fun and effective.

Sure, it’s a simple idea, but I can vouch that it works. Since acquiring our very own squid, my daughter has been excited about washing her hands (something about the whole hand-stamping thing is inexplicably appealing to 5-year-olds), and the stamping makes it easy for both of us to see if she’s done a good job and cleaned her hands thoroughly. It’s a win-win, people.

With this new-found hygiene, can a pestilence-free winter be far behind? (Okay, I won’t hold my breath.)

Buy your own Squid Soap here!