Savannah Guthrie sings 'corona shuffle' to get daughter to wash hands
Savannah Guthrie is taking a creative approach to coronavirus precautions!
The TODAY co-anchor shared a video of herself and her daughter, Vale Guthrie Feldman, washing their hands while Guthrie sings a sweet, made-up song.
In her caption, Savannah wrote that she is “making handwashing fun” while also “making corona less scary for little ones.”
“We do a little dance, and we scrub our little hands,” Savannah sings. “We get soap under our nails. What’s it called?”
“The corona shuffle!” Vale replies.
“The corona shuffle!” Savannah says, before letting Vale take the center stage.
“Now we rinse our hands... it’s time to rinse, rinse, rinse them!” sings the five-year-old, before splashing her mom with the leftover soapy water.
“Splash optional,” Savannah jokes, turning off the water as Vale dances in the background.
People quickly filled the comments with support for Savannah’s adorable song, chiming in with their own suggestions.
“This is so cute (and smart!!!)” wrote TODAY lifestyle contributor Jill Martin.
Health & Wellness
Author Danielle Walker said that she and her children were doing similar routines, singing “You’re Welcome” from Disney’s “Moana” to make sure that they were washing their hands for the recommended 20 seconds.
Some in the comments section criticized Savannah for “fear-mongering” about the virus. Savannah responded to one commentator, saying that Vale “learned about (the virus) at school.” Other commentators quickly defended Savannah, saying that there’s no reason kids shouldn’t practice healthy behaviors like washing their hands.
Amidst worries about COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, doctors and public health experts have urged that people wash their hands frequently. With hand sanitizer sold out in many stores, it’s recommended to use antibacterial soap and water and wash for at least 20 seconds.
There is some evidence that children may be less susceptible to COVID-19 than adults.
“This is one of the unusual findings and curveballs that this virus keeps throwing at us,” Dr. Frank Esper, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s, told NBC News on March 3. “Normal coronaviruses seem to affect children and adults equally, but this one, for whatever reason, certainly skews more to the adult population.”