i try to be one of those parents that cleans in front of my kid. i don't save all of the housework until naps/bedtime. first because that's my time and second, i want my kid to know how it's done. i want her to know that when our house is clean, it's because someone made it that way. and that it's not something that we put off doing because we hate it, it's something that's just part of our everyday life like eating and brushing our teeth. we do it because it needs to be done and it makes us all happy.
i'm happy to report that so far it's going really well. baby girl is really good about picking up her toys when i ask her and knows where things go. she's conscientious about where she puts her sippy or her book because she knows where everything belongs. not only is this helpful to me but it's absolutely precious. it's easy with toys throughout the day because she doesn't get out too much at one time so normally it's just whatever she's currently playing with and i can ask her to go put away her dora doll and stroller and i know that it's going to be done correctly (she's got a better record than honey honestly... he's still trying to figure out where all the different toys go).
but then there's housework and cleaning that gets a little more tricky but baby girl does so well with it. with laundry, baby girl is my best friend picking up all those socks and things that drop to the floor when i'm transferring clothes from the hamper to the washer to the dryer and back to the hamper. bending over can be a pain (especially in small spaces like a laundry room!) with my ever increasing girth so it's a welcome relief to have two little hands continually clearing the floor and tossing those little items up where they need to go. baby girl doesn't know how to fold yet but, when possible, i try to fold clothes at the kitchen table while she's eating or somewhere else where she can see me. this doesn't happen every time because i'm a slave for the dryer (i refuse to iron) and the second it goes off, everything immediately gets folded and put away regardless of what else is going on.... but it happens probably at least half the time.
when i'm wiping counter tops, baby girl normally gets a paper towel from under the sink and then asks me to make it wet. it's fun to see all the things in the kitchen she deems worthy of scrubbing. i just have to take the paper towel away when she starts scrubbing her face with it. which usually happens sometime after she's done the windows, chairs, cabinets, and floor. same with those wipes for shopping carts. why does she always feel the need to scrub her face with those?!
anyways, i don't let her often help with the dishwasher because things are breakable and knives are sharp. i'm normally loading the dishwasher after meals when we're cleaning up and then unloading it while she's in her highchair eating. i still wash a lot of stuff by hand (sometimes it's just easier) so we probably only run our dishwasher once a week (when we moved here 17.5 months ago i bought dishwasher gel packs from costco... a box of 85... and we still have at least 6 or 7 left) which also doesn't afford a lot of opportunity for practice.
well, the other night the dishwasher got done and baby girl was still awake and not in her chair so i took out the plates and knives and let her help out. she was absolutely loving it. like to the point that this morning after breakfast when i was putting a few things in the dishwasher, i realized she was unloading it just as fast. so we had a little lesson on "that's still dirty so we need to leave it there."
i had so much fun watching her help out and keep me company. she required some assistance at times and was more than a little add when she would catch a glimpse of a sippy cup she wanted to put away, but other than that, she was actually helpful! she knows her way around the kitchen drawers pretty well. i'll have to make it a point next time to make sure she's around when i unload the dishes!
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