My baby does housework

This is my favorite way to buy some "me time" in the middle of the day (me time, so I can make dinner for everyone else):

-Fill a roasting pan halfway with water.
-Set it on some towels on the kitchen floor.
-Get the kids naked.
-Throw in some sippy cups and other small containers.
-Ommmmm yourself silly for a good 20 minutes.

Yes, it makes a big splashy mess, but it's just water. I just rub the towels around after and consider it one less floor to mop. So, really, I'm multitasking.

Comments

[Tine]

Oh that's a great way to multitask! Looks like so much fun... But, seriously....does your baby never take off with the pan? Try to take it to another room? Or tip it over??

[Megan]

Ha, ha. That would be a disaster. It's way too heavy for either of them to carry it. Bo might be strong enough to tip it over but she has never tried. She's really good about containing her splashes, but Magpie went a little nuts yesterday. Not only did the floor get "mopped" but the cabinet doors got cleaned too.

[PsychMamma]

Found your site through parenthacks.com. What a great, fun idea! My 2 y/o loves helping me "clean" with a spray bottle of water that she "skirts" (squirts) with and then wipes with a cloth. She cleans the refrigerator, washer and dryer, stove door, dishwasher door and the patio door windows. fun!

http://psychmamma.wordpress.com

[Megan]

Thanks, psychmamma! The most simple ideas are usually the best ideas.
Bo (my almost 3 year old) likes to wash windows, too. She "kirts" the water (she drops the "s" on any word that starts with it, so in the park today she chased some "quirrels").
Thanks for stopping by. I'm on my way to check out your blog.

[Melissa]

I may have to get a roasting pan just for this purpose! I could see my twins cooperating to pick up and tip over something lighter than that. Thank you for the idea!

[Carolyn L.]

Ha! That's a better idea than a colleague gave me for my then 2-year-old. My friend advised me to get some dry beans and plastic containers and measuring cups, etc., and let my little one have at it. Her kids, she told me, loved to dump the beans from one container to the other, to measure them out bit by bit, and so on. It took my daughter about 5 minutes to figure out how fun it was to scatter beans all over the house. I was finding the darn things under couches and chairs for a year.

Water seems to be much easier to clean up!

[Megan]

Oh, Carolyn. I feel your pain. I'm still sweeping up lentils from a similar experiment here.
Thanks for stopping by, Melissa. Yes, go with the roasting pan. I've also used a Dutch oven.
One thing I forgot to mention: If you do this when you're not trying to buy yourself some time (i.e., you're able to sit down and play too), take off your shoes and put your feet in the water. My oldest loves pouring water on my feet and playing with my toes. I'm not above using my kids for a little foot soak, as long as they're having fun too.

[RookieMom Whitney]

I do a similar thing. My kids love the salad spinner, both with water in it and without. My older one will lie on the floor and watch his cars and little men spin around for up to twenty minutes, and now the baby is getting the hang of it.

[Megan]

Ooooh ... salad spinner. Now that would be fun.

[Nicole]

My 15 month old loves to swiffer. I shortened the pole by removing a few sections and he follows me around the house with it while I vacuum. I suck up the big stuff and he gets the dust. I taught him to do under the furniture and he loves the challenge of getting the swiffer all the way under the dressers. :)

Another note about the salad spinner idea. When I'm cooking I rinse the lettuce and put it in the salad spinner. I just sit my son on the floor with it and let him spin the lettuce. It gets a task done, keeps him busy, and I'm free to do other cooking tasks. For some reason he doesn't have any interest in removing the cover to toss lettuce around the kitchen.

[Megan]

I do the swiffer thing, too, Nicole! It's the perfect height. She loves it. I keep meaning to buy some Montessori-esq child-size cleaning supplies (i.e., short brooms and small dust pans), but the swiffer works just as well.