He is an adorable and quirky little kid. So far he has had several different passions in his short life - construction vehicles, trains, and guitars. But now he has moved on to cleaning. Yes, you read that right...cleaning. I can keep him occupied for at least 10 minutes by giving him a wipe and asking him to wipe the table or floor. One of his favorite toys is his broom. He desperately wants to control our vacuum cleaner and at the very least, watch it closely. He's very, very sad when it's time to put it away. He goes to Montessori pre-school, where they have "work" time for 1.5 hours a day. During that time, they choose the activity or activities they want to work on. My son almost exclusively spends the entire time cleaning the tables and floors. They must love him! They can get rid of their cleaning crew.
He loves cleaning so much that I found a cleaning trolley toy on Amazon. I showed it to him and explained all of the gadgets it has (vacuum, broom, mop, spray bottle, bucket, etc.). He lit up. Then, I explained I would buy it for him if he learned to use the potty (which he has ironically been adamantly against...clearly, his cleanliness doesn't extend to poop). The very next day he willingly agreed to sit on the potty at school!!! I mean we don't have potty training success yet, but it definitely affirms his love of cleaning.
So it leads me to my point - I have discovered the latest and greatest toy for young children. It motivates him to get dressed for school in the morning. It motivates him to eat his dinner. It motivates him to be nice to his sister. What is this magnificent toy you ask? A Swiffer. He especially loves the Swiffer Sweeper Vac, followed by the Swiffer Wet Jet (we just take the cartridge out to prevent him from soaking the floor). The motorized sounds offer definite appeal.
And may I suggest that even if your young child doesn't have a cleaning fascination, try busting out the Swiffer to offer some new entertainment. It has been way better than sliced bread (which my son does not like) at our house!
Wow! If only my kid would enjoy cleaning and maintenance as much as yours. My kid is only a year older but I don't think he has touched a broom in his life (as of yet) - let alone a Swiffer. Maybe I'll buy a bunch of supplies and try a make a game out of it, for both our sakes!
ReplyDeleteDarryl Housand @ Haaker Equipment Company
This was a great post. Thank you for sharing. Yes, I think all of our children went through a phase of enjoying cleaning. They would follow us around as we washed windows or did the laundry. And then they were old enough to handle the responsibilities. And they lost interest. It was a big disappointment. Maybe your soon will continue.
ReplyDeleteGerman Zollinger @ Total Clean Equip