Friday, October 30, 2009

I am a GENIUS or a really really bad mom

As I sit here typing this, little Amy is vacuuming the playroom. With her own vacuum. That we gave her for her birthday. Yes, my toddler is doing the housework while I am... well... not.

"How did this strange and wonderful (and possibly just plain WRONG) turn of events come about?" you may (or may not) be asking yourself. Well, Amy has always loved vacuuming. Before she got her own, she would either INSIST on holding the handle while I vacuumed (which slowed the job considerably, since normal speed would have resulted in baby whiplash and/or dislocated shoulder) or using the dustbuster. Since our dustbuster is pretty heavy for her and I really like being able to vacuum at a speed faster than molasses, I decided that I would get her a toy vacuum for her birthday. Then I saw the prices for toy vacuums. They aren't exactly cheap. The cheapest I found was $19.99, but it was not even remotely realistic and didn't even have real vacuuming sounds. Those run more like $35-$50. So then I thought I would check real ones, and I found some pretty inexpensive ones. I ended up getting her a little Eureka upright for $19.99. It even has an extendable handle, so we just don't extend it to make it the perfect size for a toddler. She LOVES it. It doesn't do the greatest job, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

Exploitation or just plain genius? What do you think?

11 comments:

Jess said...

Oh, you are definitely not evil. Little kids LOVE cleaning and there is no reason not to take advantage of it while it lasts. My mom owns a toy store and she says her single most popular item is a $6 child-size broom.

Sarah said...

Genius for sure. I have loved cleaning since I was little, and I always hated the toys that only pretended to do the job. I would have FLIPPED OUT if someone gave me a real little vacuum cleaner to use! I think it's freaking brilliant.
It's much more satisfying to really do something (i.e. make cookies with your mom) than just pretend with your sucky Easy Bake Oven. Just as a for instance. So I'm sure really vacuuming is much more fun for her than pretending would be anyways!

Swistle said...

Total. GENIUS.

And GOOD mom points for teaching valuable life skillz!

Shelly said...

Joining the votes for genius.

I say you're golden until you set up a sweatshop in your basement.

secret agent woman said...

you got her what he wanted - what's not good about that? Besides, she'll no doubt outgrow that love of cleaning!

(I once gave my son a barrel for Christmas because he inisted it was the one thing he wanted.)

Rougeneck said...

Genius. Duh. And love the pumpkin pants. Absolutely adore!

Anonymous said...

Genius, of course. Plus, doing housework in pumpkin attire gets total bonus points.

Nowheymama said...

Genius!!

The Gori Wife said...

I vote genius.

I used to beg my mother to iron things but most often, she wouldn't let me. I am a total slob in my adulthood. I blame her for not encouraging what were obviously short lived and undeveloped urges to clean. Hopefully your genius will save your sweet daughter from a similarly messy future.

Farrell said...

genuis!

kia (good enough mama) said...

Ohmigosh! I totally have to copy you on this idea. My kid FREAKS the feck out when he finds out someone has vacuumed without letting him help. Also when we clean the toilet without him, go figure. I'm serious. I'm going to copy you! :)

Thanks for stopping by my blog. Is this your daughter that you wrote to me about? If so, it's interesting that they both have a "thing" for vacuums....