17 month old loves cleaning up ?!?

JLB24 · July 2012

DS loves picking up fuzzies or any othe really tiny thing he can find. He will hand it to me, put it somewhere else or put it in the trash can. He loves following me around when I vacuum, which makes me nervous, so I got him a mini Dyson and he loves it. He pushes it around and says "clean up.". Today we went to the park and did the swings for a little and then pretty much the rest of the time he walked around and handed me pebbles/sticks/dirt he found on the ground....he was cleaning up at the park! It's cute, but I can't help but worry a little because he seems so into it lately. I am constantly vacuuming and picking up fuzzies and whatnot, so he's probably just mimicking what he sees. At least I'm hoping and I don't have a little OCD baby! Anyone else's lo do this?

AimeeL85 · July 2012

No but would your LO like to come over for a playdate? lol

mesmom2011 · July 2012

My DD loves to help clean and brings me fuzz too. She also loves to pick up rocks and sticks. I think it's normal for LO's to collect things and picking up little fuzzies is an awesome fine motor task. My DD loves fill and spill activities right now. One of her favorite "activities" is a gatorade bottle with pom poms and popsicle sticks in it. She empties the bottle, fills it and puts the lid on. I guess I encourage her "OCD" tendencies. Big Smile

Bemyselfandi · July 2012

My DS LOOOOVES to clean! For a while he was obsessed...he had to have his own dust rag, his own vacuum, his own broom. He does it all when I do it, and it keeps him busy and helps that I don't have to trip over him and fight for the vacuum and broom. Don't worry. He just is doing what he sees you doing.

tprochaska · July 2012

My LO loves picking up the fuzz, but instead of giving it to me, she has to put it in her mouth.

JLB24 · July 2012

Ok good!! Glad many lo do this

BrittRMere · July 2012

O does this, but rather than handing me what he picks up he tries to eat it. It motivates me to vacuum more often at least. haha

Paviku · July 2012

Mine was doing this, too. Unfortunately, he recently stopped with the fuzzies and pebbles and is now happily handing me boogers. He's very proud and loudly says "booger!" when he does it. I preferred the fuzzies. As for the general cleaning, I give him a feather duster and he's like the happiest kid on earth. He dusts the floors, the table, his toys, the dogs, me, and anything else he can reach.

RayRay007 · July 2012

DD loves to clean. She picks up fuzzies off the floor and hands them to me and more recently takes dirty tissues etc. to the garbage. She picks up her toys when she's done playing and makes sure everything is in their place. If we give her a napkin at dinner she wipes up the table. She will even dump her sippy cup upside down and try to make a drop come out on the table so she can wipe that up. She will also wipe her own face and hands. She also loves to blow her own nose. She is weird.

ETA: Also, whenever I swiffer she has to do it too. I give her her own broom while I do the real thing.

LoCarb · July 2012

Encourage it. Seriously. It will change when they're a bit older and you can't even bribe them to clean!

DD1 used to love helping me clean around this age and now by 3 yo she's dropped several chores she used to love and will only do a select few. I'll take what I can get!