What are the options then?
- Hold your baby in arms and manoeuvre with one arm
- Put your baby in a sling
- Ask for help
- Hire a cleaner
- Hire a mother helper
- Leave your baby in his room even if he cries
- Pick your baby up in every two minutes when he start crying
- Leave your baby with someone else
- Hold your baby in arms and manoeuvre with one arm
- Put your baby in a sling
- Ask for help
- Hire a cleaner
- Hire a mother helper
- Leave your baby in his room even if he cries
- Pick your baby up in every two minutes when he start crying
- Leave your baby with someone else
It can be easy to stay on the sofa, play with your baby and do nothing. However, if you are a mum who wants to eat sometimes or go to the toilet, you need your free arms even if only for a few minutes a day.
I am not saying that you cannot put your baby down ever. Some babies would be happy to play alone. But there are babies who want to be carried all the time! And it is also OK.
I am not saying that you cannot put your baby down ever. Some babies would be happy to play alone. But there are babies who want to be carried all the time! And it is also OK.
With a baby therefore you have two basic options: you hold them or you don't. But try to put down a toddler and leave him there. You cannot expect much. There is a meme I read, it says: cleaning with a toddler is like brushing your teeth while eating chocolate. Well, it can feel like that!
What can we do then? Again, we can just simply forget the whole thing and order new clothes weekly instead of washing them. We can use paper plates and cups, so no washing up either. But what if we want to keep our lovely glasses and want to wear the same jeans more than once?
Options are kind of the same as above, except one addition: once our baby can grab, hold and even cruise or walk, we can get them involved.
I know, I hear you now commenting and bringing up the toothbrush and eating chocolate thing.
But if we clarify what the goal is we might make it a win-win situation.
What do we want to achieve? We want a house that can remind us our home. We want a happy child. We want chocolate.
It is not important that the laundry is done in two hours including switching on the washing machine and a few more hours for the programme to finish after your toddler restarts it in every 30 minutes.
What important is that you play together. You spend the time together. And sooner or later you model a behaviour that can be truly beneficial to you all. He will learn that we put the toys away, we clean our clothes, we work to tidy up.
He will be slow in the beginning. He will be annoying. He will not be precise, he will make more mess. In the first few weeks only.
He will enjoy it, if you let him.
He will be happy to play with you. For him doing the chores could be the same joy as building the blocks. Especially if you respect him, reward his efforts with kind words and compliments. If chores become natural, you will never need a reward chart to motivate your children later. How beneficial is that in long term?
You can eat your chocolate and clean your teeth in the same time.
Mariann Hornyák
What can we do then? Again, we can just simply forget the whole thing and order new clothes weekly instead of washing them. We can use paper plates and cups, so no washing up either. But what if we want to keep our lovely glasses and want to wear the same jeans more than once?
Options are kind of the same as above, except one addition: once our baby can grab, hold and even cruise or walk, we can get them involved.
I know, I hear you now commenting and bringing up the toothbrush and eating chocolate thing.
But if we clarify what the goal is we might make it a win-win situation.
What do we want to achieve? We want a house that can remind us our home. We want a happy child. We want chocolate.
It is not important that the laundry is done in two hours including switching on the washing machine and a few more hours for the programme to finish after your toddler restarts it in every 30 minutes.
What important is that you play together. You spend the time together. And sooner or later you model a behaviour that can be truly beneficial to you all. He will learn that we put the toys away, we clean our clothes, we work to tidy up.
He will be slow in the beginning. He will be annoying. He will not be precise, he will make more mess. In the first few weeks only.
He will enjoy it, if you let him.
He will be happy to play with you. For him doing the chores could be the same joy as building the blocks. Especially if you respect him, reward his efforts with kind words and compliments. If chores become natural, you will never need a reward chart to motivate your children later. How beneficial is that in long term?
You can eat your chocolate and clean your teeth in the same time.
Mariann Hornyák