How A Two Year Old Helps

I've had lots of talks with the kids lately about being more helpful around the house. Ironically, the one who seems to be listening to me the best is CamCam. However, his is the kind of help I do not necessarily need.


He LOVES to help unload the dishwasher. Sometimes he'll pick up a dish, like a big plate. It's very heavy for him, so he stands at the dishwasher and says: "Here you go ma, here you go ma" over and over and meanwhile the plate is ever so slowly tipping forward and slipping from his hand. Sometimes he walks the dishes over to me. We've had a few accidents and a few broken dishes. At least he's trying to help.


He likes to help with the laundry. When I'm loading a machine, he likes to help load it as well. He also likes to reach inside and turn the machine around and around. When I'm putting clothes away, he's very helpful because he will pick up piles of clothing and bring them to me to put away. Generally, whatever he's brought I have to refold because he drops piece after piece along the way. Knowing this makes me put laundry away at lightening speed, so in a way, he does help. He also likes to be around for the folding. Anytime he sees me sitting on the floor folding laundry, he comes over and sits on my lap. It is very difficult to try and fold clothes around another person, but somehow I manage.


He helps with this blog. Obviously he helps by being as mischievous as possible and giving mom lots and lots of things to write about. But he also helps by sitting on my lap while I'm typing and every time I stop to think a bit, he says: "GO! GO!" Very encouraging.


He helps with "The Baby." For example, if the baby gets past the barricades I've put up to try and keep him away from the stairs, and starts to go up the stairs, CamCam runs up to him and attempts to pick him up and away from the stairs.

By his legs.


Or, CamCam helps the baby learn how to crawl up the stairs by pushing aside the chairs I'm using as barricades and going up one step at a time saying, "Come on baby, come on," all while I am running over to them yelling "no, stop, don't let "The Baby" go up the stairs!"


Or, CamCam helps with diaper changes. No, he doesn't go and get a diaper for me. I try to ask him to but he just looks at me like I have 2 heads. Sometimes he'll go off and bring me a book or something instead. And he won't get me the wipes. One day I was changing "The Baby" and realized after I pulled off the diaper that I needed wipes, and they were on the counter behind me. I reached and stretched, but they were just out of my reach. CamCam was right next to them, and I asked him to get them for me. It went like this:

"CamCam, get mommy the wipes." He walks past the wipes and into the kitchen.

"No CamCam, the wipes, right here," I say, pointing at the box of wipes, which my finger is practically touching. CamCam comes over, looks around confused, and grabs me an envelope off the counter.

"No, the wipes, these," I repeat, pointing and stretching a bit so that I actually move the container a bit. CamCam turns around in a circle trying to figure out what on earth I want him to get for me.


The way he helps is, when I'm changing the baby, he grabs a wipe out of the container and tries to wipe the baby for me. Which doesn't really seem like that big of a deal, except that the first time he did it I wasn't ready.

So he wiped his brother's poopy butt.

And then shoved the wipe back into the container.


Definitely not the kind of help I'm looking for.