My Son Likes to "Help" - No Guilt Mom

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My son, Dude, likes to clean. When he is a little older I will be shouting from the rooftops: “MY SON CLEANS THE HOUSE!! WOOO HOOO!”

Each week, I have a bathroom cleaning routine. My son loves it. During one bathroom cleaning, I tore off a paper towel from the roll and handed it to him. He mimicked me as I wiped down the counters. Then he toddled over to the mirror and rubbed his paper towel back and forth across the glass. I continued to spray the surfaces with cleaning spray and wipe the sinks clean. Suddenly, my mommy senses kicked into high gear. Dude was too quiet. I turned around and saw he was no longer at the mirror.

“Dude?” I called out.

“Ahhh!” he happily responded. The sound was coming from the small room that encloses the toilet. Whatever he was doing in there, he was very proud of himself. I warily looked inside the door and saw:

Time to replace the toothbrushes. #toddlerapproved

A photo posted by JoAnn (@awhimsiclelife) on Nov 11, 2014 at 4:14pm PST

“Whoa! No Dude! We don’t clean the toilets with toothbrushes!”, I told him firmly all while trying to keep a straight face. His act was both gross… and slightly hilarious. I took the toothbrush from him, threw it away, and carried Dude to the sink to wash his hands. Rushed him to the sink, actually. Touching the inside of a toilet grosses me out. He could unknowingly put his fingers in his mouth and..ick.. gross. Last week while we were at Walmart stocking up on cleaning supplies, I also picked up a container of PURELL® Hand Sanitizing Wipes. They are available in the 70-count Clean Refreshing Scent or the 35-count Fragrance Free, however not all Walmarts will have both canisters due to shelf space. We found them in the household cleaning aisle. Dude picked out the big size. To practice good hygiene, you need the right products at the right time. He helps clean something gross, I hand him a PURELL® Hand Sanitizing Wipe to clean his hands and, poof, no more stomach churning fear for me. These wipes are safe to use on hands. No more constantly rushing to the sink. Shoppers are now able to save $1.00 on any PURELL® Hand Sanitizing Wipes canister or Save $1.00 on any two PURELL® Products with this coupon. PURELL® also has a brand loyalty program. Good to know, because with the chores my son chooses to do, I’m going to need a lot of PURELL®. Dude insists on cleaning up after the cats.. And the dog.. I give him the container of PURELL® Hand Sanitizing Wipes to clean himself up. Being a one-and-a-half year old also means he is fiercely independent. He insists on wiping his hands himself–and dabbing his face a little too. Now I’ve taught Dude how to clean toilets with the toilet brush instead of a toothbrush. He sometimes touches the end of the brush which makes me squirm. Again, the PURELL® Hand Sanitizing Wipes come out. I don’t know what happened to that other shoe. Sometimes it is better not to ask. As I teach him to be more aware of good hygiene–and not grossing out his mom–I’m thankful I have a very easy solution. I now give him a wipe after each time he “helps” out.