Parenting 101: Cleaning the Bathroom

As Matty has gotten older, we have tried to include him in the routine chores around the house.  He often helps hold the dust pan when we sweep, he vacuums with his toy vacuum while we vacuum, and he helps carry the laundry to his room.  On Saturday, Michelle asked Matty to bring his little spray bottle upstairs to the bathroom.  I asked him not to spray it...which was obviously a fruitless request to give a three-year-old.

After about 10 minutes, we realized that Matty hadn't come back downstairs yet.  We were busy cleaning so it wasn't the first thing on our minds.  When it hit me that he was upstairs with a full spray bottle, I recognized our potential doom.

When I got upstairs, Matty was standing on his stool in the bathroom trying to refill his spray bottle.  The floor was wet, the entire cabinet and everything on the counter top were soaked, and the original spray bottle was completely empty.  I asked him what he was trying to do.

He looked at me with the most innocent face and said that he was cleaning the bathroom.  

You can't fault the effort.  And you can't even blame him for misusing his spray bottle, we literally put it in his hands.  All we can do is smile and live to fight another day.  So today we have a "clean" bathroom!