Inspired by an article about age appropriate chores, I've been working on letting her participate more thoroughly in what little I do to keep our household from running out of dirty clothes or food to eat. (Because I don't want to end up like Tonggu Momma.)
The first chore I involved Charlotte in learning how to do is move the clothes from the washer to the dryer. When well supervised, she really likes to do this. Probably because she knows I'll let her push the power and start buttons when we are done. And if you knew the girl in real life, you would understand that she LOVES pushing buttons - figuratively and literally.
Then, during my once a month floor scrubbing, I decided to give her a rag and see what happened. She happily pulled her rag out of the bucket sopping wet and rubbed it all over her little tile. Fun indeed. She ended up soaked, but laughing. So, I'd consider it a win. It made me realize that we should do more water play during the day, and not just at bath time.
And in the kitchen I want her to learn to help as well. I recently tried a new vegetarian recipe that required a lot of mashing. After I got things started and let her watch for a bit, I handed the mashing duties over to Charlotte. She didn't do a bad job and was upset when I finally had to put her down. The masher became a favorite toy for the next day or so (after I washed it of course).I am sure there are other chores around the house I could involved a 15-month old in, but am at a loss as to what those might be. The article I mentioned above, suggests "simple help with groceries, such as: putting items in shopping cart, helping put items on the check-out conveyor, handing items to you to be put away at home." But, I'm not so sure.
What chores do you think a 15-month old can help with around the house?
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