"Can I Help?"

"Can I help?" is Mini's favourite question at the moment, and she isn't afraid to ask it.

Me:  "I'm going to make dinner,"
Mini:  "Can I help?"

Me:  "I'm going to put the washing out,"
Mini:  "Can I help?"

Me:  "I'm going to clean the bathroom,"
Mini: "Can I help?"

Me:  "I'm going to the toilet,"
Mini: "Can I help?"

And so on, and so forth.

Today, I was hoovering in Sunshine's bedroom when I felt a tap on my thigh and a small voice asked, "Can I help, mummy?"  A tiny hand then grasped the hose of the machine and began pushing it this way and that, with no particular pattern or style, rarely even tickling the floor, let alone actually cleaning it.

This is what frustrates me about accepting help from a toddler - it invariably changes a simple, straightforward task into something that takes a long time to complete and is never finished to the same standard as if you were doing it by yourself.

So today, when it came to hoovering Mini's bedroom, I let her do it herself. I knew I didn't have the patience to have her "help" me anymore, so I handed the hoover to my 2 year old, and she actually didn't do a bad job...

She starts by cleaning under the chair

Clearly loving the responsibility!

Hoovering under her Moses basket toy box

Cleaning her bookcase - perhaps she thinks the hoover will put her books back in order?

Mini finishes by hoovering her rocking chair

So there we are - one tidy (ish) bedroom and one happy toddler.  Thanks for your help, Mini.