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April 24, 2006
Start 'em Young
Might as well start them young. Growing up, we regularly had chores to perform around the house. It could have been to dust, vacuum, empty the trash, do the dishes, whatever. There were several tasks we could have done. Yes, we know she's not even 17 months old, but there's no time like the present to teach them these sort of valuable lessons. Get busy cleaning woman! Her siblings will complain that more pictures were taken of her, and we'll point out that she had to start doing chores before they did.
This is only one example. If you give her a baby wipe, after she wipes her own mouth, hands, and arms, she'll undoubtedly find her way to the wall to start wiping it down. I'm also glad to report that she enjoys (for the time being) putting things away, and being sent on errands to the trash can. If you ask her, she'll even walk all the way there only on her toes, which I find very amusing.
In more of her efforts to be helpful, she'll now tell you how her diaper is doing. Granted, the answer never changes from "good", but it's a start. She finally has been able to climb up onto the couch by herself. It took her long enough, but I think she's there now. So much progress in so little time.