Child labour

I have assigned my toddler household chores. This is entirely his own fault.

There we were one morning sitting with our cups of coffee and the dog wants to go out (and in and out and in, it never ends). Neither one of us was fully awake and neither one of us could be bribed to get off our butts and walk 7 steps to let Rusty outside.

P.N.D. (Poor Neglected Dog).

Disclaimer: if anyone is reading this post out in blogland, we do NOT neglect our animal in any way, shape or form. He gets daily walks, food twice a day, has several dog beds in the house, toys, you name it. The PND remark is simply a sarcastic comment.

Anyway, since Benjamin was running around wide awake with no intentions of slowing down, we asked him to let the dog out.

And he did!

So we've been telling people that our child has become our servant. He loves doing stuff for us, and we love it when he does!

Benjamin, can you let the dog out?
Benjamin, Rusty is scratching at the door, can you let the dog in?
Benjamin, that belongs in the garbage/compost bin/diaper pail. Will you put it in there?
Benjamin, do you need your nose wiped? Go get a kleenex and I'll help you.

Ha!

His newest responsibility is to feed Rusty. This is quite the procedure. He has to:

1. open the pantry door
2. remove the stuff sitting on top of the Rubbermaid Bin where the dog food is located
3. pull the bin out
4. take the lid off (with help he can do it)
5. take the cup
6. fill it to almost full (that's quite the task in itself!)
7. carry it without spilling the contents (he's not looking at the cup when he's walking, he's looking ahead. And, he's walking very, very cautiously!)
8. pour the dog food in the dog bowl without spilling
9. return the cup into the bin
10. put the lid on
11. push it back
12. and close the door

That's a lot of steps for a 21-month old!

Of course we have to supervise but what the heck, start 'em young!