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Original poster

Hoovering with a toddler - HOW?

26 replies

ExistentialistCat · 16/09/2010 09:09

Well, hoovering with a hoover, obviously, but in a toddler's presence.

DD (14 months) gets hysterical when she so much as sees the hoover in the corner of a room.

I've just been given two hoovers for my birthday, a normal one and a hand-held table-top one, and I want to try them out! In case I sound desperately in need of a life, I should perhaps point out that I am also 38 weeks pregnant and nesting like a lunatic.

How do you do it? What is a happy medium between not hoovering until DD goes to school or engendering a lifelong hoover phobia in poor DD?

OP posts:
TeamEdward · 16/09/2010 09:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

greentriangle · 16/09/2010 09:15

Yes, I also plonk both my DCs on the sofa.

Househunter · 16/09/2010 09:17

I got a cleaner and make sure we are out of the house! Grin But appreciate that's not the solution you might be looking for.

tefal · 16/09/2010 09:21

I am the opposite. When I get my hoover out my son gets hysterical...only because he loves it and wants to hoover himself. I am sat here eating crumpets with jam, drinking coffee and he's got the hoover!

BeenBeta · 16/09/2010 09:24

Get her a toy one so she can hoover with you?

BeenBeta · 16/09/2010 09:26

... and of course when you have had your baby then DP/DH will be able to show her how to hoover as well.

StantonHarcourtTheThird · 16/09/2010 10:34

give her the tabletop one and askher to do it whilst you do the floor. do you have an extension hose on the big one? why no give her that to use whilst you use the little one, make it a game!!

You can't pander to it, just get on with it.

thereisalightanditnevergoesout · 16/09/2010 12:21

I was going to suggest a toy one, but BeenBeta beat me to it!

Incidentally, whenever my (almost) 2 year old sees our hoover, he points at it an says, 'Daddy's!'. Obviously, we're into breaking down gender stereotypes (nothing at all to do with me being a lazy cow!!).

tortoiseonthehalfshell · 16/09/2010 12:25

Hoovering happens after her bedtime, here. As does most housework.

Chaotica · 16/09/2010 12:37

Both mine have been through this stage. I go for the sofa option but I found letting them turn the hoover on and off helps (they see they can control it). Actually, DS wants to hoover anyway these days. (It won't last!)

notquitenormal · 16/09/2010 13:49

We have an electric carpet sweeper with a short, toddler length, handle. He love 'coooomin'.

He actually does the bulk of the work now Grin

sapphireblue · 16/09/2010 14:48

DD1 doesn't liek the hoover either, but is ok if she sits up on the sofa where it can't get her Hmm

ShinyAndNew · 16/09/2010 14:53

My toddler is odd. When she sees me with the hoover she follows me around holding out her hair/dress/hand squeaking 'hoober me, mummy. Hoober me. NO hoober ME!" until I hoover whatever it is she is holding out to me.

Dd1 was scared of the hoover, but like others she was fine if she was on the sofa. She only got over her fear when she saw that even though dd2 was trying to be hoovered up, she wouldn't actually fit Grin

peachybums · 16/09/2010 16:33

We got a henry and a toy henry for DD so she could join in lol. She used to like sitting on my henry while i pushed him round but shes a bit big for that now lol.

scurryfunge · 16/09/2010 16:35

Who gave you a hoover for your birthday? Smile

LoveBeing · 16/09/2010 16:37

My dd liked to be held up to hold the handle and hoover with me, then i got her one of her own. Am building up to giving her the dyson hand held Grin

lal123 · 16/09/2010 16:37

2? You got 2 hoovers for your birthday? Sad

Original poster
ExistentialistCat · 16/09/2010 19:25

Wow, thank you for all the replies! Will definitely try the sofa trick.

LOVE the idea of trying to hoover up your older child so that the younger one is reassured, Shiny! Might come back to that one...

And just to reassure some of you, I've wanted a new hoover for ages and thought it would be really handy to also have a cordless little one for the table/car etc, so I was thrilled when my parents obliged! They did send the hoovers to DH's workplace and he had to explain over and over again to his colleagues that he was not the one giving his heavily pregnant wife two hoovers for her birthday...

OP posts:
Alibabaandthe40nappies · 16/09/2010 22:05

Just keep doing it and she will get used to it. DS went through a funny phase with them but now races round my ankles as I'm hoovering and loves it when I touch his toes with it really gently so that his leg vibrates, he laughs like a drain. :)

Original poster
ExistentialistCat · 17/09/2010 20:04

Thought I'd send a little update:

I hoovered the dining room and sitting room today. Put DD in a highchair with a favourite toy in the doorway of each room so she could watch from a safe distance. She was very upset when I got the hoover out but stopped crying once I'd got going (I made a big deal of enjoying myself, singing and dancing with the hoover - no mean feat at 38 weeks pg!). Then she got upset again when I stopped and was quite clingy for a while.

I was feeling rather pleased with all this until we'd been upstairs for a bit and, on coming downstairs, DD got very upset and clingy again, looking all around her (to check, I assume, that the dreaded hoovermonster wasn't lurking anywhere). It's clearly still a scary experience for her.

I think I'll have to keep going with a little-and-often approach in the hope that she gradually becomes desensitised, but it does feel rather cruel at times. :(

OP posts:
nowherewoman · 17/09/2010 20:10

Do you tell her what you're doing eg. "I'm going to put the hoover on now, remember it makes a noise but it can't hurt you" etc? Also as you say little and often.

PennyBlue · 17/09/2010 20:36

Well, you could just hoover when she's in bed, but I reckon it's worth getting her used to it. My DS changed his attitude to the hoover as soon as he realised that it actually sucks things up (one day he threw his dry cereal all over the floor and I got cross and hoovered it). He went from being scared to being absolutely fascinated. Now he adores the hoover and he brings it offerings of raisins, bits of biscuit, fluff from behind the radiator etc.

JannerBird · 18/09/2010 16:56

When my DC's were little they used to sit on the hoover and I would pull them along. They loved it, my back however did not!!

Meglet · 18/09/2010 17:01

I don't! They would run riot if I couldn't hear / see them. Even cbeebies and snacks won't work.

I am very Envy of all your well behaved children

chibi · 18/09/2010 17:02

i used to hoover with dd on my hip when she was little

then when she was a bit bigger (15-16 months?) i gave the hoover a name (hoovey Blush) and would tell her that he was her friend and loved her and liked being noisy etc

i gave him a personality lol

soon she was asking to help

good luck