Bpoo’s Fear of Dirt!
Just recently, Bpoo has found a new way to test the limits of my patience. Surely, someday, she’ll realize she won’t win, right?
Bpoo would be occupying herself, either thumbing through a book or playing with her toys, when suddenly she’ll start wailing, with hands reaching out towards me. Or, during her bath, she’ll recoil at the site of something seemingly invisible in the water, which, after a closer look, turns out to be nothing but a small piece of lint or a strand of her hair. She has developed a fear of dirt!
If she notices any specks of dirt on the floor, she’ll pick it up and hand it to me. At the playground, she’ll signal for me to direct her to the nearest trash receptacle, with improperly discarded wrapper or paper in hand. While eating, she’ll immediately wipe any drops of water or pieces of food from the table, or fuss until I clean it up for her.
She actually doesn’t mind if her hands get dirty while picking through rocks, digging through wood chips, or using her markers with her coloring book, but will whine when she’s done with the activity and notices the traces of dirt on her hands. I find it a little funny and cute that she’s developed this quirk!
After consulting with Google, this behavior seems to be quite common with many tots. To help with bath time, a few parents suggest introducing new bath toys or drawing bubble baths to distract the little one.
Hopefully, I can encourage her behavior in a positive manner for as long as possible, and maybe she’ll help me out with a few household cleaning chores when she’s older. In the meantime, I guess I’ll just have to sweep and vacuum more often to keep her happy.
Father Jogger: A North Bay Stay-At-Home Dad 
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