The One Year Old's Manifesto

Hello Frugal Fun for Boys readers! This is Jonathan here. I’ve been dying to get my hands on Mom’s laptop, and she never lets me. Sometimes I can run off giggling and shrieking with the mouse, but she can catch up with me in just a few steps. It’s okay, though, because one day I’ll be taller than her (she’s all of 5 ft. 1 in.) so she won’t be able to outrun me forever! Anyway, she’s busy wiping muddy footprints off the kitchen floor for the fifth time today, so I thought I’d seize my opportunity to tell you how fun it is to be ONE!

Here are my tips to really maximize your life at age 1:

(Make sure you read these to your toddlers!)

• Focus on having fun! At my house, there are several “fun zones.” You’d think that the play room would be one, but toys are not really that fun. The bathroom is one – several fun things to do there, like playing with the water in the toilet and tasting the toothpaste. Tissues are super fun, especially if you can get your hands on a whole box! If you see your mom coming, pull faster! Moms just don’t tend to appreciate fun the way us toddlers do.

• Look for opportunities. I can always count on my brother Owen to provide me with some! He never remembers to close the bathroom door or the back door or any door, really! One day during school, everyone was busy at the table, and I noticed that the bathroom door was open. Talk about opportunity! Mom got those toilet paper rolls away from me pretty fast, but if I’d been able to keep them, I would have enjoyed unrolling one roll and given the other to the dog to have fun with. I’m a pretty generous guy.

• Keep your parents guessing. I like to do this in the area of food. One day, I’ll scarf down a whole banana, so mom will bring one along to the brothers’ gymnastics the next day as a snack thinking that bananas are my favorite. Ha! Fooled her! This time I’ll squish the banana between my fingers and throw pieces on the floor.

• Anything the big people have is worth trying to get. The other day, I got ahold of Mom’s phone! I talked and talked on it. It was SO fun.

• It’s good to be helpful. Especially since us one year old’s can create so much work! I make it my goal to be very helpful. I can clear off the bookshelf, help with the folded laundry, and I love to help get myself a snack! I’m pretty sure that mom appreciates all my helping.

Well, those are my tips! I hope you find them helpf- Oops! Here comes Mom! Gotta run!