We've all heard of the term 'bucket list,' made famous by the Nicholson/Freeman flick in which two OAPs tick some wild things off their 'to do before I die' list. But what about the term 'potty list'?
Coined by the U.K. formula and baby food company, Cow & Gate, the "potty list" comprises the "top activities all children should experience by the age of three."
To compile the list, Cow & Gate asked more than 1,000 (European) parents what they deemed to be the most important milestones toddlers accomplish in their early years.
Without further ado, this is what they came up with:
1. Make a mud pie
2. Bake a cake
3. Finger paint
4. Sing loudly in public
5. Climb a big hill
6. Pick fruit
7. Dance without any inhibitions
8. Make sandcastles on the beach
9. Be chased by a monster
10. Jump in a puddle so hard the water went in mummy's shoe too
Notice the absence of any structured or otherwise academic-sounding items, like reading, writing and arithmetic.
So parents pining to sign their kids up to umpteen activities, really you need not. The only thing you really HAVE to do in the first few years of your child's life is have fun, you know, the free kind.
For the time being at least, feel free to scratch the swimming, gymnastics, painting, karate, music, yoga, ballet, Spanish, French and any other structured class you can dream up.
The lesson here: the Mandarin and piano can wait.
How do you feel about this list? Anything you would add/delete?
Printer-friendly version