Thu 4 May 2006
At the intersection of fashion and function comes a breathtaking new product. I suspect as the trend takes hold, these must-have items will improve in quality of both materials and workmanship. But for those of you who are early adopters of new technology, you’ll want to jump on the bandwagon right quick to outfit every baby in your household. I notice that none are currently for sale on ebay, so entrepeneurs, a freebie business idea for you! Baby Mops!
(I don’t know the provenance of the picture, but thanks for the hot tip, Nate)

Here’s the text on the page:
“After the birth of a child, there’s always the temptation to say, ‘Yes, it’s cute, but what can it do?’ Until recently the answer was simply ‘lie there and cry’ but now babies can be put on the payroll, so to speak, almost as soon as they’re born.
Just dress your young one in Baby Mops and set him or her down on any hardwood floor that needs cleaning. You may at first need to get things started by calling to the infant from across the room, but pretty soon they’ll be doing it all by themselves.
There’s no child exploitation involved. The kid is doing what he does best anyway: crawling. But with Baby Mops he’s also learning responsibility and a healthy work ethic.”
Looking into my crystal ball, I see that my coworker’s idea for baby walkers that double as upright vacuum cleaners will be the next big thing, once the mop market is saturated. Another freebie for the entrepeneurs!
May 4th, 2006 at 12:40 pm
I’ve seen this. A little drool action will provide cleanser, and away they go!
May 4th, 2006 at 4:36 pm
I have a mop. It requires a lot less upkeep than a baby.
May 5th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Slightly older babies are also good at cleaning up old Cheerios™, pennies, thread, dust bunnies, and permanent markers you may have inadvertantly left lying around.
May 5th, 2006 at 1:27 pm
Ahh, but Tara, the point is not to get the baby so you can get it to mop — the point is to use the moppet, so to speak, in a productive manner! I have also found attaching one to the roof of my car to make for an effective siren.
May 8th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
Kate– ha ha!
Tara– Kate beat me to a response.
Nate– I know one mother who has trained her toddler to call the tidbits you mention funny names, such as “zig-zig.” This makes the quest that much more rewarding for the child because then she gets to say “zig-zig” everytime she spots something. And who wouldn’t want to say zig-zig as often as possible?