Now you can turn your crawling infant into a human Roomba by dressing it in a ‘Baby Mop’ — essentially, a romper with mop heads attached to its arms and legs. As the baby crawls, it polishes the floor, dragging bits of dust, dirt and hairballs with it.
The Baby Mop was inspired by a Japanese ad spoof, according to Mike Parker, director of operations at BetterThanPants.com, which makes the outfit. “I think [the show] was in the late ’90s and the photograph has been floating around the internet for years,” he tells NewsFeed. Since the Baby Mop went on sale on their site, sales have grown exponentially. “At first it was two or three a day, and we were like, oh wow people are actually buying these. Then it just kind of took off. All of a sudden they were like crazy double digits,” he says. “As far as anything that’s not t-shirt related, nothing has taken off like this.”
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In case you still need some convincing, BetterThanPants.com lists 5 reasons you “NEED a baby mop”:
1. Teach your baby a strong work ethic early on in their life.
2. Your baby will learn not to drop and waste food.
3. Baby will get a nice workout, burn off energy, and do muscle toning. And sleep better too!
4. Not having to clean your floors saves you time so you can spend it doing things you enjoy.
5. Save lots of money on house cleaning costs.
The onesie, made of 100% cotton and “ultra absorbent materials,” is “engineered to clean and shine your floor.” The suit can be easily slipped off “when your baby is done cleaning.” It retails on the site for $40.
Commenters on the site have expressed their enthusiasm for the product. “You can experiment with spraying the kids with water when they crawl to see if that helps,” wrote a user called Pat Crosswhite. “We’re going to have to use one of those leash things and swing the baby around a bit so it doesn’t miss a spot,” wrote Larry Diffey. Some praised the style of the romper, which makes your baby look like its wearing chaps made out of Cheetos.
And in case you’re wondering about any child labor law violations, don’t worry, the Baby Mop is manufactured in BetterThanPants.com’s T-shirt shop in Rochester, New York, where they do not employ children.
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