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This post is in honor of International Mud Day, which was celebrated on Friday, June 29. We’re celebrating it this week. Just because.
Get your hands dirty. Get your face dirty. Dig in and create, build, destroy and accessorize alongside your child.
Let the glitter fall where it may.
Allow your children to get covered in mud.
Sink into the creative process, which is a messy, beautiful land, and surrender to the moment.
Cover your faces with chocolate.
Let the kids throw paper, pillows, toys. {Teach them to pick it up as well.} Teach yourself to sit back and enjoy the fun.
Life’s messy. Be a part of the fun.
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I pretty much remember all the great messes of Jadyn and Liana’s childhood, so far.
First, there were the plastic spoons, forks and knives strewn all over the kitchen floor.
Then, there was the day they got into the big pile of newspapers and scattered them all over the floor.
And, my favorite: Body painting in the backyard and having to be rinsed with the hose.
I loved the time they sat in a toy box filled with shredded paper, tossing it in the air like snow.
But, the most epic mess of all, was the time two years ago when they yelled to me from the basement when I was upstairs and said, “We’re making snow!”
Oh, did they. Styrofoam bits — the kind you can’t pick up without the static cling to your everything — were all over the basement floor. The shop vac was needed for that mess.
Did I yell? Did I scream?
Maybe a little bit inside.
I’ve been to war with glitter, food coloring, toys, blocks, mud, dirt, paint, playdough, chocolate, face paint, water, baking soda and vinegar, lentils, rice and many more sensory items that kids adore to touch and play with and learn from.
I returned unscathed, unharmed and more eager than ever to keep the messes flowing in our lives. Some of my favorite parenting moments, in fact, are the ones filled with at least a half hour of cleaning up. To me, this is what childhood is all about. And, it keeps my creative spirit alive and well also. After all, in the past I’ve joined right in on the artistic experience and the fun.
But, lately I haven’t been as open to the messes. Busy schedules can do that. It’s time to Bring Messy Back.
This is Awesomely Awake at its finest.
How about you? How do you feel about children and messes? Do you join in? Do you stand by, cleaning up? How do you handle messes? What’s the biggest mess you’ve had at your house — parent-approved or accidentally kid-made? Please share!
I needed this today! I am horrible about letting my kids get messy, because well… I have to clean it up! I need to let go, enjoy, and let them be kids. Thank you for the eye opener.
Chris — My husband admits this is one of the harder parts of parenting for him as well. : )
Thank you so much for this post! I am a bit of a neatnik and accepting messes has been a challenge, joining in the fun has been even harder! For me, once I realized that I could continue to stand on the sidelines, paper towels and wipes in hand, anxiously anticipating the next chocolatey face or trail of muddy footprints OR I could participate in my life and pick up a paintbrush or help bake a mud pie! It's so much more rewarding to play and interact and make messes than to be constantly stressed and cleaning. I would rather have my children look back and remember me laughing and playing alongside them, not following them around picking up!
Michelle — Thank you for your honesty. Let's face it, our kids will always look back and remember us cleaning but hopefully they remember us playing as well!
We are totally at war with the new discovery buckets I just made. But it is TOO much fun to watch the girls explore with them to put them away! I always figure the bigger the mess, the more fun it was to make! And yeah, been feeling a bit bogged down with things as well, those pesky full schedules! I definitely need the reminder to take more time to enjoy and explore!
Hi Emily. Im curious about the discovery buckets. Are these like sensory bins?
They sound fun!
Discovery is so much fun — and messy!! I was just laughing — but couldn't find the photo — of the time I let the girls create shaving cream "snowscapes" on our counter. oooooh was that a messy one!! lol
@Pete N Kayla Vallejo, discovery boxes are awesome. They are kind of like sensory buckets for slightly older kiddos. (mine are 2 and 3) We have buckets with beans, beads, with old cardboard rolls from tp and paper towels, and with small pieces of PVC pipes and connectors. It is fun to watch them make things and pretend with the different pieces.
Awesomely Awake we did shaving cream 'paint' with food coloring on the kitchen floor. It is always reminds me of being in grade school and cleaning our desks at the end of the year! So much fun and it gets my floor clean.
More on discovery boxes: http://www.theimaginationtree.com/p/discovery-boxes.html Have fun!
You are amazing and truly inspiring. That’s why I’ve nominated you for the Inspiring Blog Award. I admire your mindful parenting approach and the fact that you draw your strength from diverse spiritual philosophies. I’ll likely not announce the award until a week from now – just getting prepared in advance. All the best – Sharon, AKA Vinny.
Thank you!! You are so kind!
Thank you for the gentle reminder to just let loose and to quit worrying about the mess I will have to pick up later. I REALLY needed to be reminded. I can't wait to join in on my sweet boys messes tomorrow!:)
Well … did you join in on a mess??? : )
Yes maam I did join in!:) We actually declared it a messy fun day! I will post pics on my blog very soon! mylillovebugs.blogspot.com!:)
Thank u!!!! I needed to read this post!!! My son (r yrs old) finds a way to make a mess in every situation…..and my mom says its unacceptable!!! “He needs to be spanked and taught to be tidy”,
and so all this time I’ve thought I’ve been a bad mothr. Yestrday (now I feel so bad about it) I put my son in “time out” because I sent him to the bathroom to brush his teeth and he decided to squeeze the while tube of toothpaste into the sink and play in it. I yelled at him put him in time out, which I might add was the first time he ever sat in time out w out a hassle…the only thing he kept askin me w his sad face was “plez don’t clean the toothpaste. 
I made him get up out of time out and clean up the mess. Should I not have yelled and put him in time out???!!!! Was it just a way to “play and explore” ??????