Most kids like to make a mess, ours love to make as much of a mess as humanly possible. I mean I've seen other children look on with horrified expressions when our two girls get stuck in as they seem to be on a mission to get as dirty as they can (no idea what #3 will be like but considering he already loves to follow them about I won't be surprised if they teach him to behave the same). Before kids I thought all children loved a certain level of mess making but being a parent has taught me that children are all so different; what some find fun and intriguing is an overload to the senses for others. Our girls NEED to feel everything, it seems to be a strong compulsion.
If the paints come out in our house I have to know that I've got time to throw them in the shower after because we have yet to make it past the 5 minute threshold before one of them starts to paint themselves (which only encourages the other one), I don't try to stop them any more because they have broken me. I know full well I will not be listened to so I've learnt that just accepting the mess is easier.
Sensory activities like home made cornflour slime can only happen outdoors because they seem hell bent to explore everything with every body part. Stickers come out with the knowledge that they'll cover their faces and bodies, said stickers will then proceed to fall all over the house like a trail of crumbs - in other words stickers are only allowed if the floor already needs hoovering. Even with things that they shouldn't be able to get covered in they still manage or try their best. Christ, our middle child will grab fist fulls of gravel and sprinkle them over herself leaving us to find stones hidden down her clothes at bedtime, if they so much as look at sand you'll be sure to find it in their hair.
Living rurally is brilliant for a lot of reasons, the fact that I can take the kids out right by our house, let them run free and explore nature is definitely one of the biggest advantages. As you may have guessed they are CRAZY about puddles (a solid favourite with the majority of children I'd say), they are often ones for jumping puddles dry but it's hardly like the fun stops there... because what's usually at the bottom of a puddle? Mud, the thicker and gooeyer the better! Both girls have several pairs of wellies because they generally have at least on pair in dire need of washing, exploring the mud with just their feet is never enough though! I have to monitor them incredibly closely because if I look away for one second they'll get their hands right in there and they both know that once they've managed that I loose all control and they will keep doing it since "now they are mucky anyway." Our middle child will even lick the puddles if given the opportunity, I draw the line there though.
Yesterday, the kids, dog and I went for a walk to give my husband some peace after he'd kindly taken the girls out in the morning. In hindsight I should've put them in their wet-suits - previous experience of walks with my children for the past few years should've taught me that. But it wasn't raining so I foolishly left the house unprepared. They found a muddy puddle that they splashed in till both girls, myself and the dog got covered and there was no water left to splash; only their baby brother was safe in his pram. As you can tell by the photo Nova was delighted, especially with her hands. That is until she tripped on the way home, scrapped her hands and came crying to me "mamma, kiss my hands". They were DISGUSTING despite having been wiped, but motherhood does something to you - it makes you give into your children's needs even when you're grossed out (I will not share a water bottle with them though - the bits floating about is just too off putting) so I kissed those muddy, grotty hands better and her little "tack (thank you) mamma" made it all worth it.
As you might be able to tell I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm totally outnumbered. I end up saying "no" to art projects 90% of the time because I know what the outcome will be (which is a shame because I love making things but I hope as they get older it'll get easier) and I know I can not fight them when it comes to them getting messy. The winter months are the toughest because we're restrained to being indoors a lot more which puts me off getting the house covered in paint, if it's warm enough outside they get a mummy that is happy to say yes, my favourites are the days that are hot enough that I can just get the paddling pool out after the messy play (that means they are extra tired out for bedtime - obvious a win in any mother's book - but we live in Scotland so there aren't many days like that). The girls obviously take full advantage of the fact that I'm often distracted by their brother, but our eldest managed to make the same amount of mess even during the short period she was an only child. I'm hoping there are many other households like ours, because even though it can be tiring to plan the cleaning process, it is thrilling to see the excitement on their faces when they explore different textures. I just wish I had the energy to let them do it more, but it's a lot of extra work!
Comments
Post a Comment