You’ve probably noticed there is really not a lot of messy play on this blog. The truth is I hate messy play. I mean I loathe it. The idea of my two year old wielding a glitter shaker makes me cringe. Finger paint…physically tense. I completely have to psych myself up for messy play every time. Knowing that my children, or my floors, will be covered from head to toe in whatever substance and require being hosed down, wiped down, or otherwise bathed after an activity can send me into sheer panic.
That said, I completely see the benefit of it, the need for it, and the fun in it so I do my best as a mom of boys to be flexible and work some messy play (or messy by my standards anyway) into our days.
I know I can’t be the only Mom out there that feels this way so today I thought I would share with you some tips that help me survive messy play in hopes that maybe they can help you too.
Take it outside. This is rule #1. If we can take it outside that solves 99.9% of my stress and the rest of these tips need not apply. So, whenever possible I set up our messy play outside. Obviously during New England winters this is not so easy to do so I abide by all these other tips for myself when taking it outdoors is not an option.
Know thy limits. This is a big one! I can tolerate rice or beans all over the kitchen floor much better than I can tolerate finger paint smeared all over a chair for example. Vacuuming… I got that… scrubbing furniture down, not so much. Picking play dough up off the floor I am totally ok with. Chasing water beads as they bounce around the house threatening the lives of our dog and cat? That I have to be in the mood for. I know my limits and I plan accordingly.
Define a space for messy play. There are a couple of ways I do this.
- I tend to limit our messy play to our kitchen. There are no carpets in there and it just feels like an easier place to clean to me.
- Shower curtain liners from the dollar store save my sanity! I have an abundance of them and I will throw one down on the floor or cover the table with one whenever we are doing anything “messy”. Not only does it catch spillage but it defines a “space” for my kids to play and they rarely move from it. It’s easy to roll the shower curtains up after playing and shake out any bits of material, like rice or sand. When we paint I just hang the shower curtain liners up to dry with little more than a small wipe down and then toss them after a few uses when they get too covered.
Allow time for /Schedule your messy activities. I am really not a spontaneous kind of person. Surprise date night has been known to induce stress. I always schedule our messy activities when I know I will… A). Have time to adequately clean up and…B). Have some quiet time to myself sooner rather than later after our activity to decompress.
Messy play in small doses. I’m talking both quantity and frequency. I can handle a small container full of oobleck much better than a large one. I can also handle a big messy activity once every couple weeks as opposed to multiple times a week. Three bottles of paint at the hands of my 2 year old is far less unnerving than having 7 or 8 bottles of paint out and accessible at one time. (This sort of ties back in to know thy limits and don’t push them).
Now granted most of these guidelines really help me most when setting up messy play for my toddlers. My older kids can handle paint, glitter, glue, and what-have-you with the best of them. They can create (and clean up) without limits. Until then, this is how I survive.
Do you embrace messy play or are you a mess averse Mom? I’d love to hear your tips for surviving mess play.
I’ve discovered I’m most patient with big messes first thing in the morning after breakfast. This has helped immensely. No more trying to fix dinner & handle big messes too!
That’s a good tip! I tend to agree with you as well. I think just knowing that I will be able to get the mess picked up before the dinner mess begins helps too 🙂 I never really thought about it but you are right. 99% of our messy activities I do before lunch.
Pretty mess adverse here. My 2 year old loves painting. So we do it in the bathroom. With her mostly naked. While she paints I run a bath and immediately following I throw her in the tub and clean up the mess. Everyone is happy with minor stress.
That’s an awesome system 🙂
I have an 18mnth old and a 3 year old.. I have completely avoided any sort of messy activities for the exact same reasons as you.
The shower curtain idea is pure GENIUS! Thank you for these tips 🙂 xxx
Your welcome! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi Megan. I’m glad you found some helpful tips 🙂
I know just what you mean. I have to talk myself into messy play. Even though I know it is fun and educational and everything else….it’s just so messy. I’m working on it. 🙂
As a mom of 4, 4 & under (3 are boys boys), I struggle with this as well. I like to do messy play in the bathtub. During bath time. Finger paints, shaving cream, & so on. It’s so much easier than on my, already stained, kitchen table. Haha
I have 21 month old twin boys and messy play just plain frightens me! One of my boys is very…curious (saying it nicely) and everything goes in his mouth or on the floor. I love the shower curtain idea and moving them outside! I think more messy play is in my future 🙂
I tried to do a painting activity outside when my oldest was 2. I intended for her to use paint brushes, but before I could even open the second color of paint she was COVERED in the first. I’m still not sure how it happened so quick. By the time it was over it was EVERYWHERE. She was covered, my patio was covered, her easel was covered, literally everything. Anything messy causes some intense anxiety and it was worse after that. I am just now getting back into “messy” play which for me, right now, are stamp pads and letting her get her hands in them. Sensory bins with rice or beans doesn’t bother me, though I prefer it outside. I have been looking to let her do a little finger painting again so I will definitely keep these tips handy!
I am a mum of two boys 3 and 1 and I am finding it hard to get me 3 year old to enjoy any messy play as he doesn’t like anything on his hands. The most I can get him to do is play with play dough and that’s at a push and he needs his hands washing all the time or a tube of rice but that’s were he draws a line. He doesn’t mind playing with the paint in zip lock bags but that’s all I can really get him to do. With me training to be early years teacher I know the importance of messy play but I am running out of ideas to get him to do anything and was wondering if anyone has any ideas were he can enjoy messy play with out the mess I have tryed everything.