How often do you let your kids get muddy?

[Bearybasket]

Just curious after a chat with some friends today.
How often do you let your kids get muddy? or just get messy for fun in general?

Whenever she wants to
I've never been a parent to be bothered about her being messy or dirty or muddy
And she does get messy! 😆

I don't have any dcs but I do have very fond memories of my dad encouraging me and my db to dig for worms and making mud pies then ( in weather like we had today ) turning the hosepipe on us to clean us up or bathing us .
He also encouraged us to jump in puddles and generally just enjoy ourselves.
I can't really recall how often we did this kind of thing but it was probably a few times a month depending on his shift pattern.

Whenever they want really. But it’s funny because my eldest never enjoyed it and to this date still doesn’t like being dirty. My middle and youngest just go all out 🤣

I didn’t realise I had a say in it to be honest.

absolutely filthy every day at preschool. As often as she wants at home. Why wouldn’t you?!

This!

As long as they’re not stuck to a screen, they can do pretty much whatever they want 😆

When they were that age it appeared to be on the hour every hour between late October and mid April

Then they got bigger and started doing rugby and festivals..

Every time they play rugby. So all the time.

Every day if we get the opportunity.

Every one of my four children gets all their clothes washed every day through absolute necessity. I’m still in awe at people who put their children in white clothes.

Never 🫣 interesting question because people talk about their kids getting muddy and how it's important to let your kids play in the mud but like...my DC has never shown any interest in playing in mud and I've never encouraged it either because it's messy so...

Whenever they want. Kids and their clothes are washable.

Never

My went to an outdoor nursery in Scotland. There were days in January I had to hose them down at the gates before removing the ‘suits’. The suits would then be able to stand upright when dried. The mud was caked on!

The Easter holidays were always welcome so the suits could be washed!

I was not an outdoorsy parent, so I sent my dd to forest school. Most days she came home absolutely filthy. I would pick her up armed with towels (for her) and trash bags (for clothing, shoes, etc) and we would go straight home for a bath

I never discouraged DDs from getting muddy but I can't say that it happened very often. I can't say as I enjoyed getting muddy as a kid either as it would have been a pretty cold, wet and miserable experience in Manchester, which we tended to avoid.

About 90% of the time they want

The other 10% is when it will be impractical/uncomfortable...e.g. at the very beginning of a long journey/day out...I tell them they will be wet/uncomfortable for the rest of the day if they get wet/muddy straight away.

I don’t have kids but I remember hating being covered mud and dirt as a child (still hate it now) so I find it fascinating that so many kids seem to love being absolutely filthy 🤣

I don't let them, it just happens! Eldest isn't keen on being grubby but the younger two love it

Whenever they wanted to, I was a big believer in letting them have as much of the freedom that I had as a child as possible.

I don't say they can they just do.
Youngest loves a visit to the forest, woods and anywhere with water.
He came home from last nights trip out, grubby, muddy, sweaty and generally looking like he had been dragged through a hedge. Happiest child though. Straight in bath, clothes in machine ready to do it all again

My son is 19 , works at a heritage railway at the weekend. So tends to be covered in engine oil instead of mud.....does that count 🤣🤣

Mine rarely get muddy. I don't ban them from getting messy, but we just don't go to muddy places that often. We're in London and if it's wet we tend to go to indoor venues like soft play and museums or galleries. In the parks there is usually enough footpath not to need to get muddy, and they are more interested in the playground. Our garden is a typical London postage stamp and has no mud.

Basically, what @Girasoli said.

We are a pretty outdoorsy family, it’s part and parcel of spending time in nature but there’s times when it’s not practical (eg we are going somewhere afterwards, no change of clothes, really cold)

Dd doesn’t like getting super dirty, ds, on the other hand, he could play out in the garden for 5 minutes and come in looking like the Gruffalo.

DS is 9 and I don't think there's been many days in his life where he hasn't got properly dirty.

We have an allotment and he digs and plays there all the time while we work on it. He also plays football at school, at home and for a club and this seems to involve a lot of diving and writhing on the ground!

We have a dog and walk everyday in woods and by streams etc.

He's mostly filthy