Dedicated Mum???...

[MooMa42o]

I was setting out the painting things this morning, covering the table putting the paint in the pots & generally getting ready for a morning of fun painting, We have carers come in every morning & one of them said to me "Oh you are a dedicated mum to be doing that with them, just think of all the mess you will have to clear up later" now this just seems crazy to me how does this make me dedicated i figure it just makes me a mum!...I think the mess is half the fun, i can't be the only one can i?....

No, I used to love doing that sort of thing when mine were little, and they loved it too. Kept them busy for hours. It doesn't take too long to clear up!

(In fact, I still do it, my girls now love making cards, making cakes, icing cakes etc. We may not be very good at it, but we do have a lot of fun!)

Maybe she's had a DC like mine, who spends about 2 minutes doing crafty stuff, making maximum mess, and then gets bored and wanders off to look for something else to do. It's just not worth the bother of setting up, cleaning mess and tidying away. If it kept him busy for a long time though I'd gladly do it.

My kids would sit there for 2 minutes, then promptly run around sticking hand prints up the cupboard doors and painting each other. Stuff like that just doesn't keep them occupied. Yet my 3 year old was quite content for 2 hours yesterday playing with a bag of pegs

Like happyhorse though, I would gladly do it if it kept them busy for long enough to warrant the mess that comes along with it, though.

Mine always spent less time on the activity than I spent setting up and clearing away