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Do you do messy play with your 16 month old?

14 replies

tory79 · 14/01/2013 16:50

If so, what, how often and how?!

It has been suggested it might help my ds with his apparent dislike of eating anything messy, but I feel a bit clueless about this as I thought he was a bit young for this, nothing really holds his interest for longer than a few minutes plus he's an extreme thrower so any messy play is likely to get MESSY unless I can find a fairly foolproof method of protection! We would have to do this in the dining room so carpeted etc.

Thanks Smile

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Seabright · 14/01/2013 17:07

Wait until it's warm and do it outside. Or wait until he goes to nursery and let them deal with the mess.

I din't do messy play, can you tell? 30 mins me setting up. 10 mins her playing & getting board. 40 mins me cleaning paint and glue up. No way.

What about bath crayons? Mess in a contained, cleanable area.

Meglet · 14/01/2013 17:11

Never.

Mine went to nursery from about 1yo so I handed that bit of child raising over to them!

They used to use cornflower and shaving foam a lot IIRC.

Bearfrills · 14/01/2013 17:17

I used to do it with DS but DD hates to be messy/dirty so haven't done it very much with her, I really need to start doing more to help her get over this dislike of touching anything non-solid. She's 17mo.

What about doing messy play in the kitchen? It's where I go because it can be mopped/wiped. Check out some local playgroups too, one of ours does a rota where one week they bake, the next they do messy play, the next is painting, the next is gluing/stickers then back to baking - that would save you the bother of setting things up and cleaning them up afterwards!

Gloop is an easy one. In a big dish or baking tray (or even a paddling pool or baby bath if you're feeking ambitious!) mix together cornflour and water until you get a yoghurty consistency. Squash some in your hands and it'll feel solid, relax your hands and it turns back to liquid. Hours of fun!

Baked beans, tinned tomatoes or spaghetti (smart price and the like are pennies a tin) on a plastic sheet (Poundland) are good too, and edible in case of any tasting. Just roll the sheet up and throw away after.

Dried pasta shapes or cornflakes in a tub. Also cooked strands of spaghetti.

A roll of paper (Wilkos have rolls of drawing paper) and saucers of paint but no brushes for finger/arm/hand/foot painting.

Baby bath on the floor of either the bathroom or kitchen, put a couple of towels under it to stop the floor getting too slippy. Put in a few inches of water and add bubbles, glitter, whatever you like, and some cups and spoons for splashy water play.

Playdoh isn't very messy but is good for touching and squishing.

KerryKetosis · 14/01/2013 17:17

NO! that is for nursery/children's centres/playgroups etc. i.e. where they have space and plenty of hands for the clean up.

Apparently my 7 month old enjoyed 'rice play' at nursery the other day. Who even knew there was such a thing?

KerryKetosis · 14/01/2013 17:18

Maybe I have ishoos and should do some messy play for me!

jan2013 · 14/01/2013 17:25

i wouldn't go as far as messy foods but my 16 month old plays with shaving foam in her high chair and loves it - she is contained in the chair and its easy to clean. i hate mess too!

tory79 · 14/01/2013 18:13

Is it not a problem if they try to eat it?

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Cantbelieveitsnotbutter · 14/01/2013 18:31

Yes, on a table in the kitchen. Theres lots of paint 'pens' which save alot of mess. Old clothes or apron. It's great.

Or make biscuits? Roll out and cutters? Decorate after?

diyqueen · 14/01/2013 20:24

I do baking, play doh, painting, glueing etc with dd (21mo) and she has a sandpit outside and 'helps' with gardening. But I've never wanted to do stuff like shaving foam or baked beans on the floor - seems a bit wasteful and pointless to me, and would give dd confusing messages - like, she must not throw her dinner baked beans on the floor or splat them on the table, but then I give her a mat covered in them...? I did used to let her dig her hands into her dinner and eat off her hands, though now she prefers using cutlery most of the time.

jan2013 · 14/01/2013 21:17

she tried to eat it the first time and i said no. she actually did taste it and it put her right off and she just knew then it was to play with and didn't try to again.

it might not work for every baby though

Iggly · 14/01/2013 21:20

Messy play?

Dd smears her food everywhere. Why not just let your dc play with her food. Ok she might not like it, just give her messy food and leave her to it for a few mins. Let her experiment and get messy. If she doesn't like it then fine. Don't make a big deal of her making a mess nor if she doesn't care.

Blottedcopybook · 14/01/2013 21:27

Do it in the bath? Easily cleaned that way.

flotsomandjetsom · 14/01/2013 21:35

Messy play is important for learning and development. If your DC has an aversion to messy play, messy food and other tactile dislikes or avoidances it can indicate a sensory processing difficulty. I would encourage him with things he will tolerate and move on gradually to messier play. It doesnt have to be horrific, you can do it in a dry sink or washing up bowl on a splash mat. They do get a lot of exposure to it at nursery and thats because it is an important part of exploration and learning about the world.

rrreow · 15/01/2013 14:18

Nursery do messy play so I'm glad I don't have to! If I were to organise it for DS I'd either do it in the bath (stuff like custard with food colouring or something) or on the roof terrace (although it's too cold right now!). We also like to go out and jump in puddles since he got some wellies.

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