Getting Wet or Dirty

[EveryNameTaken]

OK now closely followed my last post were you all decided I am living in the past?

How many of you do not mind their children getting wet or dirty?

I do not mind my girls splashing through puddles or ending up in the stream behind my house, fully clothed in the pool or running round in their socks, it is part of being a child I think

But I watch people going mad at their kids because some ice cream ended up on their shirt or they splashed through a puddle and got their feet wet, I just feel like telling the parents just let them be kids

Although it does not mean my girls run riot in supermarkets or restaurants; that is my job!

Good for you

Haven't read your last post.

Couldn't imagine anyone getting het up over their kids getting wet or dirty other than prior to attending something like a wedding.

If my girls came in looking like they have been pulled through a hedge backwards (my mum's expression) then they have obviously been having fun. No harm done. What is the issue?

dd always looks like she has been dragged through a hedge backwards,and tonight had a dress covered in gravel dust and dinner (she had been playing with her new toy digger in the gravel)plus she is quite dribbly and has to have a bib on.I never seem to be able to make her look girly no matter how hard I try.

Your last post just made me chuckle,didn't mean to come across as being awful.

Welcome to mn btw

Good for you!

I am an artist and amongst other things, often work in schools. I am really concerned about how many kids i see who can't stand getting dirty and have an almost phobic reaction to getting stuff on their hands. I also frequently meet kids who aren't allowed to paint etc at home as it's messy as a result their skills are much lower, and so yes, they do make a mess. I think their parents think they get lots of opportunities t do things like that at school, which they don't really.

I frequently work outside with children, and again it's apparent that lots of them rarely get chance to do that either.

That said i can see how if you have a few kids and are skint having them come home with dirty, possibly torn, clothes every day might be a problem. It just makes me sad as there is so much to be learnt from free and messy play.

Being able to get wet or dirty without recriminations is an absolutely essential part of a child's development.

Probably a bit sad but one of my absolutely FAVOURITE things is coming back after a long day out with my totally FILTHY but happy child, popping in big bubble bath and emerging fluffy, clean and tired. Feel a sense of achievement Need to get a life? Maybe.

Funnily enough, my DD is happy while she is getting dirty/wet but as soon as she has finished, gets very upset about the state of her clothes/hands/feet etc

I don't know why she gets so upset as we are very laid back about these things. Just always have spare clothes and babywipes with us.

I have several friends who will not let their DDs get messy at all. One would not let her child feed herself until well past the normal age, in case she made a mess. She has quite a few eating issues. That same friend changed her DDs trousers just before tumbletots because she found a mark on them that was barely discernable. And when we went to the park afterwards she spent the whole time screaming "XX don't do that you'll get dirty - NO XX that's dirty etc." She was touching dry bark chippings and occasionally walking on the grass rather than the pavement. I feel so sad for that little girl - her mum loves her and wants the best for her, but she is so restricted. No 3 year old should care whether they are immaculately dressed and perfectly clean 100% of the time.

I like my boys to be clean at appropriate times - for weddings and at the start of the day, but after that I don't care at all and nor should they.

hmm

I admit to being strict about puddles if
(eg) we are out for the day and she'll be stuck in wet shoes for ages

Me too Badger but that is because I can't stand the whinging, not the wetness per se.

My Mum said that she remembers vividly the first time she saw my Dad with clean knees (had known him all her teen years, he was a rugby player and outdoors farm boy type).

'twas on their wedding day.

Guess he wore shorts and a decent shirt that could stand a hot wash or 30.

I despair for the lack of inground dirt in the joints of our modern child

Obviously if the situation is that they need to be clean and tidy you issue strict instructions, such as before school

When I used to live in a terrace house in a poorer area it was not such an issue, now I live in a nice, posher area it seems to be

At a recent BBQ party for my girls birthday all I heard was don't do that, don't get dirty, watch how your eating.

Recently to my neighbours horror got involved in a mud fight with the girls, who will not allow her six year old round to our house no more

I live in a country where its the norm. They see me as the strange foreigner who lets her children climb trees and get dirty while they play.
I also get a lot of white clothes as presents. I wonder if they are trying to tell me somthing.

I think children should be allowed some freedome with play.
I carry a change of clothes whereever I go so I don't have to keep stopping them from having fun.