Parenting Guru: Messy Kids are Happy Kids

By Lyn Lomasi | Moments Of Motherhood – Fri, Nov 4, 2011 10:57 PM EDT

Kids make messes. Why? Because it's fun. The clean-up isn't so great at times. But making a good mess can be quite entertaining. My kids seem to have mastered the art of mess-making from an early age.

The most messy time of all had to be when one of my kids was two years old and the other was just six months. This incident reminded me why Vaseline should be in high places when you have kids. It's also why the bathroom should be left slightly ajar if you're a mom or dad with little ones at home.

I went to the ladies room for maybe two minutes. The six month old was secure in her infant seat with some toys and the two year old was busy playing with her toys on a blanket. Keeping kids busy usually prevents mischief. But not this time.

I came out of the restroom to discover two kids with Vaseline from head to toe - in the hair, all over the clothes, and yes, in between the toes. The two year old decided putting Vaseline all over them both was a fun game. Back in the bathroom I went - but not for me. It took a good amount of time to get the Vaseline out of their hair. I never did get all the grease spots out of the clothes.

This was a major mess for me to clean up. But both girls were giggling and having a blast. Case in point: "messy kids are happy kids." Another of my kids once used a mess to inspire me. Imagine that. I'm not saying we should all let our kids get into the Vaseline or fall into a mud pile. But when those unavoidable messes do happen - and they will - a little laughter can help you get it all cleaned up.

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Lyn is a freelance web journalist, the Community Advocate at Yahoo! Contributor Network, and a Y! Shine Parenting Guru. She's also the founder of Write W.A.V.E. Media, parent company to LifeSuccessfully.com and several others. She enjoys publishing freelance writers and supports advocacy through journalism. She has been published all over the web with major media companies, as well as smaller businesses and organizations. Contact Lyn for guidance in the world of freelance writing.

Lyn on Twitter: @LynLomasi

 

12 comments

  • GayB
    GayB  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  3 months ago
    As a mother of 3, grandmother of 7, great-grandmother of 1 - I say yes, yes, yes - let them play, let them get dirty - they're washable! And no child needs the stress of trying to keep their clothes sparkling clean all day long. Remember, kids are mess magnets! Laugh with them , love them, then clean up - you're the Mom, that's your job!
  • anonymous
    anonymous  •  Pleasanton, California  •  4 months ago
    Does this include teens? Because my 18-year old must be positivelt ecstatic... ;-)
  • Pixie
    Pixie  •  4 months ago
    I guess I was lucky, my son smeared a jar of Vaseline on the wall and closet doors. I used Lysol cleaning product and the walls are still greasy!
  • MarineWife
    MarineWife  •  5 months ago
    Please don't confuse with smearing vaseline or being destructive, with kids playing hard- no comparison. That was the parents stupid mistake! My 4 kids got filthy playing outside but still had the sense to know what not to get into. I never cared when they came home with torn or stained play clothes but they did have at least one decent outfit.
  • GreyFoxx
    GreyFoxx  •  5 months ago
    As a single mother raising four young one's was tough,my house never looked like it had been cleaned,though it was on a daily basis,and detailed on weekends.! laughing got me through it and my children to adult hood !
  • d
    d  •  6 months ago
    It's on the picture frames, and they are straight. On the lamp shade, it's not crooked. The boys would have been playing in the flour the second it started coming out of the bag. It looks like a food artist set it up for an ad. FAKE. mother of 2, g'mother of 2 with ADHD.
  • cat
    cat  •  6 months ago
    Totally agree. Let kids have fun. Now mixing kool-aid with flour is gross but we did it.
  • tee
    tee  •  6 months ago
    I have a 4 yr old daughter that has adhd. she is very creative with her messes. i have learned to buy big packages of paper towels, and to have her help clean up her messes. i laugh about some of the things she does( fingerpainting herself instead of on paper) take pictures and just put her in a shower
  • Lee C
    Lee C  •  6 months ago
    true
  • Jen-IL
    Jen-IL  •  6 months ago
    When my boys were small, in the summer they had a hill in the backyard with mom made mud trails and a small hole on top filled with water. They played out there for hours and hours with their trucks. I'll take mud over sand any day.
  • sofi89
    sofi89  •  6 months ago
    Amen! Sometimes people don't understand how I can giggle at the antics of my two boys. But really, I'd rather laugh about it b/c otherwise I'd be spending a lot more time being aggravated. Because lets face it, if it was somebody else's kid we'd be laughing!
  • Beverly
    Beverly  •  6 months ago
    It appears to me that toddlers would only dump the bag of flour in one spot..the sofa appears to have flour on the back of the sofa..the pattern of the flour is as if a taller person threw the flour at the sofa and the walls pictures etc. Come on toddlers just would not be able to cover the entire hallway, walls, etc. I think 5 pounds of flour...looks like the toddlers had some help in this ..mess!!
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