If your children get dirty from head to toe when they play, don’t worry, it is something totally natural and the best thing you can do as a parent is to appreciate and enjoy it.
Exploring the world, touching reality with the hands and the body, is essential for children to get closer to the universe that surrounds them , and there is no better way to achieve this than by squeezing, squashing and manipulating everything in their environment. That is why you should not fear that children will get dirty because, thanks to this experience, they can more easily express their emotions, as well as discover new things around them.
When your children start to get dirty, it will mean that they are beginning to discover their world , which is wonderful, and that as adults we know how to control ourselves (especially if we are somewhat obsessive with cleaning) it will be vital to not restrict the immense capacity for learning and curiosity that children have.
If the stains still make you a little crazy, remember that:
- It is one more stage and is part of their development and growth , keep in mind that their learning is precisely in what they experience with their environment.
- Do not get obsessed with cleaning , it could influence your children and generate unhealthy and rational fears or manias.
- Think before you act and allow them to get dirty while maintaining reasonable margins of balance.
- Do not scold or ridicule the little ones when they have gotten dirty playing. Remember that for them playing is full happiness, and that they do not yet have the concept of cleanliness and care that we adults have, that is, they do not do it on purpose or do anything wrong.
- Maintain certain limits and teach the children in which places you can play with water, dirt … etc., and in which other places a certain order or certain rules must be respected.
Activity ideas to put into practice
- Body Painting. Choose a space in the house that you can get dirty. If you don’t have it, line the walls and the floor with paper and make some non-toxic colored paints available to the little ones. And to decorate the body it has been said!
- Clay for modeling . Molding and creating figures with materials like clay is really fascinating for little ones. Buy some and play with them to create animals and objects full of fantasy.
- Cooking dough . Make some cookie dough and let your kids let their imaginations run wild as they manipulate it.
- Finger painting. With this activity the little ones will unleash their creativity in an original and fun way. In order to paint with finger paint, it is recommended that your child use the whole hand and make various movements. You can also follow these instructions:
- Have the child stamp the entire wet hand in the paint on a cardboard.
- Play fingerprint stamping. Stamp the little finger, the thumb in a rotary way, the fist, one side of the hand …
- Guide your children to draw lines from left to right with their index finger until they fill the entire page. Have them repeat the activity on another sheet of paper, tracing lines from right to left and top to bottom.
- Add a little bit of water to the finger paint to make the consistency more liquid, and stick a piece of construction paper to the wall. Together with the children of the house, pour a little paint on the paper and observe how gravity makes the drops of paint go down, leaving lines of different colors in their wake.
- Use color-fading papers, such as crepe, crepe or balloon paper, and dip them in the water to, with small touches, later paint on another paper. The result is fascinating!
The important thing is to create and not get dirty
Drawing, painting, coloring … getting dirty, in short, is usually synonymous with play and creativity in its purest form , which allows children to express themselves and learn countless things, and that is what should prevail in a father or mother and not so much the superficial fact that the clothes last clean and bench all day.
Accompanying the little ones in their exploration of the world is also very important and will give them self-confidence and confidence in their own. Establishing and allowing games at home that are usually related to getting dirty will ensure that the little ones are not restricted when creating and that they can make authentic works of art worthy of a great museum.
Do not forget that these types of activities help children develop skills, express themselves and strengthen ties if you allow games to be played as a family, guaranteeing not only freedom of expression and movement, but also guaranteed fun at home.
Put it into practice!
