Let's make a mess

What messy play means, benefits of sensory play for young children, and simple, everyday activities that help build your child’s creativity, confidence, and early learning skills

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“Excuse the mess, the children are making memories!” This simple quote, hanging on a door in my house, is a continuous source of inspiration for me in my parenting journey!

Honestly, I never knew that a big part of parenting is cleaning up your childs mess. And never did I expect to be okay with a mess, to embrace it and even enjoy it. When I had my baby, I expected the mess but didn’t know how to deal with it. Most often, I was a tired mom, running behind an active toddler and trying to clean up his mess. To make things worse, I didn’t have any household help.

Every time I gave my 2-year-old puffed rice, I would see him crunching it between his fingers and playing with it. The quote hanging on my door was a constant reminder that mess was essential for my son’s growth, and that young learners make a mess. Despite knowing this, I would frown, my mind racing with thoughts like "Whos going to clean it up?" Messy play always ended in temper tantrums, power struggles, and crying spells!

My toddler loves unrolling toilet paper and wrapping himself with it, or making little balls and running to flush them down the toilet! Instead of getting upset, I try to focus on the benefits of such messy play. This activity helps him understand that he can make balls of toilet paper and that they can be flushed. And the best thing is, this kind of play helps him burn off energy!

Also, my older children still seem to enjoy the messy play. My 4-year-old squishes thermocol to turn it into ‘snow.’ My 7-year-old still loves ripping the newspaper into small pieces and showering them on us to make us feel special.

Seeing my children having great fun gave me a sudden insight: Why not make a mess together and teach them to clean up after play?