Accepting Kids Mess

Kids are messy. It is as simple as that. As a family who prides themselves on keeping a tidy home, that is not always possible once you have children. There will always be something to pick up, hands to wipe, a diaper to change. As our kids grow and we expand our families, the messes only increase, the chaos only gets louder and busier, but it is a fun and exciting time, as exhausting and never-ending as it may feel.

Here’s the thing, our love is bigger than any mess. Stains can come out, crumbs can be swept, splatter can be wiped. All of that aside, watching our children learn and explore should be more of a priority over insuring the house is in order. And this is coming from someone who cringes at an unkept home, it is a learning process I am having to accept. How important is a clean home versus your child’s happiness. It is a tough pill to swallow, but it balances our reactions to seeing mess happen.

I am not saying we need to accept food fights and mud slinging, all I am expressing is that when their hands get dirty from playing in some mud or they get grass stains from outdoor play, it is all going to be okay. We should look at things differently. We get the opportunity to become masters of stain removal. At the end of each day we get the chance to be reminded of how much fun our kids had by tidying up their discoveries. Perfection is non existent and as easy as the online mamas might make it look, reality is they either have extra help in nannies and hired cleaning help, which is quite alright and incredible if you have that ability, or the behind the scenes looks just like what you and I have going on, they just don’t share those parts.

Kids will be kids, let them have fun and let them be kids. Society is too quick to have children grow up and mature and they know too much too soon due to access to social media, the internet, video games and television. It is up to us as parents to provide safe and timely learning, giving them the chance to adapt to this world and know what is appropriate. Looking back, at a very early age, I couldn’t wait to grow up. I wanted to wear makeup and have a cell phone and do things on my own terms. I wish I had slowed down and enjoyed being a kid more.

While we don’t want a mess to get out of hand, as our homes are our sanctuaries, we can learn to accept things getting out of place and not having everything in perfect order while our children learn about life and their surroundings. Scuffed up pants at the knees, dirt under their fingernails, messy hair and the dust and dirt they bring in from the great outdoors, it is all part of their adolescence. We can tidy up later, after they have gone to bed. I’d rather spend my evening cleaning up after they’ve had a wonderful day over scolding them over and over for allowing things to get out of place.

Accepting the mess is a huge step as a parent. Childproofing everything is a challenge and we quickly realize what is necessary and what will just be. Making mistakes and getting messy is all apart of growing up and we need to encourage the learning over disciplining the actions. I still catch myself cringing as my son dives into a mud puddle or insists on collecting every rock he sees, but he is happy and healthy and not causing any harm, so I let it be. We will learn as they learn and we get to enjoy the innocence of lifes discoveries along with them. Embrace the challenge to tidying up later, and to accept the present moment.

Melanie xoxox