Messy as in covered in paint, markers etc.... Sand from the park in their hair, splashes from muddy puddles over their shoes...
I don't at all, I see it as she's had a great day. She doesn't really have any fancy clothes to spoil and she has blue paint all down her front, arms and face right now. She looks like a Smurf 
But I see some mums have mini heart attacks when their LOs head for the paint and take their nice clothes off. Maybe I should be a bit more like that 
Do you care?
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
Not even a little bit! I cant wait until lo is more interested in getting messy! Thats where all the fun happens 
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I don't mind craft or play messes but food messes gross me out..haha!
squash / 13208 posts
That's why my kids don't have nice clothes
I always have teachers at DCP apologizing when the kids are extra messy at the end of the day and I am like "who cares - they had fun right??" But apparently yes other moms get VERY upset!
squash / 13764 posts
Depends what he is wearing! I don't mind him getting messy but I also don't want his clothes to get ruined. So if he is going to get messy in something that might stain, I would take his clothes off/replace with clothes that I don't care much about.
But he is constantly grubby from the playground and it doesn't bother me!
blogger / grapefruit / 4836 posts
@Mamaof2: haha us either consignment stores are my best friend
pomegranate / 3392 posts
No, but I do mind clothes getting permanently ruined. That's why I love summer, he's getting needy to his heart's content wearing just a diaper...or sometimes not even that!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I don't really mind if my son gets messy, he's a pretty neat boy though. He will occassionally come home with paint on his shirt but it's fine, because I don't expect his clothes to last him past the season and spend accordingly.
pineapple / 12793 posts
Nope! I do feel bad when she's messy and we go somewhere nice. But on a daily basis I like that she's the messy kid - means she's having a blast with Shadot!
honeydew / 7687 posts
Nope and it bums me out when kids are having safe, happy fun and their parents tell them to stop messing up their clothes ( seems especially specific to dresses) 
coconut / 8430 posts
I don't like her getting messy at home because I have a hard time containing her and getting the mess cleaned up. I don't mind if she comes home messy from daycare though.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
She's always a disaster by the end of the day at daycare, she's just a messy kid. I never send her in anything nice
GOLD / wonderful coconut / 33402 posts
I don't mind if she isn't wearing anything nice. I do think when she comes home dirty from day care that means she had fun!
GOLD / pomegranate / 3688 posts
Mostly I think it means she is exploring and having fun! But I am a master stain remover. 
That said, I do like when childcare providers make an effort to keep my toddler clean - wiping down her face and hands after she eats, especially. There is no reason for her to walk around with dried lunch on her face.
cherry / 179 posts
If I minded, I'd be in trouble!! It seems like LO is always a mess If we go out, I do try to make sure her face is cleaned up (at least when we leave the house!)
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
@oliviaoblivia: I am glad you said that - they were painting today 
The type that you need a jar of water to dab your brush in. You can guess how that ended.
@Mrs. Lion: Right? I love messy play, I wish I was young enough to do it!
@autumnlove: my husband used to be aghast watching LO eat. He had to get over it. She isn't going to start eating daintily anytime soon
@Mamaof2: Yep that's why mine doesn't own anything expensive. She's too fond of painting on herself, lol.
@looch: @hilsy85: @MoonMoon: @Smurfette: @septca: I need to get better at putting stain remover on sooner. I find washable paint isn't always as "washable" as it claims to be.
@scg00387: @LuLu Mom: @mkp17: Messy play rules
@sunny: Yeah I struggle keeping mess contained at home. We had a food colouring disaster recently. Sigh.
coconut / 8498 posts
I don't mind when mine is messy, but it stresses me out when other kids in my care get messy! I think LO isn't a very messy child in general, so I have a hard time when friends kids are over and they're like eating yogurt with their hands and then putting grapes up their noses. But LO doing that wouldn't really bother me at all.
grapefruit / 4066 posts
I actually love LO getting messy, I'm surprised how laid back about it I am. Jumping in puddles, mud, painting, eating messy things, etc.
squash / 13208 posts
@septca: what's your secret?
I never use stain remover because it says after applying you must wash it and well I only do wash on the weekends..... what happens if I use stain remover on Monday and let it sit for 5 days??
watermelon / 14206 posts
Of course I don't mind. Kids are washable. We don't buy fancy clothes around here.
coconut / 8498 posts
@Mamaof2: OxyClean Stain Stick is my go-to! The directions say you can leave it on for up to 5 days, but I've definitely gone longer with no ill effects.
pineapple / 12793 posts
@Mamaof2: definitely the oxy stick. I tried resolve stain remover once and it ate through the fabric.
GOLD / watermelon / 14076 posts
I don't mind if she gets messy at daycare (though she never has before). I also wouldn't mind if she got messy when it was expected (ex: If I took her outside to play in the rain). I could see getting upset if I took her to an Easter egg hunt in a nice dress and she decided to dive into some mud or something (not upset at her, just with the situation). She hates getting messy while eating, so maybe she'll be neat in general....who knows.
pomegranate / 3411 posts
i don't mind if LO gets messy....but I do hate cleaning and getting messy myself, so I try to keep his mess off of me and set up whichever activity it is so it will be easy to clean, if that makes sense. Like with painting, I learned from my nanny to not give all the little paint jars, but putting dobs of paint onto one plate, so I only have to clean the plate after. Or after the park, if his shoes are full of sand, I will take them off before we go in to minimize sand getting all over my floor. stuff like that. because I don't like cleaning
As for his clothes getting messy, I don't mind as long as I have a spare to change him into after if need be...and that would be so I don't get paint all over MY clothes when I pick him up!
pomegranate / 3411 posts
what I find funny is that LO does not like to get messy himself! he is always asking me to clean his hands. and when he spills something, he wants it cleaned up right away! We were painting one time and he got paint all over his hands and would not continue until I wiped them, even though I kept insisting it was okay and we could clean up when were done!
bananas / 9227 posts
Nope. I think that's how toddlers are supposed to be I wasn't allowed to make a mess, write on myself, or even pick things up from the ground. I want my LO to be a kid and get messy. Clothes are meant for spills. (Unless it's an extra special occasion and she's wearing an antique or at a wedding.) Otherwise, I let her be a kid.
cantaloupe / 6687 posts
Generally no but like @autumnlove I do not like food messes. Like I don't want her clothes to be stained from a meal and her hands/face to be a mess. So at almost 3 she still wears a bib and we wipe down after meals. We use an extra towel on her lap when she eats something super messy like soup. And I hate dealing with stains so I'll change her if she's really messy from a meal so I can deal with the stains ASAP.
But I do not mind her playing and making a mess. That's why 90% of her clothes are play clothes. And if we are on a play date or at the park I make sure to dress her in clothes that I don't mind getting messy. Generally she's a pretty clean kid but if we go somewhere like the beach she doesn't mind getting sand over every inch of her body. I'm just glad she doesn't draw all over herself - even washable marker is tough to get off
pomelo / 5469 posts
No...but if possible I prefer to limit messy activities to the afternoon as she'll be having a bath right before bed.
watermelon / 14467 posts
Most of the time, no. I try to save the extra cute outfits for when we are going out or to church, but the rest of the time she is in play clothes.
I do hate food stains on her clothes from daycare though.
pomelo / 5298 posts
I full expect that she might come home messy from daycare. I also don't like food messes. We wipe her hands/face down after she eats and I expect the same when she is in other's care. At home if we paint, I tend to strip her down to underwear, just to save some of the clean up efforts. Same thing when we carve pumpkins - to underwear. And play outside in puddles is either in underwear or swimsuit and swim shoes.
honeydew / 7589 posts
I don't mind messes at all. We take off her dress before meals or if she wants to play in mud or something, but she can get as messy as she wants. This was yesterday.
GOLD / pomegranate / 3688 posts
@Mamaof2: oxy stick or spray - applied when the stain is fresh, then I let it sit until I next do laundry. OxyClean soak for tough stains or dinge. A squirt of blue Dawn for anything oily.
I also make my own laundry detergent (A&H washing soda + Dr Bronners + Oxyclean free) and it fights stains MUCH better than anything else I've tried.
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