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Quick tips for parents of young children
It’s not "making a mess," it’s "experimenting" with paint
By MARK SULLIVAN, Executive Director, Michigan 4C Association

Q: Why do young children come home from child care with paint, mud, or food all over their clothes? Why can’t they just stay clean

A: Children who sit and watch television stay clean. Children who are actively learning by experimenting with mud, paint and bananas tend to get dirty.

This is a good thing. Those "experiments" are helping children develop muscles and muscle control. Stimulation from those activities creates connections in the brain that can last a lifetime. So dirty clothes are often indicators of progress, not symptoms of a problem.

There are also ways to limit the chore of clothing cleanups. Many child care providers ask parents to supply an oversized "paint shirt" for messy activities. Plastic aprons are good when the clothes could get wet. Many kids look forward to putting them on because they know it’s a sign of fun to come. And it’s not a bad idea to keep a spare set of clothes with the caregiver just in case "stuff happens."

On the other hand, cleaning up our messes, brushing off our clothes, and washing our hands and faces are also good learning activities, and they have the added benefit of helping to prevent the spread of infection. Good child care should have both kinds of activities.

So when you check in for a visit or pick up your child, look around to see if your child and his classmates stay dirty after messy activities or their clothes seem to have more than expected wear and tear. If there is a consistent pattern, that might be a sign of careless care.

Usually, though, you are simply experiencing the Great Wash Cycle of Life: kids get dirty, kids clean up. All is good.