Embracing messy play

Some parents keep well clear of messy play at home, claiming that their children do enough of that at nursery, playgroup or the grandparents.

Entirely up to you of course, but I do feel it’s something we should do at home with children. There isn’t much that a baby wipe can’t get off and if the thought of indoor painting leaves you in a sweat then just take the activity outside.

painting with children

Whether they are eating spaghetti with their hands, digging mud in the garden or just exploring their new surroundings, life can feel like one long line of messy tasks for babies and toddlers, and not to mention, an endless line of cleaning up for their long suffering parents!

Always looking for ways to make life simpler for parents and their little ones, JOHNSON’S® have devised a brand new dispensing system for JOHNSON’S® Baby Wipes, meaning wipes now dispense one wipe at a time. The new dispensing system ensures one wipe per pull, cutting down on waste so the packs last longer. Another new feature highlight is the rigid lid which allows for one-handed easy opening, making it easier for those on-the-go moments when your hands are full and all you need is one wipe. These newly designed compact packs fit perfectly into a changing bag or handbag!

This makes messy play a doddle as you can always have the wipes to hand without getting in a ravel and ending up buried in a mountain of wipes.

baby wipes

Children gain a great deal from painting as well as other forms of messy play. You might be surprised by their creativity.

My children decided to make a tree painting out of their hands and feet this week. We didn’t have any brown so they decided as it was a special family tree, the trunk could be gold.

foot painting

They loved they feeling of the paint on their hands and feet and then watching the patterns they created. JOHNSON’S® Extra Sensitive Baby Wipes made cleaning little feet and hands a breeze. Free from alcohol, soap and fragrance, the wipes are suitable for even the most delicate and sensitive skin.

hand painting

JOHNSON’S® Gentle All Over Baby Wipes effectively clean everything from wet bottoms to sticky fingers and delicate faces. A must-have item for parents.

Both JOHNSON’S® Extra Sensitive Baby Wipes and JOHNSON’S® Gentle All Over Baby Wipes have been formulated to minimise the risk of allergies. Both have a NO MORE TEARS® formulation with the JOHNSON’S® lotion consisting of 97% pure water. JOHNSON’S® products have been trusted by mums for over 100 years – you feel confident using them because the brand is so well established.

There are so many developmental benefits of messy play, but I also always see such sheer joy on their faces, it is worth is just for that. They’ve learnt about texture and colour, they’ve felt what wet and slimy is, they’ve learnt about cause and effect – so what happens when we spill a paint pot or dip a paintbrush in the silver pot and brush it on the board?

paintbrush

Messy play is messy. You will need to spend time cleaning up afterwards. However, I really think it’s worth it to see how much your child can benefit from the activity. Let’s face it, having children is a messy business from the outset so we may as well have fun with the mess.

tree

What’s your view on messy play? Love it, loath it, or just humour the idea long enough to make a footprint card for the grandparents? Let us know!

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