Why Start a Blog About Messy Play?

I remember getting messy as a child. Painting, sticking, baking, playing with water, messing around with playdough and clay, helping in the garden, and there were many more messy activities besides. I'm sure most of you enjoyed similar activities.

Image via Wikimedia Commons by Ingvar Kjollesdal

If a 2014 Persil survey is anything to go by, it seems that kids don't take part in so much messy play now. The survey that polled 2000 parents of 7 to 11 year olds about messy activities revealed that two-thirds don't like their kids getting messy, preferring them to take part in clean activities. While most little ones jump at the chance to get messy, the survey also showed that parents' views may have a negative influence on their children's preferences for play. One-third of kids said that they didn't like getting dirty and more than half gave TV as their favourite pastime.

Ideally, messy play should be a regular activity for children, as this form of play is about more than just the fun that messy activities bring. Everything from feeling the squish of gloop and hearing the crinkle of paper to seeing a rainbow of brightly coloured objects and tasting while baking gives kids the chance to explore with their senses. This exploration then aids development, with children gaining physically, intellectually, creatively, socially and emotionally from messy play. Who would have thought giving kids the chance to get messy could offer so many benefits?

Messy play should come naturally. You don't really need classes for messy play, as there are plenty of opportunities for exploring a wide range of materials around the home and when you're out. However, as Persil's survey shows, parents often aren't keen on mess. Even if you don't mind your kids getting dirty, there are still the spills to mop up, the strewn bits and pieces to pick up, and the paint splatters to wipe away. If you take your children along to a messy play group, you don't need to worry about the mess. Taking part in a messy play session is also a great opportunity for tots to interact with other little ones, and you may even get to make some new social connections too.

Image via Wikimedia Commons by Bobjgalindo

If you live in a large town or city, there are probably a handful of messy play groups for you to choose from. However, living in a more rural area, organised messy play is more limited. While there are a small number of groups offering messy play in Cumbria, they are more dispersed, and when accessible sessions run, they don't necessarily fit in with when parents are available. For the activities they offer, messy play franchises can also seem expensive, and asking parents to sign up their kids for a block of sessions isn't particularly realistic when children are so young. That's what gave me the idea to set up a group for messy play near Whitehaven. After successfully trialling a "swamp" (green jelly, brown cornflour gloop and spaghetti snakes) with a few little ones we know from St Bees toddler group, and checking there was enough interest from families in the village, here I am, setting up a group for messy play near Egremont.

Sessions will run on the 1st Tuesday of the month from 2-3pm in St Bees Village Hall, located on Finkle Street. They are aimed at little ones aged 6 months to 4 years. While there is a charge, this group for messy play in West Cumbria is run as not for profit, helping to keep the cost down for parents and carers. With 15 children attending, the cost is £2 per child, and with 10 children, it's £3 per child.

We have a facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/messyplaystbeeswestcumbria/ - which you might be interested in. If you like what you see, please "like" and "share" to help spread the word about our group. The more people that know about our messy play in Cumbria and tell their friend about it, the greater the chance of we have of making our group a success. Thanks for your help!