Playing in the Mud!

YES we let our kids play in the mud! They LOVE it! In our old house we actually put mud in one of those plastic swimming pools and let the kids play in it. They loved it! Now that we live at a campground and it has been raining a lot there is plenty of mud to play in!

Letting the kids play in the mud sums up how we try to parent. Why wouldn’t you let the kids play in the mud? It is natural, it washes off, it is cheap, and it is fun! It always amazes me when other people see our kids playing in the mud and they can’t believe that we let them do it. Yes it is messy, yes it is hard to get out of different crevices, but we are always able to get everyone cleaned up. And yes it does end up on other things – like the day they painted our van with mud . . . the next day we drove to the gas station to wash it (kids always love a car wash trip!) and as I walked in the guy behind the counter said “Car Wash?” I said yup! It didn’t dawn on me until I got back in the car that when we drove in that side of the car was facing the gas station – so he saw how dirty the car was :)! Oh well! It all came off in the car wash and I am sure we gave the guy a good laugh :)!

It seems like now a days parents try so hard to stop their kids from doing anything that is going to cause them extra work. Believe me – I still do this too – but I try very hard not to be like that. If they want to do something I have to stop and ask myself:

1 – is it relatively safe
2 – is it illegal
3 – is there any reason I shouldn’t let them do this (not counting that it might be more work for me)

If I can answer all of those questions correctly (1 – yes, 2 – no, 3 – no) I try to let them do as much as possible! The joy that they get out of these experiences far out ways the extra work I may have to do. It also helps them learn that it is ok to try new things and it is good to get yourself dirty sometimes. One of my biggest goals as a parent is to allow my kids to explore, experiment, and enjoy life! I feel so lucky that I can be a part of that with them!

Author
Recent Posts

Bryanna

Bryanna is passionate about sharing family travel to help others get out and travel more with their kids! She traveled full time in an RV with her husband and 4 kids for over 8 years before going international for a 3 month backpacking trip with her family.

She loves being outside and exploring new places which is all made better when doing it with family and friends!