"Makes mistakes - get messy!" advises the awesome Ms. Frizzle on The Magic School Bus. Her wise advice and my recent observations have caused me to question my previously held belief that we should strive for no messes.
Mya and Lucas were laughing like crazy tonight during bath time. It had something to do with Mya tossing the slippery soap out on the floor and Lucas launching it back into the water. They thought the whole thing was hilarious.
Funny but messy. The mess started to cause Lucas some stress. He pleaded with Mya to stop making a mess and, when that didn't work, he begged me to intervene. When I didn't do that immediately he decided to block her from the bathroom to avoid further messes. Some pushing ensued.
As I headed for the bathroom, I made a sweeping decision to rewrite our policy. We are no longer a no-mess family. We are a "make messes and clean them up" kind of family.
Lucas and Mya both lit up when I made the proposal. As the parent in the mess/no mess debate, I can see that I expend energy no matter what. Do I want to pour massive amounts of energy into avoiding messes? Or do I want to use my energy to handle the aftermath of giant, but giggly, messes?
If you had heard Mya and Lucas tonight, the answer would be clear. Mess it up - clean it up!!
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