Messy play – should I be fussy about it?

Messy play – should I be fussy about it?

It’s been a long time since I started a blog and wrote the first blog-post.  I myself had started believing that second post is never going to happen. A phone conversation with my friend made me think ‘hmmm that’s something to think about and write about’.  Moreover, another clever friend had successfully nudged me about the blog. So, thank you girls for getting me out of my comfortable sofa.  It might have taken almost two years for me to get back to the laptop and start hitting the keyboard but it has finally happened, and I’m hopeful that I shall be able to be more consistent. 

All the parents out there would know that being a mother of a toddler is not an easy job. I have been busy doing exactly that! Today I took my boy to the toddler group and that gave me some food for thought. The toddler group is run by elderly volunteers, is much organised, and I really respect them for the excellent work they are doing for the community.  I am a great enthusiast about sensory development and sensory play. However, I surprised myself today by beginning to question the messy play session that I saw in action at the toddler group. The children were given a tub full of corn flakes for messy play. There were buckets and spades in the tub. The children were having a great time feeling the texture of the crispy flakes, filling and emptying buckets. Some of the flakes also landed on the floor and a helpful volunteer was ready with a brush and pan to clean the mess. The children were getting sensory feedback, eye hand coordination, there was great sharing (or no sharing) happening- everything that a child development check-list would ask for was met by this set up.  However as I thought about it and watched the children play in it, something in me wasn’t happy about it! I think the credit for that discomfort goes to my parents and my Indian up-bringing. As I mentioned earlier I’m very aware of the benefits of messy play but playing with food and wasting food just isn’t acceptable!

 I started thinking about those less fortunate children who don’t get a day’s meal. The image of children from ‘Apana Ghar’ is still fresh in my memory. The children of migrant workers sat beautifully in a circle, waited their turn for a glass of milk and then showed gratitude for the same. And here I was watching my little one play in a pile of corn flakes! The two images were so contradictory. In India we are thought to respect food and never to waste it. My question was what message are we giving to our children? That it’s okay to waste food? Is it Okay to be so arrogant? My toddler is in the stage where he loves making a mess with almost everything and playing with food and water. I get really upset when I see him play with food especially when it lands on the floor. I try to explain that wasting isn’t acceptable and some children do not get food to eat. I also enjoy making play dough, corn flour paste and watch him play with it. I think we should be able to draw a line. I also believe that we should be able to instil the right values to our children.  I think as educators and parents we have to constantly question and reassess our practice. I so agree with the principle of messy play and the volunteers today had the best intentions. I wasn’t able to discuss this with the volunteers today but I would like to discuss and express my point of view next time we visit the group. Perhaps this a practice round....I‘d like to know if my thoughts about today make any sense or is it just me over-reacting?