If the thoughts of your child coming home with muddy shoes and sticky fingers is enough to have you reaching for the mop and bucket, know that you aren't alone.
According to new research on behalf of AO.com, the online electricals retailer, 41% of parents try to discourage their children from getting messy when playing at home or outside.
While over half of them admit that the reason behind this is to avoid extra housework and laundry, a further 41% worry about germs.
“In terms of discouraging messy play impacting on development of skills I'd say only in extreme cases - it's okay for children to learn that there's a time and place for different activities," explained Dr Amanda Gummer, the founder of Fundamentally Children, an organisation dedicated to helping children develop skills through play.
“However, if a child is made to feel naughty for having made a bit of mess when getting creative this is likely to damage their self-esteem and reduce the chances of them choosing creative activities and thus denying an important part of their personality.”
But when a mess is unavoidable, an overwhelming 85% of parents find a way to make their children help out with cleaning around the house.
While some mums bribe their kids to get it done, others restrict their children’s access to gadgets such as tablets until their chores are completed.
According to Amanda, there are plenty of ways mums can encourage their children's creative play without feeling like they are constantly clearing up:
1. Making sure you have time and energy before you start will help everyone enjoy getting creative.
2. The outdoors is a great place to get creative and takes a lot less tidying - mud pies, dens and chalking on walls/pavements are all great for creativity and don't cause a headache for parents.
3. Look for creative clubs that are set up to facilitate and support this sort of play.
4. Make the tidying up part of the activities and plan them to fit in with your daily routine (e.g. just before bath time)
