Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Childhood Dirt Doesn't Hurt

We started taking our kids to a new daycare this week.  Last week we got five days notice that our now previous daycare was shutting down entirely and...yeah...I don't wanna talk about it.   But we're good now, after calling literally almost every daycare in our area.  Anyway, during the visit Trent and I made to the new place which miraculously had room for both our kids, the director basically told us "Don't send your kids in cute clothes.  They will get dirty."   We agreed wholeheartedly and I told her we have daycare clothes and we have cute clothes.  There is a difference.

You see, we are ok with our kids getting dirty. 

There was a certain parent at our now previous daycare who had two little girls in attendance there.  I was always so confused when I would pick up my own kids who had dirt under their nails, dirt on their face, dirt in their hair, dirt in their diaper and these other two little girls looked as cute and pristine as the moment they were dropped off that morning.  Perfect, cute outfits, intact ponytails and not a speck of dirt on them.  I finally figured it out one day.  One of the little girls was lounging on the floor at pick-up time and the parent said "Get up off that floor, it's dirty!"

These little girls got in trouble for getting dirty. 

Now, let me say, there is a time and place for clean and nice.  I'm not gonna let my daughter dig in the dirt in her Easter dress.  But regular ole daycare days?  If I'm not mistaken, there's this thing in most houses called a bath tub and this other thing called a washing machine. Kids are supposed to get dirty.  It's part of growing up.  I am living adult proof that dirt doesn't hurt.  The following pretty much sums up my childhood...



That's me on the left in each photo.  I know, I know, the hair.  As Jen Hatmaker says, "What in the actual heck?"  I don't know...ask my mother.   Anyway, my sisters and I found much camaraderie with the neighbor kids involving dirt and mud.  

So, parents, lend me your ear.   Can we lighten up?  Can we let our kids be kids?  Can we minimize the freak outs about dirty faces and admit to ourselves that a stained shirt is not a ruined shirt, it's still a perfectly functioning shirt?  I think it says in the Bible somewhere, there is a time to be clean and proper and there is a time to roll in the mud and make memories.  Right?  Something like that?

5 comments:

  1. Kids and clothes are definitely washable. So many other things to stress about....

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think that's somewhere in Ecclesinasties.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. EcclesiNASTIES? Hehe, haha, you funny you funny.

      Delete
    2. We don't actually learn anything at seminary. It's mostly just developing our Bible pun skills.

      Delete
  3. Fantastic! I love barefoot children and their wonderful feet very much. For me children always barefoot or at most with flip-flops.

    ReplyDelete