During a recent PD session an educator informed the group that on the 29th June it is International Mud Day. At first I was excited and thought how fantastic this was… a great opportunity to raise awareness with educators, families and children alike about the benefits of messy play… but then as the day went on my opinion changed and I now question… “why do we need a special day? Why is it only 1 day / year to celebrate messy play? What has happened in the last 10 years or so that getting messy, dirty and of course playing with mud now needs a special day dedicated to it?
Don’t get me wrong, we can use this day to start educating others about the importance of messy play, especially mud….. but let’s put this in perspective. Why wait? We really need to be sharing with families the benefits of messy play, provide such messy areas in our environments and of course advocate for children’s right to play when requests such as “don’t let them get dirty” are asked of us at the start of the day.
Mud brings many benefits to children’s lives and development such as a sense of well-being and increased cognitive function as they connect with nature which increases seratonin levels in the brain. It increases creativity and imagination as they build, create and design. It has a positive affect on the immune system and it also promotes language, collaboration and shared decision-making across all ages.
So I challenge all of us to not only advocate for the child’s right to messy play and share knowledge with families and fellow educators but also embed this into our everyday practices and environments so that we don’t have to have an “International Mud Day”.. that everyday becomes a day where children are encouraged to explore and be messy….
I remember back to my own childhood where most of our time was spent outside in the dirt, garden and mud and I have so many fond memories of making mud pies (as pictured). However, for some children, their childhoods are different. This makes me fearfully consider (and yes it’s an extreme thought) that if we keep heading down this path where less time is spent talking about the importance of, engaging in and advocating for messy play between services and families, that one day will we be celebrating “International Day for Play”?
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