Messy Play

Valerie Jackson, Operations Director at Primary Steps, tells us why what looks like messy activity is important for the development of children. Valerie, who recently joined Primary Steps in the newly created position of Operations Director, is responsible for the management of twenty seven day nurseries and one crèche. Primary Steps, now a top ten provider of nursery places in the UK, has one simple ambition - to maximise the social and educational potential of each child attending its nurseries.

Any parent who has tried washing paint off their new dining table may not see the importance of messy play.

What looks to us adults like mess is a vital part of the child’s development. Play and learning are inseparable. Children learn by exploring and using their imaginations.

Unfortunately, today's children live in a world much more restricted than that of their parents. Grandparents may be able to tell tales of how they came back covered in mud after playing in the fields as tots but that’s all in the past.

If we can’t let our little ones wander around outside we should at least give them the chance to ‘play dirty’ at home or, better still, at their nursery.

Primary Steps, a group of twenty seven day nurseries and one crèche across England, actively encourages messy play.

The nurseries aim to allow children to explore life within a happy, safe environment; a home from home.

Most children like messy play with sand, water or Play Dough. As well as being fun, controlled messy play helps children learn how things feel and how they behave. It is important that they experience the destructive as well as constructive value of play. With sand and Play Dough especially, a child can build up and destroy castles, walls, bridges and towers.

What some parents might see as mess we see as the child’s first creative attempts. It’s a vital part of learning how things work. We want our children to look forward to coming to nursery each day.
A child needs to associate learning with pleasure, not being told off for getting dirty.

There is no right or wrong way to play with Play Dough, so don’t make a wonderful model and feel disappointed when your child doesn’t copy it. The experience of feeling the texture and temperature is the lesson, so the outcome and the fact they don’t produce a finished article is not important.

The same applies to cooking – a favourite messy activity. Let your toddler help you as much as possible but remember the point of baking a cake with a youngster is the preparation itself not the end product. Children love making a mess, so don’t worry about how the cake may look or taste. It will still be eaten by a proud child and family members.

Try not to despair if your child gets dirty. Getting messy is a sign he/she is curious about things around him/her and is using his/her senses to explore.

The urge to explore and experiment becomes evident as soon as your baby develops mobility. Once he/she can crawl, he/she turns his/her back on the shiny plastic toys and heads for the bowl of cat or dog food.

Meal times often appear to be a nightmare with bowls on heads and drinks on the floor. But learning to feed oneself is an important stage in a baby's physical and intellectual development.

A toddler can't do it without making a mess because he/she doesn't have the co-ordination or muscle control, and he/she will only develop these with practice. So keep the mop at hand and let him/her get on with it and he/she will learn a few things along the way.


Holding a spoon, loading it with food and then putting it into his/her mouth is a complicated manoeuvre. Even if he/she is only partially successful, it will give him/her a great sense of achievement. Even if it falls on the floor he/she is learning something about the force of gravity.
When your baby tips his/her food on his/her tray and plays with it, it is just his/her version of art. Soon you'll be encouraging him/her to do exactly the same thing with finger paints on paper.

If the last thing you want to do after a busy day is start scrubbing the kitchen, you can take some steps to cut down on the mess

• Use a splash mat on the floor under the highchair.
• Use a bib with sleeves or a plastic one with a tray underneath to catch spills.
• Let him/her feed himself/herself at his/her own pace, but have a spoon yourself and help him/her out.
• If he/she gets frustrated feeding himself/herself with a spoon, let him/her eat with his/her fingers instead.
• Offer him/her finger foods such as toast or bread soldiers to accompany pureed foods.

Finally, if your child doesn’t want to take part in messy play, it isn’t the end of the world. Be patient, some children need lots of time and plenty of opportunities to observe the fun others are having.