My Kids Are Always Dirty and I Like it That Way

My kids are almost always dirty, and I don’t care one bit. In fact, I prefer it.

I love that my kids enjoy simple pleasures. Digging in dirt and running around trying to catch butterflies (and mosquitos, flies, moths, lightning bugs, lizards etc) provides hours of entertainment for them. My aunt gave the kids these nature explorer kits and they love them.

(find it here)

Despite recently throwing away the kids toys, I kept all the outdoor stuff. They have their own little bucket and digging tools to “help” me in the garden. What garden? Yeah… the one I’ll eventually plant… because right now…my kids dig in a 5×5 plot of dirt that John just dug up behind the playground set for them in the back yard. They love it.

Part of why we moved to Florida from NYC was so we could have a house on some land. We have about 1.25 acres with a pond that’s got some fishies and a random turtle who is now our pet, that Roey named Hashtag. The kids love feeding the fish, and just sitting next to the pond talking. I kind of find it amazing sometimes that they’re happy doing “nothing.” (I wonder how long this lasts)

But digging in dirt is one of their favorite things to do. Fun fact: it used to be one of my favorite things as well. I wanted to be an archaeologist for a minute when I was a kid (until I learned exactly how much science was required lol). I remember digging up my gram’s yard and finding “treasures”….  I also remember getting in trouble for digging up her yard….and for being dirty from it. (girls were supposed to stay clean) I realize now it was just because it’s a PAIN to wash dirt/rocks/twigs/leaves/sand out of curly hair. (And Kai seems to just pour it all onto her little head)

I won’t ever give my kids a hard time for being messy monsters. As long as they’re not maliciously throwing dirt and sand in each other’s faces…I let them go to town.

Because of all the outsideness, my kids are always filthy. Always. Under their nails, in their hair… I find dirt under Rohan’s shirt collar, and even in the back of Kai’s diaper sometimes. They’re covered in it, and I don’t even care. I like it. Love it.

It makes more work for me. I have to bathe them before naptime, then again at night before bed. It’s annoying…but to me it signals a well-spent day. If my kids are not sweaty, smelling like rusty metal, and covered in at least a fine mist of sand by lunchtime it means we’ve spent the entire morning inside, and they’ve probably consumed way more TV than I want them to. (It also probably means that I was kinda productive with some task or another…but…whatevs).

When they’re sour, crusty and in need of a good washing before nap I know we’ve had an outdoorsy, active, fun morning. I know they got a hearty dose of vitamin D and played together without drama. (There’s something about outside activity that makes them get along better than inside the house ::shrug::)

Our favorite outdoor toys (besides the bikes, trampoline, playground and ride ons):

(find them here)

Simple. Yet provides hours of fun out back.

Are your kids lil dirt monsters too?