Why children should be very very dirty

>>  Thursday, April 19, 2012

I told you that the most promising kids I see are the ones that aren't molly coddled, the ones that are taught common sense, that are given a bit of rope and they know how to tie it (or at least try to whip their mates with it)!



Bear Grylls (yes I know he's Scouting but occassionally I let the boys in too, man I love those Scouters in uniform on a mixed camp - hot,hot,hot!)  has teamed up with Persil on getting kids back outside.  He's put together the top ten things kids should do before they are ten. 

But do you need telling that if you take the electronic away from the child for a day they quickly go back to the type of play we will remember from our childhood.

A swing doesn't need to be fancy, a friend in Switzerland has a very strong length of material tied up under her open stairs that her girls sit and twizzle in, very clever.

Learning about stinging nettles and mud over your boots when jumping the brook is a day of learning and fun never to be forgotten.

It's amazing how much fun (and fitness) they will find with a pile of leaves
Mud, mud, glorious mud, it's a child magnet - get them making mud pies with mud and leaves and stirring sticks or perfume pots with petals and muddy water. You only need to give them an empty plastic pot and watch them go wild!

No doubt Bear would get his rope out for a den, nah, just give them a sheet, a few blankets, the garden chairs, a picnic lunch, all the toys they can muster and you won't see them for a whole day.










Enid Blyton still isn't far wrong, even our 'sophisticated' kids of today want to explore, get outside and get dirty!

You set the boundaries, keep it safe but don't tell them you have control, just let them go where their imagination takes them.

If you are lucky enough to live near a big hill to roll down - go for it but it only takes a small back yard to turn mud pie making whilst sat in an old upside down cardboard box the greatest adventure of the weekend.

And clothes (and kids) wash - but I grant you, the clothes argue less and will probably come up slightly cleaner than the kids !


Persil are giving 70 mud-loving kids (plus one friend each) the chance to win the ultimate day’s adventure with survival expert Bear Grylls. Building campfires, exploring nature trails, learning outdoor survival skills. You just need the code from the pack of Persil.

I have to tell you that Persil gave me a bottle of my favourite washing liquid and a den making kit ( a huge sheet and some pegs !) to tell you something that I would have told you about anyway - isn't life great sometimes - go on roll in some mud - you know you want to!

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