It’s OK to make a mess.

My kids are, let’s face it… kids. They’re full of energy when I’m not, they’re silly and goofy and loud and above all else, messy. Early on, I’d say “ok go have fun but don’t make a mess!” Then I started to wonder what kind of message this was sending. Have fun, but hold back? That didn’t seem quite right.

I had a friend once who refused to use a wet wipe while eating a bucket of buffalo wings. His reasoning? “If you’re gonna eat buffalo wings, you might as well eat buffalo wings.” I’ve come to see things from his point of view.

I’m not touting this post as expert parenting advice in any way. All I can say is this: once I started saying “ok go have fun, and if you make a mess please clean it up!” the kids seem happier, and the house is… well, the house is still messy.

But the kids don’t implode as much when it’s time to clean up…