Say Yes to the Mess instead of No to Your Kids!
I was provided an expense paid trip to attend the #YesToTheMess event by Swiffer. All opinions are mine alone.
How many times have you told your kids ‘no’ to something because you didn’t want to deal with the mess that would likely happen? I have WAY too many times! I love the latest Swiffer campaign, encouraging parents to Say Yes to the Mess – let your kids explore and be creative, then let them help tackle the mess.
I was able to take my 3 boys with me to NYC for a special event Swiffer hosted, along with Sarah Michelle Gellar, to launch the Yes to the Mess campaign. Yes, I got to meet her – briefly because my boys had reached their exhaustion limit – but she was just as fabulous as you hear! And yes – that’s my Superman/Iron Man in the photos with her! Love it!
Of course, they had several activities for the kids to enjoy – and yes, ALL of them were messy! From decorating cookies….
The found and ‘big cheese’ of The Creative Kitchen led the activities and was super cute with the kiddos! Even though they were super anxious to get going with all the fun, they hung on her every word. I need to bribe her into handling my kiddos’ birthday parties or something, because she’s like the child whisperer!
Since the whole theme of the night was letting the kids have fun, explore and really be free to show their creativity, I didn’t hold them back on the frosting or sprinkles. Yes, it was messy. And YES they were hyper for a bit – but they had an absolutely fantastic time, and the mess was nothing compared to that!
By letting them have some freedom to express themselves, I also got to see their own interests or personalities show through – from the different colors in their cookie toppings, to the placement or amounts. Such a great way to LEARN ABOUT YOUR KIDS – because we just can’t do that if we’re always telling them ‘no’.
I mean, look how thrilled my little Hulk was to just go for it!
Although it did take a bit before he felt comfortable REALLY doing things, which is my fault for telling him ‘no’ so many times before, I suppose. It’s a big goal of mine to do better at the ‘yes to the mess’ thing in our home!
How many of you are brave enough to give your kids an apron, a bunch of puffy or finger paint, and say ‘have fun, decorate!’? Ya, this freaked me out a bit – but it didn’t take long to just get into it and not care if the paint got on their hands and clothes – it either washes out, or eventually they outgrow the shirt any way so really – who cares?! Spill a bunch of sprinkles on the floor? Swiffer’s there to help 🙂
Going back to my kids being shocked at this new-found freedom, here’s the look I got from Hulk when we told him to get his hands messy and decorate his apron….
Such concentration….
And they LOVED their final products! Their biggest question when it was time to go was ‘can we take it on the plane?’ We had to be smart about it with the wet paint, but the aprons made it home!
Such a huge grin on his face!
I also learned that while some of my boys LOVE getting their hands dirty – my Thor would rather take his time and be careful. Again – say ‘yes to the mess’ and you may learn more about your kids!
How many science experiments are clean? Very few fun ones, that’s for sure! They loved making a purple ‘explosion’!
Just like Sarah Michelle Gellar explained, parents should do better at saying yes to their kids, because this is how they learn, explore and grow as people. Plus, there’s countless memories to be made – good, bad AND crazy – when they have more freedom to express their creativity! Afterwards, you’ve got plenty of Swiffer items to help clean up the mess in no time at all.
Thank you for a fantastic event & trip Swiffer!
And I just HAVE to take a moment to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ to Sarah – during the photos of her and the kids, my Superman started looking pretty dazed. I mean, there’s about a dozen flashes going a hundred miles an hour right in your eyes, I’d be dazed, too! But she flat out told the photographers to STOP so she could make sure he was okay and see if he wanted to stop or not. When he said he was fine to continue, she even tickled him a bit so he’d feel more comfortable and relaxed (and smile bigger, more naturally) for the masses of cameras. THANK YOU SARAH!
Other Amazing Cleaning Posts Thanks to Swiffer…
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Kelly Dedeaux
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