Video transcript

Narrator (Catherine Sewell, play specialist): A few tips for how to support your child to be able to do messy play without tearing your hair out are just to have some old clothes – it doesn’t matter if they get messy, or to have a smock that’s comfortable for them to wear, something that’s light and breathable that they can pop on over their clothes so that it doesn't matter if they get messy, so preparing yourself a little bit.

Putting down some sort of drop sheet or take your messy play outside. It doesn't matter if there’s dirt on the grass. There’s already dirt there. And also thinking about using materials that are naturally based, so things like clay or more natural-based paint is going to be easier to clean up and wash away than the much more harsher, chemical-based materials.

We can involve the children in a bit of a clean-up and you can limit the amount of materials that you give.