How would you feel about your child doing this?...

[Jessica2925]

I'm feeling a little nervous about an activity coming up for my daughter and I wanted to see what you guys think. First, Megan is attending a really great two week camp through our private school. She is a really good student and the camp offers activities like a string ensemble (she plays the violin) and sports as well as fun academics.

Next week they are having a "messy" day which they do every year. They have a giant tub of strawberry jello that the kids get to slide into. They also do a "messy challenge" where kids are paired against each other and given a question to answer or a math problem to solve. The kid who gets the right answer gets to throw a pie in the face of the "loser" or slime them with something messy. I saw a video clip from last year and in addition to the pies, kids were getting buckets of raw eggs, spaghetti-O's, baked beans and chocolate syrup dumped over their heads. One girl got an entire bottle of mustard squirted in her hair.

I told Megan that she didn't have to do this if she didn't want to. To my surprise she said she thought it was going to be fun and she hoped she got to throw a pie in her best friend's face. I know you have to let kids break loose and do something wild and crazy once in a while. I was just wondering how you would feel about your kid doing something like this?

 

[Trina]

Both my kids have severe food allergies, so of course I would have concerns about the actual foods used for messy day, but otherwise I'd be OK with it. However, the raw eggs do bother me due to the high risk of Salmonella poisoning.

 

[mom2many]

I'd be fine with it...sounds like a normal day in my house .

 

[NancyM]

It could be fun. Have you talked to other parents who might feel unsure like you do? I would like to know that the kids don't get crazy or too rough and get hurt, or how do the losers feel afterward, that type of thing.

 

[IADad]

I wouldn't have a problem with it (I'd share the same egg concerns and assume that food allergies aren't an issue for you...) mustard in the hair, meh, it'll eventually come out, I don't think I'd want it in my eye, but I presume there's some kind of oversight, like Nancy said, to keep danger (eye damage, slips and falls etc.) or hurt feelings from becoming issues...I mean how many times in your life do you get ato experience a tub of jello? I kinda wish I could do that right now, do they have an adult version of this camp?

Maybe all of our kids could cover us at work for a week and we could all go to camp...;-)

 

[Jessica2925]

Thank you for all the great responses so far. IADad, I have to agree that sliding into 700 gallons of jello on a 90 plus degree day does sound fun and I do think the parents should get together and do the same thing!

The messy challenge still seems kind of demeaning to me but I'm probably just thinking about how I would have felt doing that in 7th grade. All I know is, Megan will be wearing her oldest shorts and T shirt on Friday!

 

[IADad]

The messy challenge still seems kind of demeaning to me but I'm probably just thinking about how I would have felt doing that in 7th grade. All I know is, Megan will be wearing her oldest shorts and T shirt on Friday!

either that or you've done one too many loads of laundry. I know my first reaction was, "Mustard, ooo, that not going to come out..."

 

[Jessica2925]

either that or you've done one too many loads of laundry. I know my first reaction was, "Mustard, ooo, that not going to come out..."

Yeah, if she gets dumped on I doubt those cloths will be coming home!

 

[Nadhima]

umm...lol...my 3 daughters would have a blast doing this I think it's great when kids are able to be....well...just kids!

Hope she has fun!

 

[Antoinette]

sounds like fun... i don't think i would have any real problems with my kids doing this. we had a muck up day on our last day of year 12 but it was running and jumping and dodging raw eggs etc and i didn't get to participate because i was 7 months pregnant and it was "too dangerous" it looked like fun though

 

[sdtillt1966]

I think it's perfectly fine. As long as they are not in any danger, let them have fun. You only a kid once.

 

[Cazeur]

Sounds like amazing fun to me! Show me the way!

 

[Jessica2925]

Thank you for all your comments. They really helped me to be (a little) less nervous about Messy Day on Friday. I actually got to watch the craziness because I volunteered. I have to say, I have never seen anything like this in my life! The kids were completely covered from head to foot. We had 100 degree heat and they set up a big tarp on the lawn behind the school. Four students from each grade were selected to participate in the Challenge based on votes from their fellow students. In the first round Megan got a pie in the face. By the time the next two rounds had ended my beautiful daughter had endured buckets of chocolate syrup, spaghetti-O's and baked beans dumped over her head. It was such a mess that the kids were actually slipping on slop as they tried to make their way to the stool where they had to sit to get slimed. After it was done, all the students lined up to slide into a great big vat of jello which looked really fun. The kids were hosed down and a water fight finished the job as we had a picnic lunch. Megan said the spaghetti-O's and baked beans felt "gross" but would love to do it again next year as an eighth grader. My son Justin will also have a chance to do this as a sixth grader next year, so it looks like we've got a few more years to go! Are they really my kids?! The really funny part is that later Friday afternoon Megan had a violin lesson and we had to explain to the bewildered teacher why she might notice a strange mixture of smells.

 

[mom2many]

That sounds like a lot of fun...well if I was a kid!

Glad to hear everyone had a good time!

 

[TabascoNatalie]

i'll go against mainstream in here. i would strongly disaprove. i believe so, and i teach my kids to respect food. i say, that it takes a lot of people to work very hard, and animals lose their lives, so we can eat. so food is not for playing, not for throwing, not for messing. that's my opinion.
for a messy day, kids could play with sand, clay, dirt, and water squirts.

 

[SDenham]

My vote, this would be one school activity I would have to "chaperone" Sounds like my kind of fun!

 

[Snapperfish]

I agree with TabascoNatalie. We have a rule that we don't play with food. If you are finished eating then you can get down from the table, but we don't play with our food.

We are not precious about it, e.g. we don't have a problem with gluing dried pasta on pictures, etc.

On the other hand, children want and need messy play. So much of childhood has been totally sanitised, and kids aren't even allowed to get dirty.

Pie-in-the-face is also not a behaviour I would want to model to children.

Matt

 

[Chloeylandom]

that sounds amazing. i wish i had a chance to attend something like that when i was a kid.

 

[Svetlana_fc]

Well, I think it's a little beyond a regular fun level like, for instance, I would understand if some water is poured onto someone in hot weather, but these things seem to be crazier than normal. I hope kids don't take offense at least...

 

[Music-dad]

Nothing is better than a good old fashioned FOOD FIGHT.

Bring it on!

*arms self with rotton tomatoes*

Make.....My....Day....