Little Boys and Dirt-how to Deal?

Naked play. Hose bath.

Have fun!

9 moms found this helpful

My son loves dirt and comes home filthy. What makes me laugh is that he could spill a tiny drop of water on his shirt and demand a complete outfit change but not even notice if his entire body is covered with dirt and grass stains. I would hose him off with the hose outside if it is warm enough, otherwise introduce him to the shower.

5 moms found this helpful

My girls did this, too. They liked to pour buckets of sand and dirt over their heads. So it was head down, shake the dirt out, brush off, clothes off, hose down before going in the house for a bath. I tried to limit this to once a day by telling them to be sure they were done playing before coming in, because once inside it was quiet reading time.

The mud soaked into their clothes and the stains were impossible to get out. So I made sure they had on old play clothes before going out to play dirt. And like Red said, swim suits and flip flops in the summer made clean up easier.

We also had a plastic kiddie pool in the backyard. Playing in the pool (on the patio where it was clean), after playing in the dirt made for a good pre-clean activity.

3 moms found this helpful

Boys.
Gotta love em'.

How about, while he is out there getting dirty. AFTERWARD... you use the hose or sprinklers to wash him off???? Right there in the yard.
Its easy that way. And fun!

When my boy was anti-baths and anti-washing hair... we would, go outside, and play, And I would actually give him a 'bath' outside, with the hose and sprinklers. I had soap and wash cloth and towel all right there handy. SO much easier and he got clean and didn't even know I gave him a bath!
We have a wall around our house, so no neighbors can see in.
But it was effective.
Then he went onto other phases.
I just used the hose/sprinkler method for a bit. Occasionally.
It was not a habit forever.

I let my boy, explore in the yard. He has so much fun!

And when he goes outside, I put on his 'home clothes' that are already stained (and I can't get out the stains), so I don't mind if these clothes get dirty anyway. Because I don't put him in good clothes, when he goes outside.

3 moms found this helpful

Hose him off. If it's a little chilly now then that might discourage him from getting quite so dirty next time. Strip him down to shorts or swim suit before he goes out. (or just underwear!)
I have a photo of my daughter after her older brother COVERED her in mud. She has one tiny muddy paper towel in her hands and she is trying to get her hands clean with it. Everything is mud brown except her enormous blue eyes which look even larger and bluer than usual. It is one of my FAVORITE photos. So embrace this phase. It won't last forever.

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Fortunately, it's warming up. Keep towels, soap and shampoo in a plastic bin outside. All you need is a water hose and spray nozzle. My son, in fact, created his own little outdoor shower by connecting our plant watering connector up to the hose and he hooks it up high on one of our plant hangers. Ingenious! Both of my kids showered outside on numerous occasions last summer and thought it was great fun! They were 5 and 2 at the time. I had to help the little one lather up. What an awesome thing you have going on for your little guy! Something so simple can often provide hours of fun. Much better than a loud and obnoxious toy. :)

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Growing up, we had to hose off before coming inside if we got too dirty. We would even wear our swimsuits outside if we knew we would be playing in the mud. :)

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I would just go with the flow, but would only do the bath once at the end of the day.

3 moms found this helpful

Clean arms, hands, and face for lunch and snacks, then bathe at the end of the day. My son bathes in dirt also. My girls never did, so this is very new for me! Lol! But, I just clean enough to eat and then bathe once. I've had to change his clothes also. No biggie though!

2 moms found this helpful

HaHa I had a friend who had a little boy and boy he did love dirt. Not only that jeans would have such things in the pockets that he found while playing in the mud. She did try to direct the mud play by buyings some cars and helping him make roads and hills for his cars. He still got dirty dirty but he spend more time making roads and tunnels than gettng it in his hair.

1 mom found this helpful

My son will be 3 in May and he's a dirt magnet - I swear I could put him in a spotless, perfectly clean room and he will come out dirty.

He's a kid, dirt is his world. He takes a lot of shower and goes through a couple sets of clothes, for now, but once the weather here warms up, it will be a hose down on the deck or a dip in the pool :)

1 mom found this helpful

My 5 yr. old son & 3 yr. old daughter would live in dirt if I let them! I'm kinda like Mommy L on this one - as long as their hands and face are clean for meals then the rest of it waits until night time bath. I've got too much going on to give them 2 baths a day. I also like the suggestion of wearing swimsuits to play in - now that it's warm enough (we live in FL) they can play in their swimsuits & then get hosed off during the day. It's fun & they have a blast exploring and being outside - I'll take that over vegged out couch potatoes any day!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi,

Switch from dirt to a sandbox. It isn't just boys some girls get really dirty too and there may be two baths or more needed to keep you child clean. If your and not having company I would just make sure your child has clean hands and face when he's eating and do one MAJOR bath in the evening.

Blessings.....

1 mom found this helpful

Steam vacuum cleaner..BEST $300 I have EVER spent!!!!!

Plus introduce that boy to chocolate and promise a piece of it after he is done playing outside IF he follows the rules and not get any in his hair or don't let him outside until the end of the day

lol
HUGS! and I hope you have a girl this go around.

1 mom found this helpful

My son's middle name should be "mud" or "dirt". He will be 4 in August. If the weather is warm I usually hose him off outside and change his clothes. Sometimes I will just clean his face and hands and feed him lunch outside so that I don't have to deal with the mess. I usually give him a bath before dinner so that he is clean and it one less thing I need to do before bed.

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