One in 5 parents avoid messy play with their kids - so they don't have to deal with chaos
A study of 1,000 mums and dads found that 17 percent actively dodge activities such as painting and digging in the garden because they want an easy life. Of those, 43 percent don’t want their furniture to get ruined and 41 percent argued they don’t have time to tidy up. A fifth admitted to feeling ‘anxious’ just at the sight of their youngster getting dirty. However, the poll commissioned by Play-Doh to mark it’s 65th anniversary, found 54 percent are perfectly happy for their children to get messy. Two thirds of those believe it encourages creativity, half think it helps with development and 53 percent embrace it purely for fun.
Play-Doh is launching the craft brand’s first ‘Colour of the Year’ announcement to name ‘Nemesis Grey’ – created by randomly mixing colours together in the way that many children do when they are playing.
A spokesperson said: “In a year when families have done more home crafting than ever before, we know that there is still a hesitance from grown-ups to embrace the messiness of mixing up Play-Doh colours – it’s their nemesis.
“But as we move into a new year, we’re encouraging parents to embrace Nemesis Grey, not as an enemy, but as a colour that is bursting with their children’s creativity.”
The study also found dads (56 percent) are more likely to encourage their child to make a mess when they play compared to mums (53 percent).
