How the heck do my kids get the walls so freaking dirty?

[eclipse]

Well, i know how - touching everything with dirty hands and feet. I feel like I'm constantly washing hand (and foot!) prints off my walls and it's driving me crazy. When we lived in an apartment, it never seemed like such a problem - but I guess it's because they play outside more, now? I try to get them to wash their hands on the way in, but the truth is that they're in and out all day long and it's hard to stay on top of. The stairs are the worse - there's always this line of grime up the wall on one side, and on the railing on the other. I don't really have a question - more of a vent!:

[hottmama]

Me too!
I've just told them not to put their hands or feet on the wall and I'll stop them if I see them, but man can it accumulate fast! I never had to wash my walls before I had kids!

[Drummer's Wife]

I have no idea why they have this odd need to run around and put their hands all over the walls.

I send them around with a wet rag to wipe the walls since they are the perfect height to get to those smudges that come from their own hands.

[MangoMommy]

LOL my house too!! And my rug and furniture too! We don't wear shoes in the house and somehow even though I usaully remind them to wash hands when they come in, my house gets so filthy.

[CariOfOz]

I will SEE your vent and raise you one RANT! lol My 7yo will fully drag the lenght of his body along the wall ALL the way down the hall. This is not a comfortable maneuver really.. back (or front) against the wall and he does this weird sideways walk with arms spread to the side smearing grubby hands as he goes

I'm with drummers' wife... I give them a damp enjo cloth and a designated wall to wipe periodically. It helps a little at least. Now if I could just do something about the havoc the wreak on the FLOORS lol.

[Smokering]

Well now, I dunno. My dining room walls are always FILTHY. And I have no idea why! We rarely eat in there; DD's too short to reach up to where a lot of the grime is, and is rarely there anyway; there aren't any fireplaces or anything in the room that would obviously contribute to grime. And yet, they collect filth.

It's an enigma.