Petty issue about toddlers and crafts

[Tizzy]

A couple times a month I go to a moms group where the kids go off with other caretakers. MOPS if anyone else is familiar with it.

They like to do crafts with the kids which I think is great in a way, except my youngest is handed back to me each time with his clothing covered in various things. I think the worse was when he was wearing a white dress shirt and they used chocolate pudding to paint with. They told me "he didn't want to wear the painting smock." He was 18 months old, it's not like they couldn't wrestle him into one or just not let him paint without it. His entire shirt and pants were COVERED with chocolate pudding!
The last few times it's been regular paints, except they don't come out all that easily after they've dried.
I'm getting kind of tired of having to deal with the extra laundry but I'm not sure how to change the situation without coming off as ungrateful that they are offering free childcare while I attend MOPS or ungrateful that they are letting my kids be creative.
If the kids didn't enjoy the socialization so much, I'd just leave them at home with DH.
We manage to do crafts at other functions and at home without this issue...

I just hate to be a pain in the butt because they already know I don't appreciate them giving the kids candy, juice, sugar filled cookies at 7pm.

[ChristyMarie]

Send him in old clothes, bring a change of clothes and...um...let him have fun?

[paquerette]

I guess I'd be the opposite. I'd be hopping mad if someone had wrestled my toddler into clothing she didn't want to wear, or wouldn't let her play with the other kids because of it.

[Cascadian]

I never sent my kids to activities in clothes that I wouldn't want ruined. Never. And even if stuff got on it...oh well. No one died. They had fun. The end.

[mamadelbosque]

Another vote for having him wear old/play clothes and bring a change of clothes for when he's done.. Though, tbh, I've never understood having 'nice' clothes for toddlers to begin with... but maybe mine are just inordinatly dirty/messy??

[BlackSheepPDX]

I'm with the others...send him in clothes that can get messy, have a change in case he's too messy to go in the car, and let him explore and have a good time. I quickly realized that if my daughter is going to paint at school, I'm better off recognizing that I shouldn't send her in clothes that I might care about getting paint on. I've also realized that messes happen, and there are things i can control, and things I need to let go about. Eating sugar late, yes, I might fuss about that, or at least mention it. Getting messy? I can work around it.

[Bug-a-Boo's Mama]

I guess I am in agreement with the others. It would have only taken me one or two times of him getting his clothes covered in whatever for me to change what I was sending him in. And I am very particular about what he wears, so it would be hard to send him in old, stained clothing-but I wouldn't want all of his clothing covered in paint either.

[phathui5]

Yup, don't take him there in clothes that you mind getting messy.

[elinnea]

A white dress shirt for an 18 month old??? It just seems logical to me that if you are going somewhere where you know there are going to be crafts or where your child might get messy then you'd stick them in some clothes that you don't mind getting dirty.

[lilyka]

totally in agreement with every one else. As a daycare provider/preschool teacher my pet peeve was parents whgo would send their kids in nice clothes and then complain that I didn't take great pains to make sure their children stayed looking like modles. Its playtime. We paint, we play, me use markers. wear grubby play clothes.

[Latte Mama]

Sorry OP, I'd LOVE a deal where my toddler could do crafts with other kids and get messy and I could go off and get some adult time. I'd send him in a paper sack if need be . Echoing the PP's, send him in old gear.

[limabean]

Sounds like you now have a nice supply of stained clothes that he can wear to get-togethers like that so that he can get as messy as he wants and it'll be no biggie.

[monkey-lamb]

I'm with everyone else. Let him be a kid and have fun. Send him in clothes he can get dirty.

[sapphire_chan]

A white dress shirt is an awesome outfit for getting messy. You can bleach it and it's fine. Verses a patterned shirt or colored shirt that will never ever be the same after 5 seconds with my dd.

[Hey Mama!]

Honestly I thought this was going to be about all the kids projects looking perfect and exactly the same. I agree with all the other posters, send him in play clothes if you are worried about the stains.

[butterfly_mommy]

I agree with everyone else. Go to a second hand store and pick up a few articles of clothing and uses those as his going to group clothes. Even with a smock on he would most likely still have had paint etc on his clothes. Doing group crafts with toddlers they are bound to get messy and they should!

[nerdymom]

In defense of the OP, I know that around here, there is a certain pressure to have your baby/toddler/kids dressed nicely wherever you go, and if their clothes are stained/ripped/mismatched/faded/old/out of style, it's considered a point against your mothering skills. It's one of those unspoken things that is conveyed solely with looks and whispers behind the back. It's wrong, petty, and unrealistic, but it happens.

That being said, I do what I want and take my kid where I please and while I try to have him matching, I also expect him to get dirty and stained and grubby. The only clothes I don't expect to get that way are Sunday morning clothes and they are changed out after services.

If you have invested a lot of money into cute little clothes for your boy, go to a thrift shop, get him some rough and tumble clothes and use those for craft night. And enjoy this blessing - free childcare and MOMMY TIME? wow. Treasure it!

[kittykat2481]

Around here there can be a lot of competition between mothers too - especially at groups like MOPS. Just get a big bottle of Shout Advanced (in the blue bottle) and treat the clothes as soon as you get home. Also bring an extra outfit to change him in to after he gets dirty. We've lost a few shirts to stains, but usually if I treat them immediately, I can save them. And if I can't, I just consider it a fact of life...

[treemom2]

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie

Send him in old clothes, bring a change of clothes and...um...let him have fun?

Originally Posted by Latte Mama

Sorry OP, I'd LOVE a deal where my toddler could do crafts with other kids and get messy and I could go off and get some adult time. I'd send him in a paper sack if need be . Echoing the PP's, send him in old gear.

Yes, absolutely to both of these Also, I tend not to care too much about societal norms when it comes to dressing my children. . .I remember all the looks and comments when my DD would refuse to wear a jacket in the middle of winter in the Utah mountains. . .ah well, if that is something that bothers you then perhaps you can find some name brands at a thrift shop so your child can keep up with the others but you won't be so upset when they get ruined?

Oh, I just thought of something. . .maybe if you're crafty you could go to a fabric supply store, let your DS pick out some fabric and make a really simple smock or buy an art smock that the two of you can decorate together--then it's special and he might be more apt to wear it?!!?

[Emmery'sMom]

Send him in a black dress shirt from now on, with dark denim jeans?