Messy Kids? 3 Reasons They Come Home Dirty

Parents who are new to the school routine might have sent their little ones off on their first days in a nice shirt or dress (maybe sniffling a little as you take First Day of School pictures) only to have them return at the end of the day with stains on the knees, marker all over their hands and skirt and their hair completely messed up. Having messy kids can mean having a messy house and car—but it doesn't have to. While your kids can easily bring the dirt, grime, and germs into your car and all over your home, you can rely on Lysol® and these tips to help clean up and disinfect the mess and germs they leave behind.

School is meant for learning and sometimes learning means getting a little dirty. Kids need to be down on the ground examining their environment or focusing on putting their ideas on paper rather than keeping marker off their clothes. If your kid comes home from school and says "I don't know," when you ask "How did you get this stain?" we can help clear up the mystery of messy kids just a little.

GYM CLASS

Your school might have indoor and outdoor sessions for gym class and you probably won't know which is going to happen on a given day. Grass stains, dust from dirt patches, mud, and a wide range of bacteria and viruses are all possibilities. Here's a tip: consider keeping Lysol^® Disinfecting Wipes in the car in order to clean up the mess your kids have brought into your car. Wipe down your dashboard and any other hard surfaces your kids dirtied to get rid of germs and the mess.

Children in bright clothing running on green grass field

ART CLASS

It's likely that your kid could work with paint, clay, colored pencils, markers, glue and paste on any given day that happens to include craft projects. Try not to worry so much about these messes – teachers are usually using washable materials because they know how messy kids will get. Throw the clothes in the wash and proudly display that glue-covered masterpiece on the fridge. If that paint or glue really coated the outside of her backpack and spread to the surfaces of your home, use Lysol^® Dual Action Wipes to get the worst of the mess off of anything it touched.

Hands of child covered in paint in front of white surface with paint handprints

THE TWO MINUTE WALK HOME FROM THE BUS STOP

No, really. Kids can create a mess anytime, anywhere. Roughhousing with friends or stopping to pet the neighbors muddy dog can all happen before they hit the front door. Rainy days mean puddles are calling your kid's name. Keep a container of Lysol® Disinfectant Spray by the door or wherever the messy kids' stuff usually gets dropped. Use it to get rid of the germs that they spread so quickly once they enter your home.

3 children with jackets and backpacks smiling in front of school bus door

With the help of Lysol, you'll be able to tackle messes and germs before they spread to other parts of the house and then go on to enjoy your busy evening of getting dinner on the table, getting homework done and relaxing with some time to yourself after they're in bed!