The Dirty Truth – Why Kids Should Play in the Mud

What comes to mind when you hear the word mud? As an adult, it might just sound like a mess waiting to happen—floors that will need mopping and clothes that will need bleaching. But to a child, it’s a world of sensory adventure, squishy delights, and a chance to put their boundless imagination to work. In a post-COVID world dominated by screen time and sanitized play, the idea of getting dirty is almost taboo. But on school camp, we have the opportunity to challenge this thinking and allow kids to reap the benefits of playing in the dirt.

A child of the '90s would have vivid memories of making mud cakes, rock-hopping through riverbeds, and climbing trees until the sun went down. But today, we’re all about cleaning, sterilising, and scrubbing our kids’ hands—and everything they touch—until it sparkles like new. While caution has its place, especially in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

Many scientists and doctors believe that exposure to germs and bacteria through messy play is essential for developing strong immune systems.

An Australian study by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute suggests that babies who dropped their dummies in the dirt were less likely to develop allergies due to early exposure to microbial particles. At camp, activities like Bush Cooking safely replicate that exposure, giving kids the chance to make chocolate cakes outdoors, cooked over coals, all while being encouraged by qualified instructors to embrace the sticky mess along the way.

Outdoor play supports the development of both gross and fine motor skills—essential building blocks for everyday life. At Camp Sunnystones, activities like Leaky Pipe on the initiatives course challenge students to use precise finger movements to block tiny holes in a leaking pipe and avoid getting soaked. It’s a fun way to strengthen the same muscles they’ll later use for tasks like holding a pencil and writing. Similarly, activities like Archery help improve hand-eye coordination and spatial awareness, skills that support problem-solving and enhance the ability to grasp complex concepts such as mathematics and geometry.

Through these fun, physical experiences, students can boost their cognitive development while staying active and engaged.

Playing with mud also supports sensory development by exposing students to a variety of textures—and to how those textures change when mixed with elements like water. Squishing, shaping, and moulding mud—or at camp, clay—not only activates small muscle groups in the hands (often neglected in other forms of play), but also introduces scientific concepts in a hands-on way. As students observe how clay changes when water is added and again as it dries, they begin to grasp complex ideas like states of matter in a format that’s easy to understand.

For students who are more sensitive to varied tactile input, working with clay during Bush Art provides a gentle, exploratory experience. It allows them to engage with different textures at their own pace while also creating something tangible to take home—deepening their connection to camp and reinforcing the neural pathways formed through sensory-rich learning.

By allowing students to fully immerse themselves in the adventure of camp, we nurture the naturally inquisitive spirit of childhood and encourage the kind of creative thinking and imagination that is often stifled by the sterile confines of screens, classrooms, or even their own backyards.

When kids no longer associate getting messy with getting in trouble, activities like Canoeing or Raft-Building—where they may get splashed by a peer or get a bit muddy—feel less like a hassle and more like an opportunity.

This freedom gives them the space to work through deeper challenges, such as overcoming fears around water or learning to collaborate with others—essential life skills that many children rarely encounter outside of a camp environment.

By providing countless controlled opportunities for students at Camp Sunnystones to truly get dirty, we also create a space where they can learn the value of cleaning up at the end of the day. Lessons about hand hygiene carry far more weight when taught to 40 kids coming in for a home-cooked dinner after an afternoon of hut building, than they do in a spotless classroom before unwrapping a plastic-covered muesli bar.

If our kids never have the chance to get truly dirty, they’ll never fully understand the importance—or the satisfaction—of being clean.

By coming to camp, not only are they given these experiences, but your carpets stay completely safe in the process.