Slipping and sliding around in mud is good for you, they recently found, something to do with the endorphins (don't quote us on that). And it's especially good for children who derive enormous pleasure from getting superlatively mucky. Apparently the friendly
bacteria in soil and mud (Mycobacterium vaccae) boost happiness by increasing
levels of serotonin in the brain. It’s good to have an excuse for mudsliding, if any were needed. It’s a
bit of a forgotten pleasure. On estuarine beaches and inlets, look out for gentle
muddy slopes where the children can slip and slide and get as dirty as they
like. You can make the mud extra-slippery by sloshing it with buckets of water
before they play on it, so they just slither down. Make sure to use the oldest
towels and swimming costume you've got. After a mud slide, they never look the
same again, because the tiny particles
in the clay find their way into the weave of the fabric and it’s not easy to wash
them out. |
