Which would you buy?

[mamaluvs]

I'm looking for opinions from some experienced mamas. I'd like to buy DD (18 months) a sandbox. She's never played in one before, so I'm just hoping she'll like it. Would you buy one that she can sit in or would you buy one of those table ones so that she can stand and play? I worry that she won't want to sit in the sand (but maybe she'll love it) but I wonder if she'll outgrow a table sandbox more quickly. I'd like her to use the sandbox for at least a few years. Or am I worrying for nothing? Thanks for any input.

[tanyam926]

We used to have one of those turtle sandboxes and my kids loved it! I am going to get another one this summer for my kids (6, 3.5, and 6 mo.).

It was great and I would recommend a sitting sandbox bc a table sandbox seems like it would get sand everywhere (bc kids won't be in it).

The one we had was sturdy and just the right size (we have to replace it bc my XH gave it away when I asked him to store it for me when we split up, not bc anything happened w/the sandbox).

My kids used to sit on the edge too if they didn't want to sit in the sand.

[LittleBlessings]

I like the ones you can sit in but I have found in the summer when it gets very hot that the sand heats and can get very hot so in that case I would just get a sand take

[tanyam926]

Yeah, hot sand isn't fun. The turtle one I had came w/a lid so didn't have hot sand. We kept it on a covered patio too.

[Red Pajama]

I like the seated sandboxes. I think they have more play opportunities. If you have enough room, you can make one with 4x8 boards & lag bolts. (there has to be plans for simple, rectangular sandboxes out there). My dad made one for the boys. They love it, but boy, it's messy!

[3pink1blue]

we got a turtle sandbox at a garage sale for $2. My kids LOVED IT! They played in it every day, all day. Now they don't all fit, so we are going to build one that can hold all the kids plus a few.

[mamaluvs]

Thanks for all the quick replies! I'm so excited that we finally have a little bit of warm weather here (it has been a long New England winter here). I can't wait to start playing outside more and more with DD.

[XanaduMama]

We have the sand/water table kind, and I don't see our 3yo ds outgrowing it any time soon...he LOVES it! One thing I like about the table vs. the sandbox is that you can put water on one side (or both), and they can play without getting totally wet. But I can see the advantages of the turtle things too...

[ChetMC]

Big One

I'd go for the big sandbox. It's pretty easy to recreate a sand/water table if you find you want something like that. Our kids have just played in the sink, or in a dishpan or rubbermade container in the yard for example.

DH actually built a large sandbox and dug it down so the sand could be about 18 inches deep. The kids like digging big holes, building big things, and DH being able to get into the sandbox with them.

I've also talked to parents whose kids used backyard sandboxes until they were 8 or 9, and I can't see a water table lasting nearly that long.

[labdogs42]

We have this sandbox and I really like it. My Ds has a water table, too. He liked that as well, but he always tried to climb into it like a raised pool! Now that he's 4, he gets that he's supposed to stand next to it, but for two years he was convinced that it was a mini pool! I say go with the regular sit-down sandbox.

[Red Sonja]

We're going to get one of the turtle sandboxes for our kids too. They both (especially DD1) love sitting in them and playing, and I want one with a lid so the neighborhood cats don't fill it with "buried treasure".

[meemee]

my daughter liked both so i did get her both.

she is my very sensory child. she spent as much time in one as the other one. she is 6 1/2 and we still get a lot of use out of it.

what i liked about teh water table is i could bring it in the house on really HOT summer days. we have hardwood floors. so i would put a sheet of plastic and then a cotton sheet and it worked very well for us. sometimes i would only use the water part of it. the water table we have is a really fun one that i would have a really hard time making.

btw i bought the water table and made the sand box.

i changed the sand pretty often. and be sure to get playsand and not construction sand.

[mamaluvs]

Again, thanks everyone for the input. One last question, where do you get play sand? Is it at places like Home Depot?

[XanaduMama]

No, don't get the Home Depot kind. You should only get sand specifically sold for sandboxes/kids. Toys R Us is where we've found ours in the past.

[ryansma]

We have the sand/water table and ds1 loves it. It's on our deck which is right off our dining room so I am glad there is not a lot of mess since he is not sitting in sand.

[jillmamma]

Originally Posted by mamaluvs

Again, thanks everyone for the input. One last question, where do you get play sand? Is it at places like Home Depot?

We got some play sand at Home Depot. It was near the other sand, but you have to read the labels to make sure you get the right kind (it is finer than the pavestone type).

[ChetMC]

About Play Sand

Originally Posted by XanaduMama

No, don't get the Home Depot kind. You should only get sand specifically sold for sandboxes/kids. Toys R Us is where we've found ours in the past.

We didn't buy play sand. It was very expensive. I think it was $6.50 a bag, and we needed 47 bags. That was in Canada, but I'm not under the impression that it's vastly cheaper ($0.50 a bag) in the US.

If you're worried about the silica then there is a company called Safe Sand in California. Supposedly, their sand doesn't have quartz and silica, or it doesn't have "free" quartz and silica. I can't remember the details, but if you're worried about silicosis and want to buy expensive sand make sure you're getting what you pay for. A lot of playsand sold at reno centres and toy stores is still silica sand, it's just sterilized (which is fine if you need sterile sand, but silly if you're dumping it in your back yard), or it's just in a fancy bag so parents and preschools will pay big bucks for it.

We decided that we weren't worried about the whole silicosis thing, and went with regular sand. When I looked into it is seemed that silicosis was mainly something that industrial workers got after thirty years of working in clouds of sand and particulate all day long.

The best way to get a large amount of sand is to go to a place that sells soil, rock, sand, and other landscaping materials. They will usually have several grades of sand and colours, and you can choose the right size. They often deliver too. It's true that construction sand and sand blasting sand are not necessarily the grit that you want, but SOME playsand is also very coarse and doesn't pack properly for sandcastles and things... it's only meant for scooping and pouring.

[zinemama]

We had the turtle sandbox. I wouldn't recommend it. Or any sandbox, for that matter.

Of course, that was because our toddler's idea of fun with the sandbox was to fill up buckets of sand and then dump them all over the yard. The concept of keeping the sand in the sandbox was entirely foreign to him. We ended up with a sandy backyard. No fun.

What was a huge, tremendous hit, however, was the Little Tikes sand and water table. Naturally, we did not put sand in it. We set it up in the back yard and filled both sides with water. The joy, the rapture! The fun with bath toys! Really, I highly advise this course of action.

[mom2my3boyz]

We had a sand/water table. The sand and water always ended up mixed together or on the ground. I bought a Little Tikes sandbox last year and the boys love it! I would just go with a regular sandbox.