The Sandbox: Part Deux
The discussion on sandbox sand nearly two years ago (where does the time fly) is surely one of the most referred to urbanMamas posts. Amy would like to broaden that discussion a bit to see your take on the best DIY boxes as well as alternatives. She emails:
We're redoing our backyard and considering a sand box. I've read through the old post on safe sand (good to know!), and there were a couple of ideas on alternatives to sand boxes, and that got me thinking. I'd love some more thoughts on the pros and cons of sandboxes, ideas on making our own great sandbox (with a lid or cover!), comments on store-bought sandboxes you've tried and loved/hated, or alternatives to sandboxes that allow that same kind of tactile, messy-fun play outside.
personally, i am super paranoid about sandboxes and have been since my parasitology course in vet school. i don't let my toddler play in sand boxes (omsi is an exception since it's indoors). my worry is raccoon roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, which can cause ocular, visceral and neural larva migrans...scary stuff. raccoons use sandy areas as latrines. the parasite is transmitted by fecal-oral contact. i am rarely so paranoid, especially when the risk of acquiring disease is low, but my parasitology professor scared me silly on this one. for everyone who has a sandbox, i would advise that you keep it covered whenever you are not using it, especially at night.
Posted by: dvmmom | May 12, 2008 at 11:31 PM
I just read "A Child's Garden" by Molly Dannenmaier. It has wonderful photographs and ideas for a great backyard for children and adults. One of the elements she covers is the need to dig. There are ideas like a pine cone pit, a mini stream bed highlighting lots of pebbles, and yes, sand. We have a sand table that has been well loved (with a cover). Now that my son is a bit older, we're building a dig pit with lots of rocks, sticks, and such. It will be in a covered area with ornamental grasses around it and not as susceptible to cats and other animals. Although the cover and the raised height of the sand table really worked for us to keep the sand clean. We just refilled it frequently.
Posted by: Amanda | May 13, 2008 at 09:28 AM
We had a sandbox (the green plastic turtle) and we hated it. For one thing, our kid (I think he was 3 at the time, but it's become a blur) was far more interested in taking the sand out of the sandbox and depositing it around the yard than playing with it in the box, Which led to little heaps of sand everywhere.
And then, being parents of a 3yo and a newborn and consequently not at our most alert, we frequently forgot to put the lid on the sandbox, with the result that cats would poop in it. Gross.
So we got rid of the sandbox and got one of those sand+water tables. Naturally, we were not going to be fooling with sand again, so we filled both sides of it with water and set it out on the grass.
What a hit! Now that thing got played with like nothing else we'd ever had outdoors. It was the perfect summer backyard activity. No mess, no cat poop, just splish-splashing bath toy fun. Highly recommended!
Posted by: Zinemama | May 13, 2008 at 09:29 AM
we have a sandbox, a large one that my dad & husband made with four 6' 2"x6" boards (a simple square) and then my mom bought beach sand from somewhere in seaside. truman adores the sandbox, spends hours every day that's nice in it, often hangs out there when it's rainy, too, digging and pushing sand around with his trucks and hiding buried treasure. sometimes the cats poop in it but i just clean it out and sigh. i wish i had a cover but i just haven't made sandbox cleanliness a priority. so many things to worry about!
i read about a rather simple cover in martha stewart kids once (i think it was just a fine mess screen stapled to a wooden frame, probably just as simple as my box), i'll have to dig that out now after reading about parasites, frightening! we definitely have a raccoon problem in our neighborhood.
i have also read, though, that the sun essentially sterilizes the sand.
we also have had a pile of gravel (from the sand & gravel place way out on foster i think? for concrete, 2 parts gravel to 3 parts sand) in our yard for a while as we conducted several small building projects. when it was big, the boys really loved digging in it and it wasn't at all interesting to the local fauna. that might be an option too.
Posted by: sarah gilbert | May 13, 2008 at 09:58 AM
We're on the hunt for a used sand & water table since our little guy likes to dig and splash. In the interim, I've found a reasonable work-around by putting sand in a shallow rubbermaid container (maybe 9" x 18" x 24"). The "sand box" can be placed on a picnic table bench, which makes it toddler height. When he's done, the digging tools and trucks go back into the container and the lid goes back on the box. It's easy enough to put the box into the garage if we want it out of sight.
Posted by: Jessie | May 13, 2008 at 10:12 AM
We've got the green turtle and we've racked up a few thousand hours in it, easily. We bought it a few years ago not knowing how long the passion for digging would last and didnt know if we'd ever realistically get around to building a real sandbox. Although it's plastic, it is convenient having the nice tight lid. Every year I buy 3 bags of fresh sand and it lasts the whole summer. I used to worry about the sand being dumped outside the sandbox, but I've given up that battle. We've forgotten the lid occasionally, but it hasnt been a big issue, we just leave it open on the drier days to dry out a bit. My 3 year old has now become obsessive about making sure the lid is closed when he's finished, less work for us! Our second is now 9 months old and adores the sandbox and surprisingly doesnt eat too much! Now my husband is talking about building a bigger sandbox for them since the turtle is actually pretty small when you get 2 little boys playing in it. So we may dedicate a little more real estate to a larger sandbox, pass the turtle along to another family and embrace the digging for a few more years.
Posted by: Leah | May 13, 2008 at 11:22 AM
We made a simple sandbox for our daughter. Putting 4 x 4's cut down to size and buried severeral inches into the ground and then nailing 12 x 2 in a simple rectangle making an 8 x 6 sandbox. We then loaded up with several bags of sand lots of sand toys and some plastic animals. It has provided tons of entertainment from 3 y/o till current time at 5 y/o. She still loves it. We add a couple of new bags each spring to make up for what gets dumped but that does not happen too much. It is large enough for 3 or 4 kids to play in at one time. We cover any time it is not in use to prevent animals from using it as a litter box. In the summer we also set up a small table nearby with a shallow rubbermaid tub filled with water to play in and to add to the sandbox if she wants. This is probably the most played with thing in our backyard and was well worth the time to build.
Posted by: Mary | May 13, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I was thinking of putting in a sand box a couple of months ago when I happened upon a good idea at our local creperie. My 18 month old son loved it and we went away rather clean and safe. We made one that weekend. It's a half barrel filled half way with pea gravel and the rest with sterile sand from Freddy's. We made a lid with a handle on it and added some toys. We cover it when not in use and open it for a couple of hours when it is sunny to clean and dry it. It's working out great.
Posted by: Glee | May 13, 2008 at 02:09 PM
We have a sand/water table that my husband built, later we got a larger sandbox but I didnt like it as much so I sold it. I much prefer the sand/water table because it really limits the amount of sand that comes into the house. With the kids sitting in the sand it would get in everywhere, pockets, undies, diapers etc. I also love the dual purpose of the table, when the sand is low or all gone I fill it with water for summer fun and sometimes just leave it empty for them to fill with whatever they like...leaves, stones, sticks. We get the OMSI sand from Oregon decorative rock on Columbia and love that stuff.
Posted by: Lara | May 13, 2008 at 06:03 PM
I would highly recommend the sand/water table route. We filled it with just water until my son was 2.5 years old. The kids loved just playing in the water. This year it is filled with sand, due to his digging urges. He is also old enough to understand that you do not take the sand out of the table. The table is located in a rocked area of the yard so that it doesn't interfere with the grass or plants. It also has a lid that he can put on when he is done playing. I would not recommend filling the sand/water table with both sand and water. I have seen this at friend's houses and it makes a huge mess.
Posted by: Holly | May 13, 2008 at 06:12 PM
We have a sandbox I built last Mother's Day and it has been the best thing ever - hours and hours of entertainment. My mom brings up a few buckets of great sand from somewhere down in Springfield - her version of bringing up a toy and much better than some plastic thing. We use a piece of vinyl trellis to cover it up - that way it keeps out the critters but lets in some air. We also have a sandtable which is great, but I would reiterate the comments of just sand or water - not both.
Posted by: Krista | May 13, 2008 at 07:34 PM
I'm really interested in seeing photos of homemade sandboxes, water tables, etc. because I have a hard time visualizing what they look like.
My daycare provider just got a turtle and the kids love it, but my daughter tends to eat the sand, sometimes. She has also developed a rash, which could be the results of hair care product, sand box, any number of spring time things...
Posted by: kirsten | May 13, 2008 at 08:18 PM
We LOVE the sandbox. We were planning to build one but grandma gave us one as a gift. Yes it is plastic but it is much bigger than the turtles, and has a nice- fitting lid. Its a huge hit with the boys, esp our oldest. He and his toys live in it. We just wash it out and replace the sand (from oregon decorative rock) each spring and call it good!
We also have a sand/water table but that doesn't seem to hold their attention very long. They want to be IN the sand or water I suppose.
I've heard that pea gravel is a lot of fun - we haven't done that yet.
If you do a Google Images of the word sandbox there a lots of homemade wooden ones, some with lids, to spark ideas.
Posted by: peggy | May 13, 2008 at 09:59 PM
i'll add some of our photos to the urbanmamas group -- http://www.flickr.com/groups/41411004@N00/pool/
Posted by: sarah gilbert | May 13, 2008 at 11:56 PM
We just finished our sandbox and it's the best thing ever. Hours upon hours of fun for my 2.5 and 4 year old. We were going to make our own sandbox cover, but we went to the rainbow play structure store in NE Portland and they have a clearance section and had already made sanbox covers in several sizes. They were on clearance and rather inexpensive and they have the hardware so that you can snap the covers into place if you have wooden sandbox. I also second the columbia rock place in NE, their sand is straight from the beach with no silicone. yeah!
Posted by: Diana | May 14, 2008 at 02:00 PM
We just finished our sandbox and it's the best thing ever. Hours upon hours of fun for my 2.5 and 4 year old. We were going to make our own sandbox cover, but we went to the rainbow play structure store in NE Portland and they have a clearance section and had already made sanbox covers in several sizes. They were on clearance and rather inexpensive and they have the hardware so that you can snap the covers into place if you have wooden sandbox. I also second the columbia rock place in NE, their sand is straight from the beach with no silicone. yeah!
Posted by: Diana | May 14, 2008 at 02:00 PM
We built a large sandbox using the instructions for a raised planter bed from Sunset magazine (search for "The perfect raised bed" at www.sunset.com). Used a weed barrier for the liner. It's big enough for our daughter and several friends to play in together. When she's past the sandbox years, will hope it will serve as a raised planter for her to grow a garden. It was a weekend warrior project. For the cover, we're currently using a tarp weighed down with whatever is handy. Plan is to install the PVC as in the instructions but use the tarp instead of bird netting for now.
Posted by: karen | March 04, 2010 at 01:43 PM