Can we talk about sandboxes?

[melissel]

I'd like to invest in a few things for our yard this summer--a swing, a small tent or gazebo, and a sandbox for the kids. I was just doing some research on some nice wooden ones (whew, the prices!), and I have a few questions for those of you who own a sandbox.

 

1) Bottomless sandboxes? Really? Why? That just seems like a mess waiting to happen. Is that really at all practical? I must be missing some benefit that this has.

 

2) How big? The ones in our general price range are 4 feet x 4 feet, which seems kind of small to me, but then again, I won't be playing in it (much!). Does that seem like an OK size for a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old?

 

3) Do your kids really play with it much? I'd hate to invest the money and have them not use it, but I really need to find some way to get these two into the backyard more.

 

4) Any other thoughts you have are very welcome.

 

Thank you!

[Brenda in FL]

I don't have any experience with wooden sandboxes or bottomless ones. We purchased a Step 2 sandbox years ago - (Tuggy) It's no longer on the market. I would say 4 by 4 might be a little small but if you can even get to 4 by 5 that might be better.

 

You should make sure it has a rain proof cover. That's what I loved about Tuggy. That way you can also make sure that the neighborhood cats or other critters don't use it as a litter box! With bottomless - I'd be concerned about ants making it a home - but what do I know??

 

For sizes - you could go to toys r us and read the reviews for the sizes of their plastic ones that could give you more of a feel for what might be appropriate for your kids.

 

Have you thought about making one yourself?

[joannqn]

We had a big red crabby shaped sandbox and it was big enough for both kids even though it was pretty small. Without measuring it, I can't imagine it was as large as a 4x4 square (it was circular shaped).

 

My only recommendation is to make sure it is covered. VERY important that it is covered. Especially if you have animals or there are cats in your neighborhood. Cats think they are wonderful litter boxes. Dogs like to pee on the side to mark it as part of their territory. Thus, a lid is a must.

 

I also recommend having a lid that can be tied down or attached in some way if you ever get windy weather. Our lid blew off frequently.

[Goldilocks]

We bought RR ties and made a sandbox. Our first one was 4 x 6 and it was too small so at our new home we didn't cut the wood. It's about 12 x 12. The children play in it every day that it is nice enough to go outside. We dug down about 6 inches then put two layers of 6 x 6 RR ties on top, nailed them together, then filled it with about 1 ton of sand.

 

I think that if ours was much smaller it would seem like a little kid thing and wouldn't get played with at all.

 

I don't really understand the concern about not having a bottom. :001_huh: Sandboxes are kinda messy. Not sure how no bottom makes extra mess. Being able to dig down and make tunnels for cars is lots of fun. Plus you get down to the really wet and cold sand. That is a fun place to find in the middle of summer. :tongue_smilie:

[happyWImom]

Ours is probably 12X12 also-dh made it with some kind of wood sides (I'm not the handy girl type, so I don't pay attn to the details) and I'm not sure if it's bottomless or not. We have a tarp that we put over it, and he attatched some kind of hooks that little bunge type things hold it down with (see-no idea here). The big thing is, a bunch of the cords got lost/misplaced/whatever, so the tarp had blown off & now the box has been exposed the entire winter. Granted, it's been covered with snow, but it's not now!! And when I told dh he's going to have to replace all of the sand, he had a fit. The mice were using it as there home-this cannot be good, right???? In addition to who else knows what, bird poop, etc.... How do we get all of the old stuff out & where do we put it now?

[Sophia]

Here's a pic of ours.

We have a lot of mosquitos so we screened it in.

The dc spend a lot of time in it so we feel it was money well spent.

Sand cost around $350, lumber @ $500.

We did cover the bottom with groundcover to keep weeds out.

Size is 8 'by 8' and several kids can fit in at a time.

They really love it and dh scored big time brownie points for building it last summer :001_smile:

[TraceyS/FL]

Here's a pic of ours.

We have a lot of mosquitos so we screened it in.

The dc spend a lot of time in it so we feel it was money well spent.

Sand cost around $350, lumber @ $500.

We did cover the bottom with groundcover to keep weeds out.

Size is 8 'by 8' and several kids can fit in at a time.

They really love it and dh scored big time brownie points for building it last summer :001_smile:

 

Ohhhhhh, this is PERFECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dang, i'll have to remember this.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We had an old, unused kiddy pool (by Step 2). We drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom for drainage, and filled it with sand. I'm in the process of making a cover for it out of sunshade fabric. It'll hopefully keep the cats out.

 

It didn't cost us anything because someone had given us the pool a couple years ago, and the sand was leftover from another project. :)

[Harriet Vane]

We have a huge sandbox in the yard--perhaps 12x12??? It is bottomless. We keep it covered with a tarp. We put in a ton or so of good sand. It's never been an issue to have it bottomless--no weeds or mice or anything. Our kids and their cousins have spent countless hours in it.

[SonshineLearner]

I know that you need sand meant for kids to play in so it doesn't have...hmmm...maybe someone can help me fill in the words...Is it silica that you don't want? Our healthy parenting group talked about it a lot a couple of years ago...due to the dust created, when it's being used.

Carrie:-)

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I know that you need sand meant for kids to play in so it doesn't have...hmmm...maybe someone can help me fill in the words...Is it silica that you don't want? Our healthy parenting group talked about it a lot a couple of years ago...due to the dust created, when it's being used.

Carrie:-)

 

I think the good stuff that we'd gotten was called playsand. It had a much larger size grit. We once bought regular sand at a home improvement store. Big mistake. It was very dusty and dirty stuff that I just despised. It got the kids dirty instead of just sandy (ie, it wouldn't shake off).

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Yes. I agree. The sand we have in our sandbox sticks and gets my dd very dirty. It's not as bad as it would be if she were just playing in the dirt, because our dirt is red and it stains. But, it's not as clean as, say, the beach sand, which just rubs off. Get the best sand you can afford.

[Guest Katia]

Hmmm. I do not like sandboxes at all.

 

And we have had them over the years at different places we've lived.

 

When they were very little we had a turtle sandbox with a bottom and a lid. The dc would take off the lid, turn it upside down and play in it. They never played in the sandbox until I took out the sand and put water in instead (like a tiny little pool).

 

One was an old, very large tractor tire that someone filled with sand. It took a whole pick-up truck full to fill it!

 

When we changed from a water-bed mattress to a regular mattress, we used the wooden frame that held the (king sized) water mattress for a sandbox. It was the best and largest one we had, but by then the dc were older and we had three playing in there at the same time, so it worked.

 

Our dog always lived in our backyard and he hated cats (he ate cats!) so none ever came in our yard. We never used a cover and never had a problem not using one. Had I not had our very protective dog, I would have had a cover.

 

That said, I still hated sandboxes because I hated the actual sand itself. It stuck everywhere, got into eyes and scratched corneas, got into hair and wouldn't wash out, came into the house and got everywhere(and sand is impossible to clean up)....it is awful, evil stuff.

 

However, at one place we lived, I didn't get around to filling a flower garden that was already there, and the kids made it their 'dirt box'. They LOVED that dirt. It made tunnels for their cars that didn't collapse, it molded into anything they could dream up, it rinsed off of them easily with the outside hose (no dirt in the house ever as opposed to sand, sand everywhere), it didn't scratch eyes, it didn't get trapped in hair, and neither cats nor dogs were interested in a pile of dirt....it was a dream come true for both my dc and me.

 

I think sand is terribly over-rated and dirt is terribly under-rated. I'd go with dirt any day.

[MountainViewMama]

My son had the turtle sandbox and it was way to small for him. Also, we lived on a diary at the time and there were a ton of cats. He would forget to put the cover back on and the cats would get in it and use it.:glare: We went through a lot of sand . When the lid cracked on it we started using it for a tiny pool. I would definetly choose one at least an 8x8 size or larger. I love the homemade one that is enclosed. That is awesome! Maybe my husband will make our kids one like that this summer. :)

[Ottakee]

If cats are not a huge concern, I would see about getting a load of DIRT for them to play with. We did that about 12+ years ago and STILL have dirt that the kids play in.

 

They pile it up, dig in it, climb it, build sledding hills with it, haul it around to other places to build dirt bike jumps, use it to fill in holes, dig mroe holes to fill in, etc.

 

I am sure it is dirty and doesn't brush off like sand does but we live in the country, have very little grass, etc. so dirt is just a big part of our lives.

[Tina]

My boys loved the sand pile when we were building the new garage, but it wasn't practical to keep it. lol That said, we have one build from some 2X6s(?), with double boards all around, and some triangular seats over the corners. The kids have gotten tons of use out of it! Well worth having! We also have the breathable fabric underneath it to keep out weeds. Since the neighbor with all the cats moved out, we haven't had to worry about that! ;) Otherwise, I have seen one with a 'bench' on one side that is hinged to a lid for the box. The bench was also a storage area for sand toys. We just have a big tote for all the trucks and diggers.