Sandbox

[Daycare123]

Hi all!
I am just wondering do you all have sandboxes? Do you feel sand is safe?What is the safest sand to use?

Thank you!

[momofnerds]

I have 2 or 3 sandboxes, and use play sand. I did buy purple sand once, but I found that it dyed the kids hands. They love sand boxes, heck even my own big kids play in them.

[JennJubie]

I have a sandbox. I had it before I opened my daycare, but it's great to have! Obviously you have to watch the younger kids like hawks because they will put the sand in their mouths, but that's really the only thing. I have a zero tolerance policy about throwing sand, you throw sand ONCE and you're out. I keep a little dust pan brush outside near the sandbox, and when everyone is done with it, we brush off.

[Daycare123]

So nobody is worries over the contreversy over the safety of sand?

[torontokids]

I'm not worried about it at all. I can have my kids live in a bubble or eat a little sand and dirt once in a while. I think there are "safe sands" for purchase but when I looked into them they were quite a bit more money. I do sit with them and tell them "no mouth" if they try to eat it but I don't loose any sleep if they eat some.

[sunnydays]

So nobody is worries over the contreversy over the safety of sand?

I am feeling like I have missed something...there is a controversy over sand??? I don't have a sandbox, but I take the kids to the park daily and there is a whole lot of sand there...which is why I don't bother with a sandbox as I don't want it all over my yard. The little ones all go through the stage when they try to eat the sand, but they get over it soon enough. What is wrong with sand?

[torontokids]

http://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/966411/is-your-sand-box-sand-safe

http://www.kidsafesand.com/

[Daycare123]

Sunnydays- I didn't know there was a controversy either! apparently there is-it seems like there is controversy over all the things I used to do as a child lol

[sunnydays]

Okay, so are we not supposed to let kids play at parks with sand anymore? All my naighbourhood parks are filled with sand. Sheesh! If it's not one thing it's another! I never thought about what the sand was made of...I assumed it was natural I guess.

[JennJubie]

Yeesh! I used to drink hose water. I'm pretty sure I ate my fair share of sand as a kid, too!:laugh:

[Fun&care]

Wow. I had no idea. Ugh just another thing to worry about! :rolleyes: lol and we JUST got a sandbox this weekend. Luckily I prefer to have the sand a little damp anyways, it's gross when it's dusty and you can't do anything with it anyways...but still. Who knew...

[momofnerds]

really, we all grew up fine and with great memories. I wonder who comes up with this stuff. My kids at school have no play equipment, because of saftey, they can't bring balls again saftey. So instead they decided to do a natural playscape, which is fine (we are county so its not a big deal) but guess what, they now have posion ivy and ticks in the play yard:laugh: see what happens when you mess with pure fun!

[Daycare123]

I know right?! :)

[playfelt]

And while it may be an issue I noted that the articles didn't include how many hours upon hours a child had to spend standing over the sandbox breathing in the dust before it would cause a health issue. I remember when lead in PVC blinds was such an issue but how many of us let our kids gnaw on them as teething toys which apparently was part of the study they did. Afraid I will be just using regular play sand as usual in my sandbox. I take out the old stuff and put it in a bin at the front that becomes the sand we put on the icey sidewalk next winter and put fresh stuff in the sandbox. I don't let the kids into the box but instead they need to play around the edge of the box. Not that that changes anything other than the amount of sand in the pockets and shoes.

[Momof4]

Please forgive me, but what a load of crapola!!!!! I grew up on the beach of Lake Erie and I took my own 4 children to the beach tons of times every summer and they all still love the beach. If I had a sandbox I would keep it covered to make sure animals didn't use it for a litterbox and I would watch carefully for ants or sandfleas but otherwise I wouldn't worry.

I have a large water/sand table but I figured the sand would be lost in a day so I just use it for a water table, and sure enough every time the children play with it they turn it into a mud table. That's part of the fun.

You know how they always have recalls on cribs, high chairs, etc? It's my opinion that the products aren't faulty, the parents or caregivers are not watching their children properly. If everyone watched the children they wouldn't be injured on equipment. It's called COMMON SENSE - same goes for the issue with the sand.

[playfelt]

Maybe I am wrong but I thought sand was ground up quartz and yes people have played in it for centuries. If it is such an issue then every person that lives along a beach would be deathly sick and they aren't.

[Daycare123]

Well, as always-it is refreshing to get your feedback everyone! And I have to say I AGREE!! We now have a big ol' sandbox :)

Playfelt- using the sand each year to deal with ice is great! I knew I would have to replace it each summer but now it will be put to good use in both summer and winter!!!

[torontokids]

why do you bother replacing the sand every year? I just top it up.

[playfelt]

The sand gets wet and there is always the chance for mold or germs etc to grow in it, grass and other bits get in it from time to time and well it started one year when dealing with the ice and being out of the salt stuff and ran out to the sandbox and managed to scrape off enough to put on the sidewalk and then the pattern was established. We have one of those green lidded Rubbermaid bins that sits on our front porch filled with the sand and we mix in a couple bags of the sand/salt mixture at the one end for stubborn days or a couple spots that are worse from where eaves drip.

Just like anything we clean and sanitize it just made sense to put in new sand each year. My box is only 4x4 so not a big issue.

[SongSparrow]

We have a big sand box and it is a favorite play place. It is kept covered and I do use play sand in it. After checking out the MSDS from the sand I buy and doing a bit of online "research" (lol) I feel totally okay with our sandbox.
We also have a pile of topsoil in the yard (the "dirt pile") which is even more loved than the sandbox....I can only imagine what the experts would have to say about that! Luckily all the parents I work with are pretty easy going :)

[SongSparrow]

This paragraph I found online from a play sand manufacturer helped me to put things in perspective:
"The sand typically used for sandboxes or playgrounds is granular in nature and is non-respirable. Granular sand sizes are expressed by the term "Mesh". Play sand, including that sold by U.S. Silica Company, is typically a 70-Mesh product, which is equivalent to 212 micrometers, well above the respirable dust size. And, while we have never measured "exposures" in a sandbox, it is only reasonable to conclude that sandbox "exposures" (if they exist at all) are far below those experienced in industrial setting, because (1) play sand is not respirable, (2) playing in play sand does not make it respirable, (3) sandboxes are outside, (4) children do not play in sandboxes 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for 20 or more years. The scientific studies to date have examined the potential adverse health effects
associated with occupational exposure to crystalline silica. Occupational exposures to crystalline silica can be experienced by workers in foundries, ceramics manufacturing facilities and other industries that use crystalline silica, and are higher than environmental or ambient exposures to silica. All the published scientific literature contains no evidence that silicosis or silica-related lung cancer occurs among people with non-occupationally related exposures at beaches, backyards, or sandboxes."

[torontokids]

Oh, I love the dirt pile idea! We have been digging in my garden a ton looking for worms etc but now that are digging up my flowers etc as they are popping up. Good compromise!

[playfelt]

Thank you SongSparrow. Worth copying out this info to have on file should a paranoid parent come concerned about a sandbox. Thought it sounded kind of funny considering the number of beaches around the world.