Sandbox

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...

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!

I know right?! :)

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.

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.

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.

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!!!

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

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.

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 :)