Yes, just when you thought the sandbox-citement was over – it continues. We chatted all about how we built the base of the box here and how we made the lid with a locking system that secures it to the fence here – but it still wasn’t done. That’s the funny thing about DIY in general – you might expect a kitchen reno to run across 35+ posts and to last four months, but you never think that something like a simple sandbox will be a three part process. On the other hand, sometimes projects that we think will be really complicated end up being no sweat and we wonder why we put them off so long – so I guess it all balances out in the end. Anyway, when we last left our heroine, she was enjoying her freshly completed box – cover and all.
But the next day, as we disposed of all of the empty play sand bags and put two extra ones in the car to return them, Sherry noticed this warning on the back of the bags.
To anyone having trouble reading it, it says: This product contains small amounts of crystalline silica, a common mineral found in natural sands and stones. Excessive inhalation of respirable silica dust may cause cancer and lung disease. Avoid breathing dust. Wear approved respirator in dusty area.
Cancer and lung disease? Wear approved respirators? Isn’t this labeled “play sand” and meant for sand boxes with children who sit in that dusty mess and pour it everywhere? With red flag officially raised, we turned to the Internet to see why the heck a bag of something meant for children would have a warning that it can “cause cancer and lung disease.” Soon enough, Sherry came across a string of articles (like this one and this one and this one) indicating that the type of play sand that we bought may not be the ideal option to have our daughter romping around in (not to mention that Clara left her first play session with clothes and hands covered in a white chalky dust which retroactively freaked us out).
Although we all may have played in sand as children and we’re perfectly healthy (or are we? I guess there’s still time to find out, haha) the way sand is manufactured and where it’s found can change. So if you grew up playing in river or beach sand, which may have been more common than manufactured “silica or tremolite” sand, that would explain why the newer sand containing that potentially dangerous stuff is an issue today. Here’s a screen grab from WebMD with a particularly helpful summary that we found:
So we decided to make a sandbox switcheroo – just so we wouldn’t have to think twice about letting Clara play in there for hours on end for years to come. And frankly, our alternative rocks.
I’ll pause to record a point in my “rock pun” column.
I don’t know why I didn’t think about this before – my sister actually had a rock box for her kids a while back (they’re now tweens/teens and are way too cool for it) but they loved it back in the day. Obviously it’s NOT a good solution for kiddos who still put things in their mouth. Clara did that until about a year old, but now routinely plays with rocks and pea gravel wherever she can find it without ever trying to suck it down (true story: at Home Depot there’s an outdoor planting bed with pea gravel and she loves it more than the playground). Clara’s also less likely to leave covered in rocks and track them all over the house than she was with sand. So I started the not-so-fun task of digging out all of the sand (and hauling it in the wheelbarrow to be dumped in the woods far behind our house – the very back of our almost-an-acre property).
I wouldn’t put it on the top of my “most awesome DIY tasks ever” list, but it wasn’t that bad. Although it was kinda sad to see it all empty and barren when I was through. Pardon the tree’s muddled shadow in this pic (it looks like some sand is still lurking but we swept that baby dry).
Then we turned that frown upside down by dumping in what I will now call my inaugural bag of pebbles. Things were looking up!
But upon closer examination, things were also looking kinda dirty.
Now, I realize it seems kinda prissy to be surprised that rocks are dirty (“Gasp! And water’s wet?! The horror!”). And if we didn’t mind Clara getting a bit dirty, well, we wouldn’t be making a outdoor play box now would we? But the pebbles were all covered in a sort of gritty dust that just kinda bothered me. I felt lazy just dumping them in so dirty when I could easily remedy the problem, so I decided to give the rocks a quick bath in my wheelbarrow.
I felt kinda silly doing this at first, but when I drained my first batch and saw how much dirty water was coming out it didn’t feel like my efforts were worthless at all.
But enough rock washing. Let’s get rockin’ and rollin’ onto the finished product.
Remember the lid is secured to the fence with metal hardware to keep things safe (more on that here).
I used around 20 bags to fill the whole box to the point where it was pretty much level with the ground around it – meaning Clara didn’t have a big step on either side, and she’d have a few inches of depth to really dig into. Oh and the bags of rocks were actually cheaper than the bags of sand at Home Depot. They were around $2.50 a pop, so it was just under $50 to fill our 25 square foot box up. Not free but worth the peace of mind for us. If only we had seen the warning on the sand before opening it, we could have actually saved money filling things up with rocks from the start. Oh well, live and learn.
We also took this opportunity to mulch around the sandbox, er, rock box (excuse me) so everything would look a bit cleaner when we presented it to Clara (she was with her grandparents the afternoon we made the change).
As soon as she saw the rocks she was so eager to play, she didn’t even notice it wasn’t sand anymore. We expected a bigger “Where the sand go?!” reaction, but I guess it’s probably best that rocks instantly erased any memory or care for the old stuff.
All she cared about is that she could get her dig on.
Which actually was reassuring to see, since I worried the chunkier rocks might be harder to dig and scoop, but she’s had no problem – even with the flimsy dollar store shovel we got her. Plus she can scoop rocks with a shovel but also pick them up with her hands (not true with sand) so she seems to have a lot of fun with that. For example, she likes filling the front part of her truck with one rock carefully shoved through the window at a time. It’s the little things, right?
And luckily the rocks have proved to be less messy than the sand. Yeah, we may occasionally need a bath afterward – but the sand involved a rigorous pre-going-back-into-the-house-dust-off that the rocks have yet to require. Upgrade!
But in the end, as long as Clara is having fun – who cares how messy she gets? Oh and see those white things around the sandbox that sort of look like rocks? It sort of looks like there was lot of rock fling-age going on, but they’re just white petals dropped by our dogwood. We may be jinking ourselves, but so far Clara has been happy to keep the rocks in her rock box since we explained that’s their home and it’s where they need to stay for her to play with them.
Rock on, Beansie. Rock on.
So that’s the long circuitous story – told Hunger Games style, as a trilogy – about…
Have you guys ever done something and then decided to tweak or redo it in the final hour? Do some projects that you think will take forever end up being easier than you thought and then later you tackle some project that you assume will be super simple and that’s the one that randomly ends up being a bit more involved? Ah DIY, you’re a fickle creature, but we can’t help loving you.
Psst- Speaking of things you don’t always get right on the first try, we’re over here chatting about picking paint colors.
Pssssst- To read The Sandbox Chronicles from the beginning, here’s Part 1 (about building the base of the box) and Part 2 (about building the lid which secures to the fence for safety reasons).
Erin says
:( Isn’t that sad about the sand. Well at least Clara doesn’t seem to mind the pebbles!
That ‘Rock Box’ is going to give her hours of entertainment.
Robin @ our semi organic life says
For health’s safety you are the best parents! Yes I’d wondered about that on the last 2 posts since I’ve heard that ‘play sand’ is actually a death trap. You rock!
Patsy Urbanovsky says
Tried to watch the video, but it said “this video is private”.
I think the rocks look really fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Sorry about the video- fixing it now!
xo,
s
Lindsey @ arkadian belle woods says
umm wow! That is super scary! Good thing Sherry caught that. I just can’t believe they actually sell ‘play’ sand for children but in fine print….your kid might die don’t say we didn’t warn you. I think another scary thing is that there have to be millions of parents out here that don’t know about this either. Seriously, that freaks me out a lot. I’m just glad you guys found out and hopefully since your blog is so big, word will spread about this.
Kristen @ Popcorn on the Stove says
Yikes! That sand-thing sort of freaked me out. I never would’ve thought of a rock box to replace the sand but it’s actually a pretty clever idea! Looks like she had a ton of fun with it regardless of what was filled inside.
PS – the video says it’s private
Meghan, UK says
*sad face* your video is showing as ‘private’.
But great switcheroo – that looks like so much fun! John did a great job.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the video warnings guys- we’re fixing it now!
xo,
s
jeannette says
clicking on the video gets me, “This video is private.”
but meanwhile, it’s a scandal, seriously, that CARCINOGENIC sand is being sold as play sand. as your press agent, i’d notify the washington post.
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
So glad you caught that warning, Sherry! How scary and weird that they can legally make products, for children no less, that can cause cancer.
Heads up, that you may have already remedied by now..the vid is private.
Heather says
Bummer about the sand, we had the same problem and ended up returning a bunch of sand one time. We hadn’t opened ours yet when we saw the warning. The “rock box” rocks. Love it! Btw, your video is currently labeled as private, so I couldn’t watch it. Have a good one!
Nikki says
Video is marked private, I think it’s “jinxing” and last but not least…am I allowed to know what 20 bags of rocks set you back?
You guys are awesome and not every parent would’ve gone to this length…glad Clara likes it!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, they were about $2.50 a bag, so around $50!
xo,
s
Lindsey says
I think the video is set to private. Could you fix it, pretty please?
YoungHouseLove says
On it! Should be fixed now!
xo,
s
Laura Broder says
Third tries a charm! I’m glad that you finally made something both you and Clara are happy with.
Also, the video is private :(
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! Fixing that now!
xo,
s
Deb D. says
Nice renovation on the fly of the sand…er, dirt box! FYI, the video says it is private. :-(
Deb D. says
I meant rock box!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I knew what you meant!
xo,
s
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Deb, all fixed!
xo,
s
Tyra says
eek! pretty scary about the sand, but love the rock box idea! also-I could not see the video-said it was private.
great work guys!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the video warnings guys- we’re on it and it should be public now!
xo,
s
Amy says
Oops, the video is coming up as private?
YoungHouseLove says
Fixing that now!
xo,
s
Abigail says
The rock box looks great! Also, is the video marked as private? I won’t play for me.
YoungHouseLove says
Oops! Doing that now!
xo,
s
Kim says
Better safe than sorry. The warnings on those bags of “play sand” should be bigger, bolder, and printed front and back! And they shouldn’t say play sand-they should say “NOT FOR CHILDREN”!
Lisa@wanderdownpennylane says
Dangerous Play Sand…who knew? She seems happy either way so I’m glad you guys noticed the warning and changed it. I completely understand about the DIY challenges. We have encountered easy projects that are more work and harder projects that didn’t end up being so bad.
Our gardening work this weekend took 8 hours (between weeding, mulching, and edging) but it was worth it to see a great result.
http://wanderdownpennylane.blogspot.com/2012/04/our-vow-to-not-be-those-neighbors.html
Katrina @ 'Sota is Sexy says
Rock boxes are the new sandboxes :) Love it!
Stephanie says
So did you try to find sand that didn’t contain silica? Thanks for the head’s up. I will need a fresh bag soon, so I’ll keep a look out for that warning. Jeesh, I swear, the stuff we gotta think about these days… :)
YoungHouseLove says
We learned that safe sand is available, but usually about 3X as expensive, so since John’s niece and nephew had a rock box and loved it, and Clara loves the rock garden at Home Depot so much, it was something we thought could be fun!
xo,
s
Julia says
Just wanted to let you know that your video seems to be private!
Oh, and I really like the rock box! But now Clara can’t build a sandcastle or anything like that…
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the video tip! Clara seems to love transferring and dumping the rocks along with playing basketball with them into buckets, etc. Haha. I think someday if she’d prefer sand we can hunt down some safer beach or river sand- but she seems to love rocks more than sand so far!
xo,
s
annabelvita says
Down the line you could always make/buy a sand and water table – (like this http://www.play.com/Toys/Toys/4-/17940035/Sand-Water-Table/Product.html?_%24ja=tsid:11518|cat:17940035|prd:17940035) – because it needs so much less sand you can splash out on the river sand and Clara gets rocks, sand AND water, ha!
YoungHouseLove says
LOVE that idea for down the line! Clara’s cousin has one and she loves it!
xo,
s
Kelli says
The video says its private. womp womp..
YoungHouseLove says
Fixing that now! Thanks!
xo,
s
Allyn says
What a great idea! Rocks are so much cleaner. I love sand, but dang, cleaning it off kids is not fun. And it makes its way into EVERYTHING.
Pretty freaky about teh sand though. Seriously. Labeling it play sand should not be allowed.
Jane says
Love the sand to rock saga. Don’t blame you for your concern. The sandbox is truly a nice addition to your backyard and Clara will get a lot of playtime there. The only thing missing was Clara’s friend Burger. I thought for sure he would want to help as well. Did you mean for your video to be private?
Looking forward to the next project redo…you always amaze me with your creativity and eagle eye.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw Burger was sleeping! That lazy dog. Haha. He has since had some patio time with us while Clara enjoys the rock box though. And thanks for the video tip- it should be public now!
xo,
s
Jackie E. says
The dino dig places at Disney World are rocking (get it?) with tiny pea gravel and all the kids have a great time looking for bones and a whole lot of nothing there. I know my kids could (and did) spend hours and hours of fun there back in the day.
I like your rock box!!!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so much fun! I love the idea of burying little treasures for Clara to find like fake dinosaur bones and treasure maps and stuff! Haha.
xo,
s
Kristen says
I am amazed at how awesome this looks! John, you did such a fantastic job – and I LOVED your writing! I can’t believe I was excited every day to read the “chronicles” even though our kids are well beyond their rock box days! :-)
Emma says
I’m still flummoxed that a product marked “play sand” would contain known carcinogens. Maybe that was just an example of “over-warning-ing”? Too bad the sand had to go but at least the rock box is a bit easier to deal with. Sand definitely gets everywhere. Nicely done!
Chelsea says
Cancer causing products labeled “Play Sand”! Whats next, asbestos filled teddy bears!?
Nicole Dube says
Sandbox looks awesome! I’m always so impressed with your ingenuity! I was wondering how many hours this project took to complete? And was the money you saved by DIYing it worth all the effort in the end? Do you guys ever do a cost-benefit comparison before DIYing something versus just buying it?
Either way, I LOVE following along!
– Nic
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, if you check out the post before this one we did a cost breakdown and when compared to a wood sandbox without a lid ours was cheaper (and has a full wooden lid). It definitely took time though- maybe 6-8 hours total with the building of the base, the lid, and the switching of the sand to rocks? I think in the end John loves building things for Clara (sort of like how I love sewing things for her, even though I have a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine) so it’s that rewarding feeling of “we made this for you and we hope you get joy from it for a nice long time.”
xo,
s
jennalou says
Wow! who would have thought?
You guys “rock” for replacing that potential problem.
Gosh I think your bad puns are rubbing off on me.
Only kidding keep the bad puns coming!
leah says
I also read that if you do have play sand in your sand box, that you just try to keep it damp, so that it is not inhaled. This can be challenging in warm summer months, especially if you live where it is dry like we do in colorado. We try to make sure and spray our play sand down often in the summer so that it is not inhalable… the label freaked us out too. Maybe we will get a bag o rocks to toss in with our sand this year since we aleady have a box full of play sand.
Courtney says
Perfect! Sorry that it took you such trial and error, but I definitely think the rocks are better, not to mention cleaner. Great idea.
Casey says
Yikes! Why is the WORLD is sand marketed for PLAY boxes? Insane! I am glad she likes the rocks though! I remember loving them as a kid too!
Shanna says
Oh No! I never read the bags of my kids playsand!My kids have outgrown the sandbox but I feel like a bad mommy that my son with Asthma was breathing that stuff! For years! I like the rocks much better – can’t express enough how frustrating it was to sweep sand 3X per day out of my house – for YEARS.
Karla says
My 3 year said ‘I want to get in’!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yay! Come on over!
xo,
s
Sara says
Wow, what a drag having to clear all that sand out, but safety first eh! While I was reading/enjoying your sandbox posts yesterday I was contemplating one for my 2 year old, but then realized/decided to forgo that as she is happy playing in the pea gravel patio (that I made last year). Pea gravel will be lots of fun for your daughter … so long as they can dig and run their fingers through something!
http://sara-another100yearoldhousereno.blogspot.com/2011/11/backyard.html
Morgan says
Was Clara wearing big girl panties?? She couldn’t even remember that there used to be sand…great switch!~!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s actually just a cloth diaper sticking out. Haha.
xo,
s
jeannette says
FYI
Health: [email protected] or 202.334.5031
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jeannette!
xo,
s
Rebekka says
I had never heard about the dangers of play sand! Thanks for this informative post! (I don’t have children yet, but it’s good to always be aware.) What if Clara now thinks this is a magical box that presents her with a different play medium every few days? What’s next?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- seriously! The funny thing is that she calls it her rock box so I think she’s very attached to the rocks already. Her neighbor offered her a cupcake (Clara is obsessed with them) and Clara wouldn’t get out of her rock box for it. Seriously, she’s in love. We couldn’t believe we couldn’t taunt her out of there with iced baked goods! Haha.
xo,
s
Reenie says
Glad you saw the warning…scary! Clara is adorable in the video. :)
Janelle D says
Eep! Good for you for staying calm about the toxic play sand and looking for alternatives. I never would have thought of a rock box. What a fun idea! Clara barely batted an eye at the switch, it seems. Haha.
Ciera @ Rose & Thistle says
Wow, I totally never knew that something specifically designed for kids to play in could be a health risk – thanks for pointing that out! I work in a pre school and spend what seems to be all day sweeping sand up from every crevice so a ‘rock box’ is infinitely more appealing to me than sand! Looks like Clara loves it too.
Lisa says
Love it! Our whole entire play area under the big swingset/fort we bought is pea gravel and I couldn’t be happier! The kids love it and it is SO much cleaner than mulch or sand or any other alternative. So, when you do a swingset, I highly recommend it! There are sites online that tell you the depth to use for safety with swingsets, etc.
One note of caution though with her shoes…tennis shoes or closed toe make all the difference! We used to send the kids out with sandals or open toed shoes and they were constantly getting the gravel in their shoes and coming to me to get it out. So, now we just use tennis shoes and they are good to go! Even the crocs or shoes with holes on the sides caused us issues. So, we keep play shoes in our outside cabinet to grab. :)
Have fun and good job! Oh, and with the playset…order the pea gravel in bulk…cheaper and better quality! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Smart about the shoes! Yesterday Clara must have gotten rocks in them and pulled them off and started using her crocs as shovels. Haha.
xo,
s
Serena says
Hi!
I love this concept, but -and don’t take this the wrong way-I’m so glad to have learned this sandbox lesson through your blog versus my own backyard. Thanks for sharing because I never would have thought of sand possibly being a endangerment… it just wouldn’t have occurrd to me to check!
(And don’t worry, my heart ached a tiny bit too when I saw the emptied box…)
Anyway, looks good!
**FYI: the video you posted of Clara playing in it is flagged as “Private”**
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Serena- it should be public now. Sorry about that!
xo,
s
Zoë says
Well shoot, now I’m rethinking my previously mentioned plan to replace our gravel in our sandbox with actual sand. But the kids just aren’t into the gravel, and don’t play in it at all, but go crazy in sandboxes at local play areas, especially when “digging for fossils”. Thanks for the heads-up!
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says
:( That’s too bad about the sand! I’m surprised they can even market it as “play sand”! Rocks are super fun though… the playground at our local park growing up had pea gravel. I remember spending hours going through the rocks with my Mamaw picking out the prettiest ones to take home.
Jess @ Little House. Big Heart. says
Just go to your local rock quarry and get actual sand. You’ll have to have a truck, but it’s much cheaper and actually the “healthier” natural stuff!
Amy says
Oh my, who knew? Certainly not this mom of three! Thank you for the PSA John and Sherry…helping me with my house and health of my kids :)
Lorraine says
A suggestion other than rocks (for parents concerned about the weight of the gravel) might be corn. Last summer, at a farm market in Richmond, I saw a huge enclosure of corn kernels with several kiddos happily shoveling. Don’t know how they would hold up over the long haul, but it might be worth investigating.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes I lve that idea! Clara played in a big dried corn bin at the fair this year and it was so much fun- my only worry was that animals might try to dig their way into our box to eat it!
xo,
s
heather says
Just a side note note on the corn – while super awesome, if it gets wet and stays wet it will mold/rot.
YoungHouseLove says
Good to know!
xo,
s
Tracy Williams says
Okay, wow! Thanks so much for posting this about the sand. I love the rock box idea even more!
Casey says
Her first reaction was “These are rocks not sand. But I’m no dummy. I know the rules are transferable to a new medium. And like my prior play substance, I shall keep these rocks within the confines of my wooden boundaries.” She’s a smart kiddo, and obviously you’ve instilled good discipline that she would know/assume rules!
Beth says
I hope you were able to return the sand bags for a refund. I totally would have walked the empty bags and my receipt right back to the store. Dangerous play sand?!?!?!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, I wish we had thought of that. The bags went out with this morning’s garbage.
xo,
s
Dave says
read any label….there is always something that can be dangerous for you in using most products….it’s a “just in case”,”cover our butt” legality.
Most stores…with their 13 year old cashiers would tell you they can’t refund it, should have read the label. or plain and simple they are like 13 they don’t care…..lol