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).
Rachael says
Don’t know if you already answered this or not….what did you do with all the dangerous sand? We have a sandbox with this type of sand that my kids have used for years now. Obviously, I’m getting rid of it ASAP! But I wasn’t sure what to do with the dangerous stuff.
Rachael says
Oh, the post directly before mine asked the same question. I feel silly now! Sorry.
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! We know it can be hard to go through all these comments!
xo,
s
Heather W says
Oh I forgot though Sherry and John if you guys start chewing Clara’s food and passing it to her mouth to mouth I may have to quit reading you blog…… Just saying… =)
Hopefully you have seen the Alicia Silverstone video if not please disregard as a dumb comment.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- we did see that! It’s definitely something else!
xo,
s
Heather W says
Whoops I left a comment after Skye’s rude comment to you about being over protective just realized I forgot to hit the reply button again….
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, no worries!
xo,
s
Teresa says
Even though you threw out the sand bags, I’ll bet the store would give you a refund if you just produced your receipt…they probably have it on file. You are definitely a repeat customer and it doesn’t pay for stores to lose a good customer. Also, this problem NEEDS to be brought to the attention of the buyers for the chain! Safe play sand is available and, even if it is more expensive, it should be available as an alternative. If none of the cheaper stuff sells, they’ll stop carrying it!
Missy G. says
OK, 2 things. First, I love reading through all the comments, and just wanted to commend you for your great attitude when bombarded when the same comments over and over again and when criticized or questioned on your parenting methods. Y’all are great, IMO.
Second, the Amazon products caught my eye while reading through the post today. How often do y’all update those?
P.S. I just laughed out loud at my desk bc I realized your Amazon links are labeled as “We’re Digging.” Rock on, Petersiks. Har har. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Missy! We usually update our sidebar list every month. And that’s hilarious that it’s called We’re Digging. Har-har.
xo,
s
Mamaw03T says
I actually prefer rock boxes over sand boxes…much less messy. Yeah, I’d say she got over it rather well. She’s ADORABLE!!!
theresa says
We used Crayola sand in our kids’ sandbox. It comes it some awesome colors and is safe. :)
Sheila says
On a completely different note… the sand may be good for the yard. It should help break up the clay soil a bit. Not that it really matters out in the wilds but would be great in a veggie garden to help with drainage! Who knows- maybe you made some plants happy. Haha!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, here’s hoping!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
That reminds me of an OLD SNL skit with Dan Akroyd as a sleazy toy salesman who sold the “Bag ‘O Glass.” It was just a bunch of glass chards for kids to play with. :)
I love the rocks idea! And now you won’t have her bringing sand in the house every time she plays out there.
When I was a kid, at church we had a rice box. It just had a ton of dry, white rice in it. It was a big hit!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love that skit.
xo,
s
Amanda says
Sorry, but as a geologist, I’m laughing my head off at the concept of trying to find “sand without silica.” Silica is… quartz. A.K.A. the second most common mineral on Earth’s surface. Finding some river or beach sand without silica is like finding a bit of air with no oxygen in it.
Okay, that said, silica dust is a legitimate health problem. Quartz/silica isn’t going to hurt you if it’s in sand-sized grains, but it definitely can if you’re inhaling lots of microscopic particles. If she was coming out of the sand that dusty (and not just sandy), it makes sense to me that that could be an actual health hazard. I’m not questioning your decision here at all; it sounds like you made the right call. Just… the concept of silica-free sand is really, really funny.
To assuage your fears a little more: So, you know sand-blasted jeans? A lot of those are made in third-world countries in poor safety conditions, and there’s just tons of sand being kicked around, breaking off bits of dust constantly, and the workers are breathing in the silica-dust-laden area for 8 or 10 hours a day. They do suffer severe health problems after a few years. (Reasons not to buy sand-blasted jeans…) But I want to emphasize that that’s 40+ hours a week for years in an environment that is really really high in dust. The much lower dust-concentration environment of a sandbox for just a few hours a week will not pose those anywhere near the same kinds of health hazards. So no need to panic about the occasional sand box exposure. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the info Amanda! Never knew that about sandblasted jeans! We just saw that warning label, did some google searching, and found enough other folks taking the precaution to avoid it so we did too. I think thicker more granulated sand would be a lot nicer for a sandbox, but ours was so fine it was practically dust (Clara even had sand boogers that night from the dust that lined the inside of her nose after playing).
xo,
s
Andreea Sfarlea says
The rock box is looking great! So terrifying about the dangerous sand :( I wonder about the sand in playgrounds now..
A note of warning, small rocks can be pushed inside ears and noses! Don’t let Clara play unassisted with the rocks. :)
I don’t want to scare you, but a dear friend of mine, put a rock up his nostril when he was a toddler and it took 3 years to be discovered by a doctor on a routine check up. It got imbedded in the flesh, practically the nose grew around the little pebble. It was not complicated to take out but quite traumatic for him and during the years it stayed in the nose, he had various symptoms that really concerned his parents, therefore he had a lot of tests done without finding what’s wrong with him. I am quite scarred of small objects because of my friend story and I hoover over my daughter every time she plays with rocks.
BR,
Andreea
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, so scary! We hear some kids do the up-the-nose thing so we watch Clara (with peas, rocks, Legos, etc) – so far she just likes playing with those things and occasionally sticking them in her pocket or shoe! Haha.
xo,
s
Holly says
I’m really glad you switched out the sand. As an optometrist there are certain parasites (one being toxoplasmosis) that can get into sand that rarely can make their way into the eye and cause visual havoc. I remember sitting in class listening to a retinal specialist lecture and him telling us he would never let his children or grandchildren play in the dirt or sandboxes.
The rocks will be just as fun (and cleaner). Looks great!
Dave says
I see you guys are putting down a lot of mulch.
Here is a freebie for you… check online or call around to companies that cut down trees. They are a great source of free mulch (natural color). In stead of them chipping up trees and taking it to the dump they will deliver it to you and both of you benefit, no dumping charges for him and free mulch for you and ya great sustainable living.
Of course it will not be red or black dyed like some of the fancy mulch but i don’t want extra chemicals and coloring in my beds anyways. As much as you want for free….big money savings when you have a big property.
I have owned a home for 7 years and never once paid for mulch! (the stores charge almost 5 buck after taxes for a 30 liter bag of mulch in Canada. cha-ching.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that tip! Wow- it’s amazing how much you’ve saved!
xo,
s
Sally says
I’ve never bought a bag of mulch either. But I have bought it by the yard and hauled it in a friend’s pick-up. And our first year in our house we had 3 yards delivered. It’s way cheaper than by the bag.
YoungHouseLove says
Amazing!
xo,
s
Jillian {Her Split Ends} says
I Love the idea of a rock box…less messy…tons o fun for the munchkin AND how much cooler is it to say “rockin box” then “sandin er box”
Love it!!
~ Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
Tamrah Ryan says
Thanks for posting this… we are probably going to tackle a sandbox project this summer and now we might have to go for rocks. Although, our 2.5 year old still puts rocks into his mouth. Sounds like Clara has figured out rocks aren’t food… hopefully my little guy will figure it out one of these days. Haha.
The box turned out great! Love it! :)
Tirzah says
I don’t know if someone already mentioned this, but adding sand is great for clay soil. It makes it drain better. You can mix it in to your flowerbed before you plant it. (You might want to wear a mask while you are combining it with the soil though.)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much for the tip Tirzah!
xo,
s
Heather says
Hi — I spent last summer researching play sand and discovered you can wet it down with a hose and it takes away the dust problem. The dust is the dangerous part because you are breathing it in. I am so happy to read about another solution and will be using the pea gravel this year. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Sure, glad to help! Wetting it down sounds like a great solution for someone who wants to keep their sand in use!
xo,
s
Dave says
http://1940census.archives.gov/
Can find our some of the history about your house for free!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that! We looked ours up (this one and our first one) but no dice. Maybe since they’re 50s/60s and not 40s?
xo,
s
Karyn says
People always say “dumb as a box of rocks” but I think this is pretty ingenious! Clara obviously loves it, too. I am a fan of the look of the box, very handsome!
Erika says
Awe; you are such a sweet parents to fix Clara a rock box! She seems to love it, and I know she’ll have so much fun playing in it for years to come.
I like seeing that left-handed shoveling action, too :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, she’s 100% leftie! It’s hilarious, if you hand her something without thinking to her right hand she just switches!
xo,
s
Lori says
Haha! I can’t believe I suggested pea gravel on Sandbox Chronicles: Part 1, thinking, “Oh darn. I’m too late and I’ve missed getting to make that suggestion,” but in the end that’s what you used! Yeah! I think you’ll love your decision.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, we ended up in the same place!
xo,
s
googiemomma/shannon says
Awesome! Sand boxes….well i gotta be honest. Work and hassle and mess and cat poo because the lid is off (oops, forgot) and sand EVERYWHERE and send that disappears and has to be replaced every year….no. thank. You.
But this rock box? This I’m digging (pun not intended)
Great job!
Kara says
OMG Clara is so cute! She has speech mannerisms that remind me of my son – so matter of fact and well-spoken.
Our back yard is mostly gravel (hello Arizona xeriscape) and we have spent many an hour scooping it from place to place with tiny dollar store plastic shovels. :)
Lindsey says
A rock box is freaking GENIUS!!! I HATE sand. With a passion. And I’ve caught a lot of flack for nixing a sandbox for my kids. Now I have an alternative that I’m excited about!!! Way to go!
Andrea says
Oh my gosh, you guys are brilliant! I bought the play sand ages ago for our playground, but had to remove it when the neighborhood cats decided it makes a nice litter box. So our sandbox has been empty for the past 6 months, while I get around to building covers (get on that already, I know…) but this is SUCH a better solution! I’m definitely going to do this (and build the covers, I swear!) Thank you, thank you, thank you! Yay.
Connie says
There was a trend when my now almost 20-year old daughter was little, to put pea gravel in sandboxes/play areas, but I remember hearing about kids putting it in their mouths, noses or ears, so it was generally advised against. Thankfully, I didn’t have the type of kid that put weird things into body cavities though! Hopefully, Clara is the same way, and I know she’ll be under your watchful eyes till she’s for sure old enough to know better.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, yes I think there’s a risk for putting lots of things in mouths/nose/ears (peas, Legos, etc) so we just keep an eye out! Thankfully she hasn’t tried to pull any fast ones yet! Haha.
xo,
s
Sally says
Wow! We “inherited” a sandbox with our house and now I’m wondering what’s in it. I don’t have kids, but our nephews and friends’ kids use it.
I grew up in the coastal plain of Maryland. We had a sandbox growing up…my dad built a box, removed the topsoil and let us dig. So it was psuedo dirt/psuedo sand but totally fun. If we dug far enough we hit roots. And it was uncovered, so part of the fun was picking out the sweetgum balls and whirligigs.
So…I guess my childhood sandbox was less safe since it was uncovered but more safe ’cause it was real sand!
Carla says
Hmmm, thanks for the reply to my question about returning the sand and getting a refund. I’m a refund queen and wouldn’t have hesitated to speak to a store manager and let them know my concern and to also insist on a full refund. I’ve done this before. The result was the product eventually being yanked from the shelf, which no doubt helped keep a lot of people safe. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Carla! That gives me the confidence to mention it to them the next time we’re there and see how it goes.
xo,
s
paula says
Nice idea but a very american reaction to a generic warning. Kinda like not letting someone eat anything that says “may contain trace nuts”. Even though it’s just about covering the companies backside.
Great site and love reading about all of your wonderful projects. Think I may stick with the sand box over the rock box in the future though. How are the kids meant to make castles?
YoungHouseLove says
For now Clara’s too little to make sandcastles, but we do go to the beach pretty frequently so if she gets interested in them we can get beach or river sand for our sandbox (we just went with rocks since she seems to love them more for now). There are definitely things you can do with sand that you can’t do with rocks (like building castles) and things you can do with rocks that you can’t do with sand (Clara likes playing a tiny game of rock basketball, where she tosses rocks one by one into her truck or bucket). I think it’s just about choosing whatever material your kiddo likes more!
xo,
s
Lisa says
Paula – Just want to clarify for you that many people do have anaphylactic reactions to “trace” amounts of nuts( or peanuts, or seafood, or whatever they are allergic too). I have seen it happen and I don’t wish it on anyone.
So, please don’t say that is an “American” reaction to a generic warning. If you have ever had your throat close up or watch your child struggle to breath, I don’t think you would think it was the company trying to save their backsides. Don’t mean to be dramatic, but food allergies are real and some people are so allergic that even a trace amount can cause death.
Cindy says
Paula, since you mention avoiding food based on that nut warning as an overreaction — research shows that food with “may contain” warnings very often (almost always, in fact) DOES contain the food warned against. And for someone with an allergy (like my daughter’s peanut allergy), that’s potentially life threatening. So that’s a perfectly legitimate reason to avoid a food.
Georgia says
I can’t believe thst about PLAY sand! My kids lived in our sand box when they were little. But I wish I’d known about rock boxes: you don’t have to worry about cats in it; you don’t have sand trapsed all through the house; and you won’t have days where the sand is too wet to use. Fantastic idea.
Jennifer L says
Weird about the sand! I remember playing in the sandbox in my yard as a kid and we must have had better quality sand back in the day (80s). I don’t remember being dusty like that, and I’d be able to go right in the house after playing in the box. It was more like the beach sand that was mentioned in your WebMD article. What a shame.
Cassie Helwig says
That’s so weird about the sand! Good to find out now instead of later though…
When I worked at a daycare, kids in diapers/shorts ALWAYS came back in with rocks stashed in them from wiggling their butts around… we would come in and go potty/wash hands, and when we pulled their diapers off rocks would go EVERYWHERE. Much better than sand though!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so funny! We have yet to find a diaper rock, but we’ll keep an eye out!
xo,
s
Chris says
Awesome job! So, at the risk of sounding totally creepy, last night I had a dream that you guys made awesome DIY play structures all over your backyard and dozens of kids were back there playing. You guys are infiltrating my dreams!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s too funny! I wish we could dream about building something and wake up and it would be done. Oh man, that would be awesome!
xo,
s
Cathy says
I thought about the whole safety thing, as I had read a while back about that warning with play sand… and I thought about saying something yesterday, but didn’t want to offend. I’m glad you all found the pea gravel solution.
Scotti says
I discovered this play sand problem through a local moms blog a few years ago and was grateful for the information- so thanks for sharing with so many other moms.
We can get beach sand by the bag in our area and it’s so much nicer to play in than “play sand” that it makes it worth the small added expense. It’s a nicer texture and not at all “dusty”.
Check decorative/landscape rock type retailers for prices too – they can be cheaper than big-box stores.
Natalie says
haha I love how she immediately started filling up the watering can! Too cute!
Kym says
Yeah, that play sand is also kind of a pain when it dries out…it’s SO dusty!!!!! My mom and dad filled our sandbox with masonry sand (it’s not as fine as the play sand, and not as dusty). Just plain old sand. And no warnings. :) Only the best for their grandsons!!!
KathyG says
The gravel is such a good alternative to the sand. Even if there wasn’t the safety issue, if you had thought of it originally, I bet the cleanliness alone would make lots of moms switch!
I wondered if the pebbles might be too hard on her fingers? Any problems with that so far?
And if I was a betting woman, I bed on “Chapter 4, Reader Inspired Chalkboard Paint” (said in my best James Earl Jones imitation) for tomorrow. haha
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully since they’re round, like smooth pebbles, the pea gravel is easy on her fingers! I think if it was the crushed gravel it could have been too sharp to sit in and play comfortably.
xo,
s
Samantha says
aaaaaaaaaand now i will be making a stop at home depot tomorrow.
yikes!!!
we just filled our own sandbox a few weeks ago while doing some spring yard clean up. we didn’t buy the bags that were specifically labeled “play sand” but we grabbed about 15 bags of another sand from their garden dept. i didn’t see a warning label on the bag, but now i am going to go back to check just to be sure.
ack! that is so worrisome and i am SOOO glad you guys caught it before your precious daughter had too much playtime in there. the rocks look awesome, and our boys would LOVE that! and like you, mom and dad would love not having to hose them down before they can step foot in the house too. :-)
thanks for the heads up – home depot is now on my to do list for tomorrow!
samantha
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck Samantha! I hope the kind you picked up is ok!
xo,
s
Laura says
Oh my goodness! I’m glad you caught that and are so on-the-ball.
I used to do this therapeutic technique with kids called sandtray w/ a mini indoor sandbox. We always ordered our sand from childtherapytoys.com. I thought it was because of the texture (it’s finer than regular play sand and you can order it in different colors). I went back and double-checked after reading your post – luckily it is safe sand. You could always build a small sandtray for indoor use. That way, you don’t have to fill a whole outdoor sandbox w/ more expensive safe sand and you don’t have to worry about the elements or animals spoiling the sand.
YoungHouseLove says
So glad it’s safe sand! It sounds like a fun idea to have a small sand tray for indoor (or sunroom) use!
xo,
s
Gaby says
So how do you make sandcastles??? Aren’t you worried about her eating them or putting them in her ears or up her nose?
YoungHouseLove says
We hear that you have to watch out for kids putting lots of things up their nose/ears (peas, Legos, etc) so of course we’ll keep an eye out but so far she hasn’t tried it with food, toys, or the rocks. As for making sandcastles, at 22 months old she’s not old enough to be able to do that yet, although we’d definitely replace the rocks with river or beach sand down the line if that becomes something she’s interested in. Until then she seems completely happy doing things she couldn’t do with sand with her rocks (ex: sticking one rock at a time in the window of her truck, or playing rock basketball by tossing them into her bucket) so it’s working out!
xo,
s
Janina says
I’m from Europe this kind of sand is really not a big deal over there – and it’s not the case that european parents don’t care about the child’s safety. What I do on a daily basis when using this kind of sand is keep it moist! Only if the sand is REALLY dry then it could be dangerous if you inhale it for a long period of time (the warning is kind of like the one that you find sometimes on sleepware “keep away from fire” :-) )
But you found a solution that works for you.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we have heard that wetting it down is a great way to keep it from being inhaled! It’s a great solution as well!
xo,
s
Melissa says
This has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the topic at hand, but I was watching yesterday’s 404 podcast (daily tech *kind of* podcast from CNET) and they were discussing funny IKEA product names. Look what I saw!
http://i39.tinypic.com/1179ws1.png
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah- our favorite Ikea name ever!
xo,
s
Sally says
Omg. Let ur kid play in the sand like every other kid in the world has for years. I’m sure no kid has been diagnosed with cancer because of a sandbox. People like u nauseate me. Let ur kid be a kid without worries that going into public bathrooms will “cause lung disease”. Jesus. Go to the country and see what real people are dealing with and get over yourself and let ur kid play in a f*cking sandbox like kids across America have for years
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry to make ya nauseous! We just made a call that works for our family. If we’ve learned one thing about blogging and parenting, it’s that every kid/family/home is different so we just share what works for our family and hope that other folks out there do whatever works best for theirs! If you read the post you’ll see that certain types of sand are made differently these days than the stuff we played in when we were little (sort of like how they say “they don’t make ’em like they used to” about certain things – apparently sand is one of those things). We just didn’t feel right plopping our toddler down in a substance with a cancer warning on the label.
xo,
s
Julia says
Love the rock box! Such a sweet idea, and I totally think it will be less dirty than that stupid cancer-sand. And not to mention, I would imagine that you will not have to replace/refill the rocks nearly as often as you would with the sand.
Melissa says
My husband and I just purchased a large sandbox for our daughter and went through the same thing with the sand, however after some searching for a “safe sand” we came across a product made by Crayola. It’s a 20lb bag of colored sand( we found pink and blue) from Walmart. It’s a bit more pricey but if it is safe for my child I’m defiantly willing to pay a little more! Here is a link From Crayola that gives you all the info on the product
http://www.coloredsandstore.com/general-faq/
Hope this helps!
YoungHouseLove says
That sounds so cute! I love that it comes in colors. Such a smart solution!
xo,
s
Carolyn L says
I can’t even handle Clara’s adorable-cute-precious-fun-adaptable-ness!!! She is the little girl all future mamas (like me! not yet!) want their little girls to be like! Holiday tantrums, ABC’s, strawberries, santa balloon smushing and all!! xoxo
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Carolyn! You’re so sweet.
xo,
s
Susan says
I love the handles on the cover. We should add those to our sandbox lid.
Here in Cali the play sand = itty, bitty rocks. We were pretty shocked to open our 1st bag of play sand and see…not sand. Now I know why! :) Glad you caught the warning on the bag. The stores should be pressured to stop selling that stuff.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so funny! We hear that Cali is one of the most progressive states about child safety, so that’s really cool! They must have moved to bigger granules since they don’t aerate into dust and get inhaled!
xo,
s
may says
another option for “safe” sand is just to get sand from the beach– that’s what my mom did to fill our sandbox when we were little! i cannot believe they sell something toxic and label it as “play sand.” crazy world.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, apparently beach sand and river sand are the best!
xo,
s
Steph says
I just love you guys. I really applaud you for keeping this a drama free place and handling some not so nice criticism with a positive outlook! You guys never sound defensive and are so sweet about your replies :)
Honestly, I never had a sandbox growing up, so the idea of Clara not having sand castles makes me smile. We went to the beach enough (it seems like you guys do too!) so I got my sand fix there. I don’t have kids yet, but I appreciate you guys passing the knowledge on so people are aware!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, thanks Steph!
xo,
s