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).
John says
Hi John and Sherry,
Just wanted to mention that the warning on the bag may be for liability purposes. Silica is indeed considered a designated substance here in Ontario (the equivalent of regulated materials in the U.S.) but the devil is in the details. Typically, it’s the size of the silica particles that matter. The smaller the particles, the more dangerous as they can be inhaled deep into the lungs where the immune response cannot expel them from the body; larger particles tend to be prevented from entering the airways and easily expelled if inhaled. The order of magnitude of the silica particles is measured in microns – far smaller than the grains typically found in play sand or beach sand.
Anyway, not a reason not to be concerned and good for you for going the extra mile for the health of your daughter!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks John! Very interesting indeed! I think in the end Clara’s so happy with the rocks that it was meant to be, but it certainly has been interesting to learn more than we ever thought possible about sand! Haha. Who would’ve thought?!
xo,
s
Michelle says
What a good save. Glad you saw that cautionary note. I am thinking after Clara is done with this custom playground you can turn it into a bed full of succulents! They would be most happy there, without the lid of course!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh, that could be pretty! You know me and my succulent love…
xo,
s
Julia Catherine says
Wow! I love this, I love the rocks. I personally hate sand (it really ruins the beach for me) because it seems to get everywhere and I can only imagine the challenges of trying to de-sand a toddler. I think the rocks are pretty too. I have to pin this and remember it for the near future. Thanks so much for posting this tutorial.
Meghan says
What a great play spot for Clara! Oh the things her little imagination will come up in there! I can just see the Young House Life posts rolling in filled with treasure hunts and various other adventures in the Rock Box.
I also just wanted to shoot y’all a quick note letting you know how much I admire your grace. You all get the same questions/comments over and over again and answer them as if they each one is the first person to ask the question. And the way you respond to the rude comments a few people have made is fantastic. Your blog really shows that there are still good, wholesome, fun, awkward, Bean loving people in the world and you wont let a few party poopers ruin it.
Also, is it wrong that I’m secretly waiting for a post to pop up where Sherry has to fish a rock out of Katie Bower’s nose after a hardcore patio party?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha thanks Meghan! I do think Katie is the one to watch in those rocks. Although I think she’d try to stuff them in my pants when I least expect it. Haha.
xo,
s
Fiona says
I’m sorry that you had to take out the sand, but awesome work on the box. It looks amazing!
Stef says
Hi guys, I never knew about the play sand!
But I was wondering one thing about your rocks though – are they a choking hazard to the under 3 crowd? I have a little girl a couple of months younger than yours, and even though she doesn’t usually put stuff in her mouth anymore, all small toys are labelled as choking hazards.
Anyway, hi from Australia here. I’ve read your blog for a while, really like it. Shame we’re renting – you always inspire me to paint the walls, but I’m not allowed to!
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’s one of those things where if you have a doubt about her putting things in her mouth I might wait a bit. Clara has been over that phase for nearly a year, but some kids might still “test you” from time to time (she hasn’t but you never know, so one of us always keeps a close eye on her in there). Clara has been finding rocks and leaves and stuff outside to play with for so long that we have confudence it’s somethubg she can handle (and so far she has loved just putting them in buckets and her truck and tossing them into the watering can- they don’t come near her face at all) but I have a friend with two kids and one never puts stuff in her mouth and one is constantly trying to eat thing so she wouldn’t trust him in a rock box quite yet (while her daughter would have no problem). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Laura says
Kudos to you guys for taking the time, energy, and money to make that change!
vegas710 says
Wow, I can’t believe I never thought about using rocks! My kids will LOVE this. :)
CL says
I had one of those green plastic turtles filled with pea-gravel when I was little. My mom didn’t want to clean up the sand constantly. I loved it and have great memories. However, I did put a rock up my cousin’s nose. :)
Morgan says
Hi Younguns,
I’m that kindergarten teacher who wrote you about having an art table in the kitchen for your Bean. I wanted to share this link to a resource for sand toys (an many other educational fun things) :http://www.discountschoolsupply.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product=22046&category=25&CategorySearch=&Brand=&Price=
This company is about suppling preschools so the quality is way above the cheap plastic easily broken drug store stuff. It’s good to give as gifts if you have to buy multiples. You can probably find a similar company on your side of the country.
I also wanted to put in a word for another throughly engaging toddler activity: water play. On a warm day, a dish tub of water on the patio with a few plastic containers can be hours (or at least many minutes) of good clean fun.
I love Clara’s cheerful chatter. So much like my own girl, who also sported minimalist hair until she was about three (then – look out!). She’s away at college studying art and neuroscience now so…sigh.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that! Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Rebecca says
Clay based kitty litter produces silca dust too which cats breath in as they use their litter box and also innocently lick of their coats and ingest.
Its good you noticed it on the packaging and hopefully others will make the connection for their kids and cats health too.
Evan says
It is so helpful to have read this posting of yours… Thank you! Now I won’t make this mistake. I just heard from a friend today that their Saturday project was a sand box and they used the play sand… I just sent them a link to this entry…
Deanna says
Love the way you made your lid for the box! I’ll be working on one like it soon. (-: Our sandbox is 8 foot square, so a bit bigger than yours, but I’ll do 4×8 pieces of plywood for each half and then cut down some 10 foot boards for the “frame.”
Also, for what it’s worth, we went and got a truckload of mason sand from our local quarry to fill our sand box. It was $7.95 a ton and 1.05 tons of sand filled our box almost to the brim. (-: Cheap and safe! But it is a lot messier than a rock box.
My son watched the video of your little one getting in her rock box and is now bugging me that he wants a rock box. I guess I might have to make a smaller box and put pea gravel (which I will also get from the quarry….much cheaper than buying in bags) in it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Erin says
We found those scary labels too- but our garden center had another kind of sand that was apparently a different kind- it didn’t have the same warning label and just said, “washed sand”- so we went with that hoping it was safer. Ours was not overly expensive, but we only put 5 bags in our little sandbox at one time so that we can change it out when the old sand gets too weird or dirty. I think someone else mentioned keeping it damp helps- helps for playing too- so ours is always slightly dampened and rarely dusty- more like wet sand on our pants instead of white dust. Ugh, if only everything could just be SAFE for our kids!
And as for the corn I saw others mention- that’s popular here in farm country where we live. Those boxes are fun- I’ve heard the best way to do them is to keep the corn in a rubbermaid tote that kids can stand and play at but then can be covered and kept sealed when not in use (rather than a box they would sit IN to play with). Prevents the corn from getting wet/moldy or turning into mouse bait. Though corn can also be dusty, dirty, etc. depending on where you get it. Great idea with the rocks!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s such a fun idea!
xo,
s
nana says
Juts discovered your site today. Love the sandbox!!! And clara is ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE <3
Keep it up! ^^
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Nana!
xo,
s
Jenni says
I went through the trauma of getting 24 bags of sand only to read about the warning labels, but then I read somewhere that the actual reports that link silica to cancer are based upon studies of workers who inhaled the dust more than 8 hrs/day, 5 days per week. I decided to let my boys play in sand – there were no warning labels on our sand anyway, which doesn’t mean that it is totally safe, but they also prefer to play in it when it’s wet, which keeps the dust down. I’m not really worried at this point.
Jenni says
Also, you probably aren’t wanting to look at any more research on the internet, but here is a link to the CDC’s research on silica. From a glance, it confirms what I had been reading – it’s really more related to workers who are in hazardous occupations where free silica could really do some damage, like sandblasting, etc. I think the gravel is a great idea too, but for others who are still considering sand, they may want to look at these links.
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/silica/
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for sharing Jenni!
xo,
s
Lesley@ChaoticallyCreative says
John and Sherri, As planned We are rocking a rock box too! We had a bunch of pea gravel in our landscaping that needed to be relocated and didn’t want to throw it out. So we followed your lead. We built a rock box with a toy box extension instead of a cover and filled it with our gravel. We linked to yours for more tips and to help explain why rocks can be a better choice than sand in many cases. Check it out if you get time .http://j.mp/IU3exk
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s awesome! Love the area for toys!
xo,
s
franky says
this is such a fabulous idea! great inspiration….a lot cleaner than sand..
Diane says
Hey!
Just on pinterest and saw this. Instantly thought of you guys and your creative wood skilz. I know you already finished it BUT…
THE LID FOLDS INTO BENCHES!!!!!!
http://www.gltc.co.uk/fcp/product/-/great_outdoors_sandpits/Wooden-Sand-Pit-With-Seats/10000001568
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, so smart!! Growing up John’s had little seats of wood but spiders hid under there, so he’s anti wood-lip, hahaha. Maybe someday we’ll break him of that!
xo,
s
Tamara says
Hey there, we built a box this weekend and planned on getting pea gravel for it as well. HOWEVER I just looked on the MSDS of the pea gravel at our HD in Canada…it has the same Silica as the play sand. I am wondering if you ran into the same problem? Did washing it help? At this point I am just wanting a fun place for our little one and am frustrated at trying to find a non carcinogenic filler! Thanks for any advice you can give :)
YoungHouseLove says
Argh, that’s so frustrating. Ours didn’t have any labels for silica, and if it had silica rocks, we hear those aren’t dangerous (it’s only the dust that can be airated/inhaled) so perhaps if yours are dusty you’ll want to rinse them (ours were just dirty, haha, so we rinsed them down). Thankfully there is no dust that comes up into the air when Clara plays in there, even if she’s scooping and dumping things, just rocks! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Tamara says
Thanks Doll!
JB says
I’m curious – after a 17 months, are the rocks still a hit? I’m always interested in long-term toys (train tracks, doll houses, legos) – things that are a hit for more than few months. Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, still going strong! Sand, rocks, and sticks are Clara’s favorite toys to date.
xo
s
ca says
I never noticed that on the sand bags we used in our sandbox. Now I’ll have to go double-check at Lowes or wherever we got ’em.
Speaking of such surprises… try reading the warning labels on your garden hose, your extension cords, or your christmas lights. They’ll all warn you that they’re dripping in cancer. Seriously. I forget how the wording goes but after I read it on a pack of christmas lights, I leaned over and pointed it out to 2 other shoppers standing next to me. They stomped over to the store manager to find out what was going on. Unfortunately, all he could do was shrug and say they all have that warning.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that’s so scary!
xo
s
Mark says
Silica is sand, sand is silica. There is no difference. It doesn’t matter how it is made. Don’t freak out over a label that is merely a byproduct of our overly litigious country. They don’t want to get sued in case little Timmy gets cancer.
But it’s just sand, for crying out loud. If you let your kids walk on a beach, you should let them play in a sandbox. As long as you don’t lock them in a tiny closet with dry sand filling the air, they should be fine. And try making rock castles some time — not very fun.
K (Barking Babymama) says
My mom gifted my son a sand and water table when he was little, and now both my 3-1/2-year-old and 10 month old love to play in it. BUT sand + water = mud. So it ended up causing me much annoyance because of the inevitable mess – I would have to completely strip them down and bathe them after any backyard playtime! When I saw your sand-turned-rock box I thought “Genius! So much cleaner and just as fun.” I finally took the time to clean out our sand and water table and my husband went and bought fun bright-colored rocks meant for a fish tank and the boys have been loving it, so thanks for the great idea!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s so sweet!
xo
s
Cathy says
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand
before publishing information like this you need to read about the contents of all the sand in the world. After reading your article people should not even be allowed to walk on a sand dune without wearing a respirator. Possibly have an effect on a child that was inhaling inside the bag of sand. Check the facts first before creating hysteria.
YoungHouseLove says
You can scroll back in the comments for more info why it’s different than beach sand :)
xo,
s
Melissa Davis says
Thank you for posting this information about the sand. Who would have known?
Michael Lombardi says
With this in mind, I bought play sand from a major hardware store and inspected the bag for a warning. I found none. It did claim to be premium play sand ideal for sandboxes, etc. Claimed to be thoroughly rinsed and dried. My little one is at the put things in her mouth stage, so I’m glad we didn’t have to go with pebbles.
Angela says
So, I’m on the internet right now, because while we had already decided to go with pea gravel instead of sand for the purpose of limiting the sand mess, my husband noticed the exact same type of WARNING on the bags of pea gravel (purchased at Home Depot). Did your pea gravel not have the same warning, or did you just decide dust would be less of a risk from pea gravel than sand?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Ours definitely didn’t have that warning. Maybe check another nursery or gravel source to see if they have something else?
xo
s
Meghan says
My sister is building a sandbox for my niece and I vaguely remembered something about why sand was not a good option. Then I remembered your awesome rock box and knew that’s where I could find the details. This two-year-old post was a big help. Thanks!
Lilly says
OMG, I’m so glad I found this post! Thank you! I just got m LO 2 sand boxes, one for front porch and one for back yard.
Love the pea size rock idea… BUT I used to be part of a In-Home Daycare group and someone posted how this one toddler that she was babysitting ate rocks during outside play. They found over 20 rock pieces in her tummy and the the daycare provider lost her entire business and was forced to shut down. She has never seen that child put a single rock in her mouth, yet her belly was full of them….
Something to keep in mind and watch out for.
Amanda says
HI, This is awesome and amazing! Can you tell us how much rock you needed?
Thank you
Amanda says
Sorry! I just saw it in the post
:)