Looking for Covered Sandbox - What Do You like About Yours? What to Avoid?

Updated on April 22, 2008
K.O. asks from Saint Paul, MN
10 answers

While we decide on what type of swing set to get, I'd like to entertain my 3yo son with a sandbox (before he destroys the yard). I'm telling him his future sibling (due in May) wants to give it to him! I need a covered one (in case of cats) and thought this group would have some suggestions about particular boxes that have worked well -- or at least tell me some useful feature or sizes that aren't even worth considering. I see the turtle shaped one in yard, but any direction would be appreciated! Thanks!!

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H.T.

answers from Minneapolis on

We have a little tikes sandbox in the shape of a frog. It has a cover. It is small & really only good for 1 kid. We like that you can sit on the outside of the frog.

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L.M.

answers from Minneapolis on

We have the ladybug (same deal as the turtle). My son does enjoy it, but I think it's a little small - when playing with friends, they seem to quickly run out of space for what they want to do. I do love that it has a cover.

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K.R.

answers from Minneapolis on

We have the turtle sand box as well, and I've pretty much liked it. I do day care, and the kids can all crowd around it and play together. We've had the lid come off once in a storm, but I was warned to put rocks on top and have just been to lazy, so that was my fault. And nothing really happened, other than a few sandbox toys being blown across the yard. The only thing that makes me wish we had a different one is that they all want to climb inside, and I really wish they could, but it's just not big enough and isn't built for that kind of play. I had intended to get the Naturally Playful sandbox, since it has sort of little seats on the edge, but they were out when I went to the store, so I got what they had. Now I'm thinking about replacing ours with that one. But I look forward to seeing what other people think!

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C.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

We liked the turtle sandbox at first, but my boys grew out of it quickly. It is fairly small. If you have space, I would look for something bigger. I think Little Tykes used to make something similiar (a red crab or something?) that was bigger. My son was ready for something bigger than the turtle by the time he was 3-4.

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B.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

My daughter has the little tykes sand/water table and I donot recommend this one. The legs are not sturdy and the sand part of the table isn't really big enough. My daughter at age5 who is short for her age was to tall almost to stand and play also.

I would much rather have bought her a old fashioned plastic sandbox that lays directly on the ground with a lid.

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S.N.

answers from Minneapolis on

I bought the Step 2 sand table last year and my son just re-discovered it last night while outside with dad doing yard work. (he's just over 2 1/2). It is supposed to be a sand and water table but so far, we've just put sand in it and he enjoys it. It is a table so there are legs on it and it is the perfect height for little ones. I like that as it keeps them from getting sand in their laps. The cover straps on so no need to worry about any wind issues. There is a whole in the center for an umbrella but we've not used that yet. The only negative, and it's very minor, is that if you don't use the umbrella, there's a hole in the center of the table and my son loves to put sand in the hole. I showed him last night that he was making a pile on the patio so he did stop. That would not keep me from buying it though.

Available at Toys R Us or through Step 2 directly. Here's a link so you can see it - highly recommend. (umbrella color varies, ours in maroon and gold)

http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1304

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B.J.

answers from Minneapolis on

Hi K.-
We have the turtle one- it's great. WE got it at fleet farm in the cities here. We've had to add more sand- but they sell that too. We hold the cover down in high winds by two mid sized rocks.
Sorry about the lay off- you're the fourth person this month I've heard about- one reason I have a pt home bus........just too uncertain of a market.
B. J
____@____.com

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T.N.

answers from Minneapolis on

We have the green plastic frog, which we love, but I do wish I had spent the extra couple of dollars and got the red crab which is a bit larger. It still isn't too small, but when you have more than one child playing in it at a time, the bigger one would be better.
We placed our sandbox in our landscaping rocks near the house so that no one is bothered by the escaping sand. Or set it in an area with wood chips. You can always add more sand. If you put it in the grass you will forever be telling them not to throw out the sand because its killing the grass! :-)
I would also recommend the brown sand that you can get at Menards. The white sandbox sand is pretty, but it sticks to EVERYTHING. Your kids will have it attached to their little scalps forever. The brown kind is like beach sand from around here.

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L.M.

answers from Minneapolis on

I like the plastic Turtle ones, but they also have one that is a little larger that is shaped like a crab. That is the one I bought for my kids. I found it at Fleet Farm in Brooklyn Park, but I have not seen it at the regular stores, target, walmart, ect. I see these little sand boxes all the time at garage sales too. The crab one I bought cost a bit more. I think total with all the bags of playground sand I bought my bill was $80. Then two weeks later I saw the smaller turtle sandbox at a sale for $5. I was kind of kicking myself, but am glad we had a bigger one so the kids were not fighting for there own space.

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