The Sandpit
Toys are expensive. Sand — not so much. And we’re not talking about making war in the Middle East!
Our sandpit is one of the best investment we ever made in play equipment for our kids. Not that we actually bought the sand to be a sandpit.
Sandpit pits are great. But no one really talks about them. Is it because they’re boring? Is it because they’re not something you can brand? Or something you “buy”.
I mean — sure you can pay for sand by the bag, by the trailer (that’s a thing here in Oz) and even by the truck.
But it’s only a sandpit once the kids take it over and make it theirs. Our sand wasn’t even bought for them the first time round. We started of yelling at them to stay out of it.
We gave up in the end.
And then we bought the second sand pile. The previous pile got used up.
But again, they just couldn’t help themselves. All that lovely sand, just waiting to be spread around. Why would you leave it in a nice well contained pile in the corner of the yard? Where’s the fun in that!
So somehow all that sand we purchased that we needed for the projects around the place — ended up in their hands. And on their hands.
And in their hair.
And their shoes.
And of course in each other’s eyes.
The repeated yelling of “Stop throwing the sand around boys!” is a pain. You know the saying — with great power comes great responsibility!
Not that we yell at our kids. Who does that. We just hit them since it’s been shown to be less psychologically scaring (Joke guys!)
Back To The Sand
It’s amazing how creative kids can get with just a patch of dirt. Okay — sand. Why sand is better than dirt is something you’ll get once you’ve seen the difference.
Sand doesn’t stick to clothes in the same way as dirt. It just flows right off. Mostly.
There are some dangers of sand. Especially if you’ve got wild animals and feral cats around. Or even not so feral cats. Be careful.
Other than that; look out for the sunburn. Consider putting your sandpit under an awning. Down here we just have to keep them inside between 10am and 3pm. Australia — sun and surf. Slip, slop, slap and all that.
Beaches are made of sand — maybe that’s the attraction?
Sandpits are still cool, even when they’re not as big as a beach.
Just think of all the things you can get up to while they’re safe and busy mucking around in the dirt (sand). Hey darling!
But working out how to do the whole eye bath thing might be a good idea first!
Hey — it’s probably safer than allowing them to paint their nails with nail polish? Who’d do that?
