I have one of those large blue shells that you can get from clark rubber. That way I put the lid on it when it is not in use.

Re the banana dipping baby……don’t let them have food in the sand pit

Just use a cover for it to keep animals out. I think the pros far outweigh the cons of kids having a sandpit

Positive: the fun, Negative: the mess. My daughter eats the sand and dips her bananas in the sand then eats it. Her poos come out sandy and are literally sanding her bottom. No more sandpits here.

I was thinking of getting one when my baby is a little bit older. I also have cats and am worried that they will see it as being a giant litter box, so was planning to get one with a lid (I’ve seen ones with a clam shell design). There is a sandpit at my baby’s daycare; I’ve noticed when she has played in there she gets sand in her hair and of course I have seen other babies eating the sand.

I like the shade cloth and dowel suggestion, this would definitely keep the neighbourhood cats away. Just not sure what happens when it rains if the sandpit fills up? Maybe a few drainage holes drilled into the bottom?

We had one built in under a cubby house. It provided shade and could be shut up to keep animals out. At another house, we used those blue plastic shell pools and kept sand in one side and closed it up with the other. We’re too far from the beach to be practical to visit, so sand pits provide hours of activity and creativity. The idea of using a cheap dome tent is pretty cool too, having a floor in it to stop the weeds coming through and being able to zip up the flyscreen to keep out the animals. I don’t know how long they’d last but worth a thought.

So long as you have one with a lid, they’re fine. You just have to be diligent to make sure you keep animals out. Having said that, you do end up with sand everywhere!

I remembered a work colleague bought one for her kids and she was complaining that the sand gets dirty very quickly and the kids get into a big mess and she always had to clean it up. We forget that it is sand so maybe best to take them to the beach and it is free .

I suppose being messy is what kids are all about, building castles with water and sand.

I am considering one at the moment but I have so many creepy craw lies that I don’t know if I can trust it even with a cover on.

My first negative is the local cats using it as a giant litter tray :/ But you can get covers fir them which would prevent thus problem. Other then that, the best fun ever! I loved getting in mine as a kid……even when we found the odd cat poo

Great for keeping your children entertained for hours. But can be very messy. My 3 year old loves pretend cooking in there and takes the sandy presend food everywhere

yeah keep it covered up and you can get this thing that “filters” sand but it might be really expensive

I know there are things you cna put in there to stop cats weeing in it but is safe for kids. My main concern would be them getting sand everywhere – but that is no different than going to the beach or playing at some parks.

You can buy ones with a cover – we did but the cover was wooden and quite heavy. I have since discovered that some shade cloth a bit larger than the sandpit and sewn onto a wooden dowel on 2 sides is great – just roll it across after play and the dowel ends keep it in place. It also keeps leaves off and allows the sand to breathe.

You need to have a top to put over your sand pit to prevent cats getting in it and using it as their toilet. It can cause severe rashes on children. I don’t know if it causes any other problems

Thinking about making one over the Christmas Break!

my dog loves lying in ours. we don’t have any cats around here. I think you can buy deterent though. can be a bit messy but every kids needs a sandpit

The tent does sound interesting