sandpits. which one and why please

[deaconblue]

Ds is having a sand pit from nanny for his 1st birthday. She wants to buy expensive one like this
wooden one

I can't see what's wrong with cheapy plastic one like this
plastic one

Opinions please

We have a cheapy plastic one (tortoise shaped of course.) It does its job just fine and anyway all they do is chuck the sand all round the garden!

We have a plastic one. It is fine .

We have the cheapy plastic one too. And dd loves it, but if I had the money I would have preferred the wooden one as it would look nice in the garden.

That;s what I reckon. She thinks it's really important there should be a seat on the edge of the sand pit. Toysrus have even cheaper ladybird one. Wooden one is bigger though so maybe will last longer?

slow typing sorry

Do think the wooden ones are much nicer to look at, ours looks quite smart in our garden and is pretty unobtrusive, they are also better for the environment in terms of a) production and b) will biodegrade once defunct.
Also like the seat at the edge of the one in your first link, will make it easier for LOs to play...

Why would a child need to sit on the edge of the sandpit anyway? Far more fun to sit in it! Burying their feet and legs in sand was certainly part of the fun for mine last summer, and I expect the same this time. And bringing buckets of the stuff into the house, depositing heaps in the living room when I wasn't looking...but let's face it a seat on the side wouldn't stop that!!

Forgot to say I go the double shell type (plastic) one and they love transferring the sand from one to another, although you can also use the other as a small paddling pool. Can't remember how much it cost but it was cheap.

Sorry I also forgot to mention you can also use the other half of the shell as a lid, important if you get cats in your garden!

We've got both kinds, though different designs to the ones you linked to. The wooden one drains much better, so it doesn't get as waterlogged (and thus unusable) if you forget to put the lid on (and we do, all the time). My kids really love being right in there sitting on the sand - no way would they perch neatly on the seat round the edge of the wooden one. How would they get sand in all their creases if they did that? No fun at all.

small children might not use the seat (indeed probably never) but you will when dragged in to help build sandcastles. We have a wooden one - it's 12 years old and still going strong, and I can sit on the edge, which i couldn't do with a clamsheel.

Which ever tpe you choose, it must have a lid to keep aout rain, leaves, cats....

We have a plastic ladybird. The lid is very handy. It's fine but the wooden ones look nice

All 3 played in it last summer (aged 6,5 and 3). I just stopped DH from dragging it off to the dump last weekend in the hope that they'll play with it again this year.

sit on a seat at the side? wtf!
We have a double shell - tesco end of summer sale (umm think it was Aug!) reduced to £2.75, and I would really love the one my friend has that her dad made - wooden box with identical hinged top that opens up, and a built in seat. Am nagging dh to make one

My DC's hardly ever play in the sand pit. They prefer to transport it to other areas of the garden. Well, what else would they do with their wheelbarrow?