So I persuaded hubby to let the kids have sand back in their sand/water table (it was just a water table until now because hubby hates how much sand gets tracked in the house, how it's on the clothes, says it will ruin the washer, etc). What do YOU do to keep sand out of the kids clothes? My plan now is to have them strip before they come in, wipe/wash them down then shake out the clothes, rinse them in our wash tub then throw them in the washing machine. But hubby is convinced it's going to ruin our washer (he used to work for Maytag so he knows the terror sand can cause on washing machines). The sand (when we first put it in there) was wet so I think that made it cling more. Hopefully by today it will be drier so they can just brush it off of them.
Thanks!
Thanks for all your ideas! I told him to stop worrying about it, too - I mean it's not like we're the only family with a sand table/box! LOL
I do like the idea of using pasta or rice. I will definitely use that once we're done with the sand - but I want to maybe put water in one side so I'm assuming rice/pasta would get too sticky/soggy so I'll have to take that into consideration.
Thanks again!!
PS: I have read about the Baby Powder before and will definitely use that. This is why I love Mamapedia!!
The children wore plastic paint smocks when they played in the sand and water tables. And we always kept a bucket of water, just to swish hands and arms. So much sand would settle to the bottom, it amazed me! The kids used it when they went from the sand to the water table, too. It made it easier to clean the grunge from the water table. Have fun!
Along with the sand substitutes mentioned, some of the kindergarten teachers use a colored dry rice mixture that they purchase just for the 'sand' tables. Im sure it can be found on line too.
Get a kiddie pool. Only let them play in the sand in their swimsuits, then have them rinse off in the kiddie pool!
We live at the beach so we get sand everywhere! Dry sand shakes off easily before you wash the clothes. I am sure my washer gets tons of sand in it and it's fine. Tell him to relax and ignore him. Children grow past sand play before you know it.
we have a sand box and we have ZERO problem with sand being tracked in to the house, and we wet the sand sometimes for her to be able to build things
For clothing, it is usually easy enough to shake or brush the sand off outside. Make sure that you unroll the pants legs, pull the pockets inside out etc...
For sand sticking to skin, you can use a little bit of baby powder and and then brush it off. The powder absorbs the water that makes the sand stick and it comes off easier.
You can also try a different material than sand if it's a small amount in a sand table rather than a huge amount needed to fill a sandbox. Birdseed is a great one to use.
And lastly, tell you husband to chill out. Good grief. Do your best to limit the sand inside (of course you will because no one likes sand all over their house,) and let the kids play for pete's sake.
I don't use sand- I use tiny rice or pasta like couscous. Sand is a nightmare, but couscous and orzo vaccuum up like a dream! An old preschool trick and a brilliant one!
This sounds like an awful lot of work for a sand table. Consider ditching the sand and using a Sam's Club sized bag of pasta!
I think your DH needs a chill pill. Other than shaking the dry sand out of clothes outside, I can't think of much more to do. It's just sand. Would he rather have clean, bored, unhappy kids?!! Seriously, the things people worry about nowadays. I long for the days when I grew up & people were not so paranoid!!
