Published: 26/07/2010 by The Moomie Blog and Forum

Sand-play has been shown to have positive effects on cognitive, physical, communicative, creative and social-emotional development. We have included a few sand-pit tips so that you can make sand-play safe and fun!

*Invest in a sand-pit cover. This can be made of any durable material such as canvas, PVC or hard plastic sheeting. The covers add protection from rain and cats, and help to keep them free of falling leaves and other wind-blow materials.

*Consider growing some Plectranthus ornatus around the periphery of the sand-pit. The plant has been nick-named 'Scardy Cat' because of its unique ability to deter cats, but is not offensive to people or children.

*Regularly wash your sand but hosing it down with water (for this you need to make sure you have a good drainage system). You can also add large bags of salt to the sand to de-sanitize it and kill insect and worm larvae.

*Always make sure that you treat your children for worms on a regular basis.

*Make sand-play fun by adding all sorts of play goodies. Buckets, spades, bowls, pots, jugs, funnels, a colander, ice-cream sticks, farm animals, toy cars, fake flowers, and blocks. Add a small bucket or bowel of water if you don’t mind a little muddy fun!

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