Sunday, May 3, 2009

Moon Sand

I took these pictures a few weeks ago, but have been meaning to post them. This is a warning to all parents out there...

MOON SAND IS EVIL!!!!!

Sammie received said product as a Christmas gift (the giver shall remain nameless - you know who you are!!!). We pulled out the moon sand on this particular day, and I told Sammie she could play with it on the kitchen floor.

I thought it would be much like playdough - but gritty in texture. Ooooh no. This stuff is S A N D - yes, real sand. It has a slightly sticky feel to it - so it will clump together and you can make sand castle type shapes by packing it in a round container and slamming it on the ground. But let there be no confusion here. It is sand!

So Sammie is playing with her sand, on the floor, and I'm busy working on my computer. After a few minutes I peek around at her and my ENTIRE FLOOR is COVERED in sand. C-O-V-E-R-E-D... like little sand granules everywhere... and they are sticky.

I hate moon sand. I don't use that word often... but ooooh how i hate moon sand.

So once Sammie tired of playing with the moon sand I had a floor to clean up and a sticky, gritty, child to clean up as well. Fun fact about moon sand - the way you clean it off a kid is pretty much the same way you clean REAL sand off a kid - by hosing them off. Unfortuantely, real sand can get hosed off outside, with a hose. But the moon sand was inside and I had no hose. So I had to give Sam a bath. Then I had to shake her jammies outside to remove excess sand, then put them in the wash and pray that the sand wouldn't clog my nice washing machine. Then I got to mop the kitchen floor.

Have I mentioned I hate moon sand? LOL...

So, all you moms out there (or dads, grandmas/pas, aunties, uncles, friends, babysitters, etc.): moon sand is evil and should be left at the store. If you want your kids to play with sand, take them to the beach. I've learned my lesson.



(ps... these pictures really don't do the situation justice. They were taken about 1/2 way into moon sand play. My kitchen and child weren't fully covered yet.)

17 comments:

Danni said...

I had wondered about that stuff. Glad we didn't try it. Stay away from Floam too. It's evil too! Suffice it to say that my son and I were a floam mess and it's a really fun product to clean up too, NOT!

Jessica said...

I've heard this many times before by many mothers. Hence...we have no moon sand in our home. Though I did just hear from a Mom that it is great in the summer to take outside and play with. Then you really do have a hose. :)

Alanna said...

I so agree Nona. My son got some as a gift as well. He played with it one time, made a giant mess, and it got thrown away.

Jeanne said...

Thanks for the helpful review of this product. I had thought about getting it from time to time and never did.

While she may have had fun, Mommy doesn't need the extra aggravation when cleaning up, that's for sure!

Janelle Janish said...

We played with Moon Sand outside, and I still didn't like it. It got stuck in the grooves in the concrete and was difficult to "hose" down. We prefer plain ole play sand outside. :)

BTW... LOVE your blog!

Misty said...

I agree 100% about the moon sand. My kids love it though. They are only allowed to play with it outside! LOL! Cute pics. I can only imagine what the end result looked like!

Jen said...

Oh I completely agree!!! Moon Sand is EVIL!!!

Danderella said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Danderella said...

Great post! Moon sand is definitely evil! A girlfriend of mine had success with rice. She took a great big bag of the bulk white rice and put it into a large under the bed type rubbermaid container. Her boys played for hours with their trucks and cars and such. For them, it was just like sand. Great for winter play. All you need for clean up is a vacuum!
Love your blog!

Lori Betz said...

YOU SAID IT! I TOTALLY agree with you and have banned it from my house. I actually think real sand is easier to clean off because the stickiness of the moon sand makes it impossible to get rid of. I'm so sorry you had to learn this the hard way!

nonapearl said...

LOL - I see you all agree. Too funny.

Our church actually has a "rice room" for the toddlers. There's a sand box that measures 4 feet by 10 feet and it is filled (about 4-6 inches deep) with rice. The kids love it.

I may consider doing a smaller version (in a rubbermaid as suggested) when our next baby hits the toddler stage.

Sarah said...

You are totally right! My kids are only allowed to play with it outside. I learned the hard way like you...ALL over my kitchen table and floor and carpet and kids...Such a rip off...!
Really really cute photos though!

Heidi Nicole said...

Oh, Nona... I'm on board with ya on this subject! My big mistake? Letting them play with it on carpet!!! Oh goodness... needless to say, I threw the stuff in the garbage! Thanks for sharing though... it's stuff like this that gives us memories and laughs (eventually!)... God bless!

Heidi

Katie said...

Yea...we got Parker some of this for Christmas and I will never get it again! I got tired of cleaning up sand off my floor. BTW, I had to call poison control because my 8 year old ate a bunch of this stuff(duh..he's 8 years old for crying out loud!) and was told it's ok to eat! Good to know! LOL

Stamp4hobby said...

You forgot that Moon Sand then clings to the broom bristles. So every time you sweep, you get Moon Sand on the floor- again.
I seriously ended up buying a new broom after our Moon Sand experience.

Twyla said...

I couldn't agree more. We had red moon sand all over our kitchen. some actually ended up on the tan carpet. Now that was oh so fun to clean LOL

Michelle Nist said...

Oh, this one made me laugh, Nona - because WE too learned about moon sand the hard way!! Luckily it was a nice day out the day they wanted to try it and so played in the garage.

That was a year ago and we still find sand out there!!!