I share a love hate relationship with Kinetic Sand.
Okay, scratch that. My son loves it and I hate it.
Our first experience with Kinetic sand was three years back. My Big was 2.5 then and my Small hadn’t made his appearance to the world then. With my Big following play rules, it was a breeze.
We had a small tub and it was a contained play. There were spills here and there but it was still manageable.
Once we had our second born, we tried to limit his kinetic sand play. Because, mess + Newborn=Hardwork.
By the time, our baby started to crawl- we called it quits and had the kinetic sand put on the attic.
Fast forward now, my Big is 5.5 years and my small is 2.5 years .
I gave this kinetic sand a second chance.
Today, I spread the entire queen size bedsheet and gave my boys just the sand, a big tub , a couple of pudding moulds and a few pebbles. I also pretended to have a brave heart.
It all started well- the guys loved the sight of it. Touched it , smelled it, poured the pebbles in and used the moulds.
It was a mountain. It was a jelly . It was a castle. The creativity was abundant. Power of free play.
They were at it for a good one hour until they started walking out of the bedsheet. Sounds like a nightmare? It was 😉
The Kinetic sand staying true to its nature- the tiny bits were spread all over my living room.
It looked like a crime scene. I carried my boys to the bathroom- gave them a good scrub bath, came to the living hall ,swept and mopped the floor. After which, I gave myself a wash and had the sandy clothes put on the washing machine.
All that hard work- for one hour of play.
The next time we play with it, I would take it to my terrace. Play it there, wash our hands and feet and then come back home.
Also to think of it, the Ideal time to play with it is in the night and wrap your play with a bath. You can clean or vaccum the room after the littles sleep.
But if you hate all this hard work- just skip the sand. Use oats or playdough for the same sensory experience.
But if you are willing to trade anything for one hour of screen free time , then get it. It’s a delight for our children.
And they aren’t little for a long time 😉
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