sand and water table?

[spu]

Anyone have one? We're trying to decide between the Little Tikes table and the Berchet table. I like the smaller size of the Berchet, but it's more expensive. Is it better? Since it's smaller, we could bring it inside for the winter too. Can the Little Tikes one go inside too? Is it much taller?

susan

twin girls 7.20.02
charlotte & else

[egoldber]

I have the Little Tikes one. I got it at Costco for $35 a few weeks ago. I have to say I am a bit disappointed with it. We keep it outside on our deck and the INSIDE of the water table had gotten filled with water from rain. I never thought to cover it, but I guess I shoud have. I keep meaning to complain to Little Tikes and I keep forgetting. Maybe I will do that tomorrow...

[Denyse]

I ordered the Little Tykes one for my class of 1 year olds. I have to say, we LOVE it and use it all the time and I want to get one for Brett. However, I am having the same problem with the actual table part filling up with water that can't be dumped out. It makes it really hard to move. Other than that, it's great! Very easy to transport in and out. If you get it, I'd just suggest not leaving it outside in the rain.

[Rachels]

I have the one from www.onestepahead.com and LOVE it! It has plugs in the bottom so water can be easily drained, and it comes with a cover.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

The problem with the Little Tikes table isn't the draining from the "regular" water table. Water has literally gotten INSIDE the interrior of the table. There is no way to drain it.

I am resolved to call Little Tikes about this tomorrow and complain!!

[Denyse]

Let us know what they say. I'm really tired of having to drag mine around my classroom b/c it's too heavy to lift.

[MinnieMouse]

We have the LT table and love it. The neighbors across the street have the kind of table that is a single table with a kind of yin yang separation and they HATE it.

Their biggest problem is that the sand and water are too close together so they get intermixed all the time....which prompted them to either use it with ONLY sand or ONLY water. They have had it since the beginning of the summer and have dumped the sand out twice into the trash. It came w/ it's own cover and it really isn't adequate to protect it from rain.

There are some drawbacks to the LT table as well. It takes 50lbs of sand so it is very heavy to move. We have ours on our front lawn (no backyard) so once a week I go out and help dh move it so he can mow. We have had NO water problems with it because at the suggestion of someone online (can't remember if it was epinions or TRU's site) we picked up a 36" round BBQ grill cover and cover the table whenever it's going to rain significantly. It is actually good to let a tiny bit of water into the sand side as otherwise the sand is POWDER dry and you can't "make" anything with it. We have actually dumped a few large cups of water into it a few times to "fix" it.

In addition we don't find that the two "sides" stay together very well when opening and closing...which isn't too huge of a problem, but is slightly annoying. Basically for day to day we let dd use the sand side and then break out her bathing suit for her to use the water side. Dh was with her when they used the water side for the first time and he called me at work...." Uh..note to self don't let Beth play with the Water Table w/o a suit on...oh and no sandals either!" LOL So if she's just using the sand portion I just take the "lid" off and put it aside.

Dd LOVES her table and plays with it almost every day. We got it around the middle of June and are just about to have to put a new bag of sand into it. A LOT "sneaks" out of the table LOL!

One of the things I like about the LT table is that all close up it is supposed to be able to be used as an art table. It is a bit tall for an art table, but it shouldn't be a problem if the child is standing at it. It is definitely too tall for them to sit and do something on it.

HTH

Christine

[Rachels]

Ohhhhhhhh. Eeek.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[egoldber]

FYI, I called LT this morning. They basically told me it was a design flaw (this is the first year they have offered this product) and to drill holes to let the water drain. Unfortunately, Sarah had a meltdown in the middle of my conversation with the CS rep, so I didn't get around to asking for a refund or some other compensation.

I think if you kept the table covered, it should be fine. The directions did NOT say to do that, so I assumed it was water tight and it wasn't. I did get the impression though that it is SUPPOSED to be and just isn't.

I will say that Sarah ADORES this table. I think it might be a little harder for a younger child to use since it is tall. But Sarah will use it FOREVER!! In fact, she loves it so much there is usually a tantrum involed at the end of "sand time", much to mommy's chagrin.

And I got mine at Costco for $35 which is considerable less expensive than the $60 price at TRU, so I still consider it money well spent.

HTH,

[August Mom]

We are debating between these two tables as well. My mom bought the Berchet table for her house and DS loves it. It drains easily and the toys that come with it are awesome. They are really well made and there are a lot of them. I may forget some, but these are the toys I can remember: cup, strainer, rake, shovel, watering can, pail, turtle mold, another mold, boat. The Little Tikes table just comes with a couple of boats. Sand does always end up in the water of the Berchet table BTW. The Berchet table also has a nice cover for the table. The only thing that makes me hesitate about the Berchet table is that the sand area is pretty small. If you wanted to build something or run a truck through it, there really isn't enough room. You can make one or two small molds and pick up handfuls of sand. Maybe at the point your kids want to do that, though, you get a sandbox. I don't know. My hesitation about the Little Tikes table is that the water side has canals for the boats which DS can't operate at this point. All he wants to do is splash and there isn't much water in the water side of the LT table. So, I think if we wind up with this one for our house we'll fill the sand side with water in the beginning so that DS can splash more and skip the sand until he's older.