It's made water play a daily routine!
Written: Sep 24 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to assemble and use, includes water toys, plenty of room for kids to share.
Cons: Bulky to move after assembled, water gets trapped in water table side.
The Bottom Line: A good value for both indoor and outdoor play. If you want to save on the cost, wait for an end-of-season clearance sale.
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| oddharmonic's Full Review: Little Tikes Easy Store Sand and Water Table |
After looking at several water tables marketed for childcare and school use, I found the Little Tikes Easy Store Sand and Water Table. It was an affordable option for my then three-year-old, so I bought our table from the Little Tikes company store on eBay.
It doesn't come with chairs, so we purchased a set of kid-sized patio chairs that turned out to be a good fit for a preschool-sized child.
In the box: our UPS delivery person said the box was a little unwieldy (it's about 30" square by 12" deep), but once we opened it, assembly was fairly intuitive -- four legs that attach to the sand side of the table with long screws, two more legs that are easily removed from the water side of the table to create cupholders when the table is closed, and some water toys (a bridge, gate, two hand cranks and two boats).
On assembly: use an electric screwdriver or drill to drive the screws attaching the legs. I put in one of the screws by hand after the battery on mine ran down and it took me longer than driving the other seven screws with the power screwdriver.
Like other reviewers, I never got the hinge to stay together. Both sides sit flat if I make sure the protruding lip on the water table side of the hinge locks under the edge of the sand table side.
After use: my daughter managed to get the first 50 pounds of sand completely out of the table in just over a week, so we've put water in both sides ever since. When we bring it in after the weather gets cold, I'm thinking about trying dried beans on the sand side.
Water gets trapped in the water table side, so I drilled a few 1/8" diameter drainage holes along the edges. (Note that this invalidates the warranty. I figured I had a better chance of mold growing inside the table because of the trapped water than something breaking that would be covered by the warranty, so I went ahead and drilled away.)
Overall: it's a good indoor/outdoor toy that can amuse my now four-year-old for a surprisingly long time. It has a few design bugs that could be worked out and since I'm frugal, I'd wait for end-of-season clearance sales to buy another.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 59.99
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
oddharmonic
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Member: Melissa Crawford
Location: Dallas, TX, United States
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Stay-at-home mom and geek of all trades.
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