Sensory water play for toddlers

This post is in collaboration with Crazy Sales

Bub is totally and utterly obsessed with water. She wants to splash around in it any chance she gets and thats not limited to only bath time. Being the little smarty pants she is, she worked out the cats water bowl splashes just as good as the bath and when she can't get to that she just tries to pour the water out of her sippy cup and splash it all over the table. We had an unfortunate incident a few weeks back when she poured water all over my laptop one morning (when daddy was watching her, enough said) and by the time I found it nothing worked. Thankfully after a few hours drying off outside it came back to life. It became quite obvious that I needed to introduce some structured water play into her playtime to avoid any more water damage around the house!

We live in a townhouse and while we have the biggest courtyard in the complex, its no where near big enough for a proper pool. Unfortunately our complex doesn't have a pool either (a major oversight on my part when I bought the townhouse). So, given the space constraints and wanting to avoid water damage inside the house, the next obvious choice was to get a sand and water table for some outdoor play. Whoever invented these was a total genius.

We got the Outdoor Water and Sand Activity Table in blue from Crazy Sales online. The table has two separate sides so it can be used with water and sand at the same time. Both sides have plugs in the bottom which make cleaning up really easy. The table also comes with funnels and water wheels that can be moved into different positions along the edges. There are also six sand moulds, a watering can, two scoops, a rake and two little floating boats. We received one extra orange funnel in our box (there's only meant to be two), but I'm pretty sure it was a fluke so if you order one don't be surprised if you only get the two funnels as advertised. We were just lucky.

So far we've only used it as a water table because I don't have any sand. I'm thinking I'll get some kinetic sand for it, that way it should be easier to pack away if I want to empty it out of the tray - or so they claim on the ads. Shes still been using the sand moulds, upside down as water scoops, even though we have no sand. Her favourite accessory is the watering can because she can watch the water pour out of it. Of course that means she just tries to pour water on me the whole time (but its been so hot lately it doesn't bother me). We've also added in some of our own plastic balls and stacking cups for added sensory play (because she found them and threw them in there).

The table is the perfect height for a toddler. It means she can have fun water play without needing to wear a swim nappy because she won't sit down in the water. She does get wet in the process though so suitable play clothes, togs or no clothes are advised when playing. I learnt that the hard way the first time when she got soaked because she just wanted to splash water out everywhere. The other afternoon when it was really hot I put her table over the shell pool we have to create a double story water play experience and she loved it. That definitely required a swim nappy, it was very messy, but so much fun.

To say she is obsessed with it is an understatement. She is always banging on the back door because she wants to go out the back and play with it. If it wasn't so unbearably hot outside most of them time I'm sure we'd live out there. For now we wait until mid afternoon to have a play when its a little cooler. She would literally spend hours playing at the table if I'd let her. I usually last an hour and then its either too dark or getting too cold so we pack everything up and come inside, much to her disappointment. The only downside to the table is that it causes tantrums when I try to get her to put it away and come back inside!

Overall I was really happy with the service I received from Crazy Sales and I'm extremely happy with the product. It arrived safely and quickly. Its as described (albeit with an added funnel) and is good quality. Shes given it a good work out throwing all the accessories around and there's not a crack to be seen. Even though bub is technically younger than the recommended age she absolutely loves this table and I haven't had any safety concerns while shes been playing with it (of course I supervise her at all times). Crazy Sales also have regular online deals where you can get up to 80% off selected items and they have a huge range of products to choose from, including heaps more outdoor toys for kids. I could literally waste a good few hours trawling their site for goodies.

Toni x

Disclosure - I was asked to review products for Crazy Sales and chose the sand and water table. All opinions are my own based on our experience with the product. I did not receive payment for this review, however this post does contain some affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, should you make a purchase.