I separated from my son's father back in 2009 just a month before what would be my son's fourth birthday. He actually dealt with the change really well as both his Dad and I tried hard then to keep the disruption to a minimum but as it was his birthday approaching I knew I wanted to make sure he was treated to lots of lovely things so when my mum asked what he might like for his birthday I asked her to buy him the Little Tikes turtle sandbox as I knew it would last well and be well played with.

==What is it==

The Little Tikes turtle sandbox is basically a relatively large sandpit in the shape of a turtle. It is made from a tough green plastic and the base of the sandpit has four legs as well as a turtle head so it looks as though you are looking at a turtle from above I guess. It also has a domed lid which fits on the top of the sandpit meaning that when it is not in use cats and other such horrible things cannot get in there to do their business!

The sandbox measures 109cm by 119cm by 38cm and so it is pretty big. It fits well in to the corner of our back yard and whilst our yard isn't huge by any means we have the sand pit a trampoline and enough space to play as well so those with larger gardens would find it fits very well indeed.

==Our experience==

The sandpit is quite light to carry before it is filled with sand even though the plastic feels thick and of good quality. I was able to pull it outside and put it in to position on my own before filling it with sand. The sand pit is able to hold 70kg of sand but I only put in two 10kg bags each time I use this as I don't want to over fill it and to be honest 20kg of sand is plenty for my son to play with and it doesn't look like the sandpit is under filled or anything!

What I really like about this sand pit is the fact that it has a domed lid which goes on top of the pit when it is not in use. As we keep our sand pit outside there are always cats sniffing around and they like to come in to my back yard for some reason and I wouldn't like to think that my son would be left their horrible presents in his sand. The lid prevents the cats from getting in to the sand as well as other kinds of bugs. As the lid is domed it means that you can keep all your sand toys in the sandpit and you will still be able to shut the lid on top of them. The only issue we have found is that sometimes in particularly nasty weather the lid can lift up and blow off slightly and so at times like this we place something heavy such as a scooter on top of the lid which just makes sure that it is kept in place protecting the sand inside. I always replace the sand in the sand pit each year but as the weather is so unpredictable we all know it can pour down in August yet be glorious in April!

My son really enjoys playing with the sand in this sand pit and whenever we have some nice weather he is out in the back yard playing with this and his other toys and I really encourage that because when I was young I remember I was out playing all the time and I don't really want my son to be out playing on the streets as he is still young and it is not as safe as it used to be but I do still think he needs the benefit of playing out in the fresh air. This sand pit helps to provide something for him to do outside and he enjoys playing with it.

We have always used this sandpit with sand but I see no reason why you couldn't use it for water play if you had no sand or had emptied it from sand and then had some more good weather later in the year.

The sandpit has lasted really well over the two years that we have had it and although there are some patches on the lid where the green colour has faded the main part of the sand pit is in excellent condition considering it has been out in all weather conditions for that time. The sand pit cost my mum around £35.00 a couple of years ago and whilst this may seem a little on the expensive side I can assure you that it isn't for a toy which will last many years. I would say that even children aged one can play in a sand pit as long as they are supervised properly and are stopped from eating the sand so it is something which potentially could last you six or seven years or even more making it excellent value.

Thank you for reading my review!