| Our verdict: Little Tikes released a sand and water table packed with fun accessories that will keep toddlers entertained for HOURS when playing outside – and under the shade! The Builders Bay Sand and Water Table from Little Tikes is a high quality water table packed with accessories and toys that not only toddlers and kids will enjoy, but also will offer plenty of fun for the grown-ups. |
After our review of Little Tikes Spiralin’ Seas Water Table, a few of our readers got in touch and asked for a review of the Builders Bay Sand and Water Table so I volunteered to writing a thorough review with the help of my husband and our 3-year-old son.
I was excited to take the Little Tikes Builders Bay Sand and Water Table for a spin with my son and his toddler friends. Since the very first moment the table was up in our back yard, it became a key play area.
If there is one thing toddlers around the world will have in common is their unwavering love for water and sand play. The Builders Bay Table offers an incredible opportunity for kids to engage in hands-on play packed with cognitive benefits for everyone involved.
Research shows that creating waves, splashing, spraying and pouring water boosts kids’ creativity and
imagination, whilst providing opportunities for some fun investigative and scientific learning. If you pair water play with sand play, then the list of benefits doubles:
- Water play is a therapeutic activity, especially for children who are naturally hyperactive due to the soothing sensory stimulation that it offers.
- Focusing on a repetitive activity such as sieving, scooping or running their hands through the sand helps children to relax and unwind, whilst improving their ability to concentrate.
- Playing with sand and water helps children to develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills that they will need for important skills such as holding a pen to write, manipulating a knife and fork, getting dressed by themselves, etc.
- Water play offers hands-on scientific learning as kids playfully explore what floats and sinks, experiment how water travels or moves other objects, and learn mathematical concepts such as empty/full, more/less – the list goes on.
- This sand and water table will create a great gathering place in your outdoor area, encouraging children to share, work together and engage in imaginative play – all this helps them develop language and communication skills.
Even though this sand and water table is not an inexpensive option, the price is more than reasonable when you factor in the quality of the materials, the amount of accessories included and the carefully designed surfaces that allow for play even when the table is covered.
Both my husband and I were genuinely surprised by the size of the box:
As with every other hands-on toy review we publish here at TheToyZone, we purchased the Little Tikes Builders Bay Table with our own money to ensure we’re writing unbiased reviews. We do this to fulfil our mission of finding (and recommending) toys that kids will actually love playing with for months and years to come.
If you would prefer to save your money and make an activity out of it, you should definitely look into building your own sand and water table following this easy tutorial.
Right, with that disclaimer out of the way, let’s do this!
Little Tikes Sand and Water Tables Compared
Little Tikes is one of the most prominent brands producing sand and water tables, so this particular model is not the only one.
What I loved ❤️
- The large umbrella to shield kids from the sun is a fantastic addition to the table.
- The collection of toys: a boat dump, an in-built bridge, a crane, a dump truck, a truck cab + trailer, and even a big excavator arm.
- The multi-purpose lids offer a surface to play on even when the table is covered.
What I didn’t like as much 💔
- The lids are flimsy so you need to get a heavy stone to hold them in place, and they are not watertight so I recommend a tarp cover to stop the sand going soggy.
- As we experienced with the Little Tikes Spiralin’ Water Table, the instructions were text-heavy and they would definitely have benefited from more images.
- After a few times removing and reattaching the crane, the base piece that holds it in place became loose.
Specifications:
When you open the box, there are two plastic bags that contain the different parts that you will use to construct the water table:
The table comes as one big piece with four legs that need to be attached with the screws provided:
We recommend using an electric screwdriver as it will speed things up significantly:
My husband was happy to discover that the rubber plug hole didn’t have the issues he experienced while building the Little Tikes water table:
Once the plug and table legs are in, we popped in the different accessories – including the excavator arm, the crane, the spinner and the bridge between both tables:
The last step was adding the water and the sand. According to the manufacturer, the table holds up to 9 litres of water and 22.67 kg of sand. It’s worth mentioning that the sand is not included so we bought a couple of bags separately.
So what did my 3-year-old son think?
This review wouldn’t be complete without considering whether kids had actually enjoyed it. Once the sand and water table was up, my son was immediately glued to it, exploring all the different toys and going back and forth between the sand table and the water table.
The table has become the center of attention every time we had one of our son’s friends over to play. We hosted a few playdates since the table went up and it has got to the point where as soon as a kid comes over, my son takes them directly to the backyard so they can play together with the water.
We even have arranged our outdoor furniture around the Little Tikes table for the grown ups to relax while the kids have fun:
TL;DR
The Builders Bay Sand and Water Table is a great garden water toy that children of different ages will have fun with. The assembly is quick and straightforward, the table is sturdy, and the accessories offer a lot of options for play.
If you’re looking for a water table for a kid who loves playing with trucks, boats, bridges, cranes, excavators and sand, then I would wholeheartedly recommend the Little Tikes Builders Bay Sand and Water Table. With a large play area, this table is also perfect for a few friends or siblings to have fun together without arguments about who gets to play with what.
