Product Review: Moon Sand18 Sep 2007 02:02 pm
By Tracy M
Do not be fooled. Do not be swayed by the kids on the commercial, or your own kids begging in the toy aisle at Target when you are strung out and tired and grandpa has sent them birthday money. Do not cave in! Moon Sand Sucks!!
They Claim:
- Moon Sand molds as easy as wet sand it is not “wet” at all, so it will not stick, or leave a residue behind while playing on any surface. Moon Sand is the cleanest “dough” product out there.
The Reality:
- “Moon Sand” is nothing more than damp sand. It doesn’t stick to your kids, or the table, or even to itself. It’s just sand. With food dye. Or somthing. And, it gets All. Over. Your. Kitchen. Even with a rimmed tray- per their advice. Everywhere.
They Claim:
- Children love playing with Moon Sand to realize their imagination, Adults can use Moon Sand as an advanced free form sculpting medium. The fun is endless
The Reality:
- Beanie lasted about 67 seconds before it stopped being fun. And Bean will play with a bucket of wheat or beans or dirt for, literally, hours. I tried my hand at it. My hands are generally pretty groovy for making things- I couldn’t get the blasted stuff to do anything besides make an imprint of the inside of my clenched fist. Yes, Endless fun, indeed.
Moon Sand? Skip it, mamas. Messy, not fun, and kinda expensive, especially when compared the stalwart and ever-popular (and CHEAP!) Play-Doh.
Rating: 1 Stinky Diaper. (This is my new, personal rating system. It may change with my mood, and is not based on imperical anything.)
Interesting.
Comment #1 by emSeptember 18th, 2007 at 2:12 pmI got an intense forward today about the evil side of capitalism as it relates to children’s toy products.
This definitely belonged on the list.
Play-Doh rocks.
Comment #2 by RaySeptember 18th, 2007 at 2:16 pmWow, I almost bought that for a birthday party this summer. Glad I skipped it. Thanks for the heads up!
Comment #3 by Heather O.September 18th, 2007 at 2:27 pm*Laughing* Thanks for the advice! This was funny.
Comment #4 by Lisa MSeptember 18th, 2007 at 2:41 pmHoly hell, I bought a lot of this stuff for my kids last Christmas. I am not kidding when I tell you it was a major catalyst for recarpeting my basement. It is horrible, horrible stuff, and because it ‘doesn’t dry out’ it also is very difficult to clean. Run away. Run FAR away.
Oh, and I’ve heard horrible things about ‘Floam’too.
Comment #5 by The WizSeptember 18th, 2007 at 2:48 pmThanks for the strict warning! How in the world did they come up with all those product descriptions that are so obviously false!? Marketing stinks.
Comment #6 by SarahSeptember 18th, 2007 at 3:04 pmFYI, Sarah, I skipped my usual generic brand dishwashing soap and bought Cascade yesterday. If my dishes aren’t clean, I’m comin’ for you…
Comment #7 by Heather O.September 18th, 2007 at 3:29 pm(stage whispering) * I like the Electosol tablets with the little ball of JetDry- did they give you one of those to test, too, Ms. Flake?*
Comment #8 by Tracy MSeptember 18th, 2007 at 3:54 pmI bought Moon Sand for my son’s birthday last month. It is now hidden in the depths of the garage. I should have thrown it away.
It is AWFUL. It gets everywhere, stays everywhere. Somehow it even got into my son’s skivvies. He’s not missing it.
Do. Not. Buy. It.
Comment #9 by rynellSeptember 18th, 2007 at 5:10 pmwe went to our local kids museum and they had a sand pit with that instead of sand. BIG MISTAKE! The kids come out with it plastered to their bare or socked feet and it goes EVERYWHERE, and then you can see the blue moon sand ground into the industrial carpet. i wonder if it stains.
Comment #10 by AlisonSeptember 18th, 2007 at 6:16 pmThanks for the heads up! My kids have been wanting me to buy moon sand so badly and fortunately I hadn’t caved in to their incessant begging. I will make sure to tell all my family about it too.
Comment #11 by StaceySeptember 18th, 2007 at 6:26 pmI love the bloggernacle, and I love it even more now can cross out one item on my “hey, it doesn’t say you can’t give them gifts as a friendly gesture from a random ward member after you’ve been assigned to teach a different class, now, does it” potential gift list for my CTR-8 girls. It may be the suncatchers or vinyl clings in the end after all.
(I have also had bad experiences with off-brand Play-doh. Buy the real stuff. That is all.)
Comment #12 by SarahSeptember 18th, 2007 at 7:36 pmOh, man! I did by the flinging flanging stuff for a b-day party gift this summer. Those parents are probably cursing my name! At least we’re not close. I never bought it for my own kids since I imagined it would be just as bad as playdough. Playdough drives me crazy with all the little crumbs of color mushed into everything. (My poor children–Playdough Day is like a national holiday at our house since it rarely comes out more than a couple times a year.) The favorite “crafty” thing at our house is perler beads. You still may end up with a mess on the floor, but at least you can sweep it up easily and there’s no staining! On the downside, it does require adult supervision (at least in the final stages–you have to iron the design to fuse the beads together). Also, I guess it’s not really suitable for toddlers–what with the choking hazard and all. But my 4-11 year olds have loved them–occupies them for hours at a time.
Comment #13 by lbsSeptember 18th, 2007 at 7:44 pmThank you for the warning! I will steer clear!
Comment #14 by meemsSeptember 18th, 2007 at 11:55 pmI’ve heard bad stuff about the Floam too; and not just about the high price. (It involved a major haircut.) :O
Comment #15 by All8September 19th, 2007 at 3:12 amFloam = 1st Circle of Hell! We made the mistake of getting 1 tub a piece for the kids last Christmas…the commercials for it looked really fun, but it was completely the opposite…the goo that goes around the foamy beads slid off of the beads and made a puddle in the bottom of the container and when we tried to mix it all together, all we succedded in doing was getting our hands encased in the goo, which DOES NOT COME OFF USING SOAP AND WATER! We had to use paper towels to pick and peel it off of the kids’ hands. Then, to make matters even better, not only did it stain the kids’ clothes, it stained the kitched countertop! I have used every cleaner known to man on the counter and I still have a faint pink and blue pattern that will be there forever…though it might help me in my crusade to convince my husband that we need granite countertops as a replacement…
Comment #16 by fluffychickySeptember 19th, 2007 at 3:55 amWe had some poor unfortuane mother bring foam for her kids to keep them occupied at Stake conference.
Yeah, that didn’t go well
Comment #17 by SarahSeptember 19th, 2007 at 4:07 ami bought floam AND moon sand for my niece last christmas. she was four and most of the stuff on her list was video games and the likes, so i snagged the two books she wanted and anything crafty. a few days before christmas, i read a blog that detailed the worst gifts of the season. floam and moon sand topped the list and another present i got her was also on it (though i can’t remember what it was). oh, well! i’m married to a HUGE play-doh fan, so we’ve not tried any substitutes in our house.
Comment #18 by makakonaSeptember 19th, 2007 at 4:17 amFloam, too sucks. Big Time. I had the grand idea that it would make a grand therapy experience for Parker.
Dumb, dumb, dumb, idea.
Comment #19 by Tammy and ParkerSeptember 19th, 2007 at 6:04 amOur floam grew mold— it was so gross. Our ‘moon sand’ on the other hand (I got it at the children’s museum a few years ago- it’s called Play Sand and it’s not colored) has been fun, but is only used OUTSIDE.
Comment #20 by claireSeptember 19th, 2007 at 8:35 amThanks for the review! My daughter wants this so badly. She just gave it to her friend as a birthday gift…I hope they don’t hate us for it!! I was going to get this for her as a “big sister” gift when our new baby comes in a month, but I am changing my mind now and will definitley figure something else out.
Comment #21 by AubreySeptember 19th, 2007 at 9:49 amThanks for the headsup!!! my girls have been begging for the moon sand, now I know not to waste my money!! And we had a bad experience with Floam as well. Nothing to catastrophic, it just never came out of the tub right and the kids couldn’t play with it, so it went in the trash, unused. I hate wasting money like that!
Comment #22 by TrixieSeptember 19th, 2007 at 12:51 pmI want to hate the mom who bought my son Moon Sand for his birthday last weekend. I really do. But I can’t because she’s nice and I’m sure she didn’t know what she unleashed on me. We opened it today. My son (5) LOVES it! He never loves crafty stuff. I hate it. It got sent outside so fast! It gets everywhere and does not vacuum up well at all. It just bunches up into wads of… whatever. Yuk! Even though my guy plays with it for an hour at a time, as soon as it’s gone (as in, on the ground outside or wherever it ends up) It’s gone. I will not give this as a gift to anyone.
Comment #23 by marySeptember 20th, 2007 at 5:46 pmMoon Sand does Suck!!! It gave my daughter a rash. It doesn’t clean up easily. It’s enough to drive someone Crazy. Steer clear. Beware!!!
Thank you. Have a good day.
Jen and Em
Comment #24 by jenandemDecember 23rd, 2007 at 9:58 amDoes anyone know how to get it out of the carpet? I can’t get it out!
Comment #25 by VickyJanuary 18th, 2008 at 1:52 pmThis stuff is horrible. I bought some at target and do not know if it is same as that advertisment. It does not make into a castle, makes a mess if sticks all of your kids body. If he has any on him after trying to wash it off then it gets in the carptet and will not come out especially pink. They are doing false advertisement and I hope they do not sell any after people read these comments. I do not know if taget has the same moon sand or not. I also feels sorry for the kids because they get excited about making a castle and can’t even form one with it.
Comment #26 by CourtneyJuly 19th, 2008 at 2:17 pmI bought tons of this and when i say tons I mean a lot. Luckily I put her out on the patio. Let’s just say my indoor outdoor carpet is ruined.
Comment #27 by Am'sAugust 24th, 2008 at 4:24 pmMoon sand totally sucks. I, too, realized this early when my daughter touched the stuff and it stuck to her hands. So I made it outside only fun. Also, not good. When you use it outside, the remnants never go away. I swear I have had a line of blue moonsand between the bricks of my patio for over a year. The little crumbly bits of play-doh dry out and eventually disappear. This stuff is worse than cockroaches.
Comment #28 by CatherineFebruary 2nd, 2009 at 6:23 pm[…] “Moon Sand” is nothing more than damp sand. It doesn’t stick to your kids, or the table, or even to itself. It’s just sand. With food dye. Or somthing. And, it gets All. Over. Your. Kitchen. Even with a rimmed tray- per their advice. Everywhere.” by Moron Mommy Wars. […]
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