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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Ball Pit - Good Idea Or Not?
sahm1225 12:01 PM 02-11-2011
What are your opinions on ball pits?
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Blackcat31 12:02 PM 02-11-2011
Originally Posted by sahm1225:
What are your opinions on ball pits?
Had one a while ago...but don't any more because all they ever did was throw the balls and they are hard plastic so I did away with it. The idea was good but the actual use is not.
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SilverSabre25 12:06 PM 02-11-2011
I have a bag of ball-pit balls that are very squishy (got 'em from Target) and will form the Superyard into a big circle and toss the balls in there. Balls are soft enough that throwing them doesn't worry me much and the kids have a blast! I need more balls though. You could also use a plastic wading pool.

We were given one of those inflatable princess ball pits for DD's bday in September and while it was MUCH loved, it got destroyed within a few days--the plastic ripped in a way that makes it impossible to fix.
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DCMomOf3 12:07 PM 02-11-2011
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Had one a while ago...but don't any more because all they ever did was throw the balls and they are hard plastic so I did away with it. The idea was good but the actual use is not.
this is what would happen here so I have never acquired one.
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AmandasFCC 12:09 PM 02-11-2011
Yeah I can't even have balls out for them to play with without constantly having to watch for flying objects. They KNOW we do not throw in the house, but it's just far too tempting with balls! So ball play is done outside in the yard. I would never be brave enough for a ball pit.
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e.j. 12:37 PM 02-11-2011
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
Had one a while ago...but don't any more because all they ever did was throw the balls and they are hard plastic so I did away with it. The idea was good but the actual use is not.
Same here. The kids loved it but I found that in addition to dealing with balls flying everywhere, I was picking them up from every corner of the room and slipping on them if I didn't see them.
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countrymom 12:53 PM 02-11-2011
mine is outside in my enclosed porch, so I have them in a turtle sandbox. A couple of years ago someone at a yard sale sold me 500 balls for 5.00 so I have plenty.
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angelpayne24 02:44 PM 02-11-2011
be ready to watch for flying objects and lots of picking them up constantly!
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E Daycare 02:46 PM 02-11-2011
I have a childs pop-up tent from Ikea set up with various size balls in it and 100 small balls that I also got at target. Ive had it set up in the corner forever and the kids love it. I never have much issue with having to clean up much and if they do go crazy I have them clean up with me and turn the entrance to the wall and call it a day. I dump the balls in the sink to clean them and we are good to go.
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nannyde 03:49 PM 02-11-2011
I don't have balls out in play. My rule is "no throwing" so having something that is for throwing would be confusing to them.

We pull our bin of balls out now and then and everyone sits and does "roll the ball". As soon as someone hurls one they go back into the bin for the next time.
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Sunny Day 05:08 PM 02-11-2011
I had one for, literally, a few days! Kids loved it, but it drove me CRAZY! The balls were everywhere all the time, every time a kid stepped on them, the ball would squish and be destroyed and they were constantly throwing them at each other. The kids just got to rammy and ended up hurting themselves and each other. I sold mine.
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QualiTcare 08:19 PM 02-11-2011
my MIL got my kids a ball pit before i even did daycare and it only lasted a few days with the two of them. they didn't want to stay inside of it and play. what they DID want to do was sit inside of it long enough to throw all of the balls (100+) OUT of it. that got old and FAST. i have one of those huge leaf gathering trash bags full of the balls in my basement that has been there a couple years. i don't even know where the actual "pit" is - and my kids have not once asked what happened to it.

hope that helps.

btw, i think the "ball pits" at mcdonald's and the like are just disgusting. kids pee, puke, you name it in those things - i've always tried to keep my kids away from ball pits in public places bc i can assure you that nobody who is getting paid minimum wage is going to take (or have) the time required to sanitize a ball pit EVER.
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Abigail 10:58 PM 02-11-2011
I would try it because every group of kids is different. DON'T use a blow-up item to contain the balls in because they all rip so fast. I would use a little kid pools, even those that inflate will hold up better than what they advertise as ball pits. If it doesn't work, the balls are great to use for a game of organized toss-in-the-bucket while standing behind this line for older infants-preschool.
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WImom 04:29 AM 02-12-2011
The balls are great to use on their own. We use them outside and have relay races to fill up a basket. The kids also like sorting them by colors.

I like the play yard idea and pool ideas. I think that would last alot longer than one of the blow up ones.
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snbauser 07:20 AM 02-12-2011
We use the baby pools to contain them. They are not out all the time but instead brought out for something fun to do usually when we have a string of days that we can't get outside. The balls do end up everywhere, but the kids are responsible for picking them all up when we are done and cleaning up.
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E Daycare 11:18 AM 02-12-2011
Heres my ball "pit". This is one of the most used area of my home. The kids love it.
Attached: Ballpit.jpg (108.4 KB) 
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Abigail 11:45 PM 02-12-2011
E Daycare, that is cute! I love your bright colors on the wall too! You probably have a good amount of balls in the "pit" but not too many to turn it into a mess. Is that about 25 or so?
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E Daycare 09:49 AM 02-13-2011
Originally Posted by Abigail:
E Daycare, that is cute! I love your bright colors on the wall too! You probably have a good amount of balls in the "pit" but not too many to turn it into a mess. Is that about 25 or so?
Thanks! This is in my living room and the entire living room and kitchen (its one big room) is this color. We bought this house last year and the old homeowners had this color put on the walls when the house was built 3yrs ago so we kept it (our bedroom is lime green with black and white accents so we really enjoy the bright colors LOL). Its a very large room but goes well with all our black appliances and darker furniture and I love it.

The ball pit actually has 150 balls or so in it. A few large ones, some medium ones and ones with different textures. They sometimes go crazy and kick them out but its no often enough for me to be annoyed with it. My DS loves the clean up song right now and enjoys helping. So im enjoying the help while I can. LOL
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E Daycare 10:09 AM 02-13-2011
Sometimes though they will go crazy and it will look like this. Be warned.
Attached: 35946_10150246881070716_698575715_14223475_6156414_n.jpg (62.7 KB) 
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kendallina 06:08 PM 02-13-2011
I have something similar to what E Daycare has. We only have it out sometimes because I just don't have space for it. I love it. The kids love it. We talk about a couple of rules before we play with it and it's never been a problem.
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