My 7 year old son, Aiden has asked me with tears if any other kids in the WORLD like to play with sand? He loves to roll in it, let it run through his fingers, throw it up and watch as it sifts lazily down to earth again. he likes to fill containers with sand (sometimes mud too). He likes dry fine sand the best and would happily play in it for hours and hours. unfortunately he has not yet met another single child who LOVES it the way he does and he wants to know if there are any other kids out there who like doing this?

My DS9 always liked playing in the sand (although he got a little squicky later about mud and dirt). I would say not quite as much as your son though. But he would play in the sand a lot when he was in preschool. Both kids still love the beach. We went to a special beach in Florida a couple of years ago where the sand is very white and fine, and he loved it so much he wanted to bring some back home so we put some in a small plastic baggie. The punchline is that our bags were searched because it looked a little bit too much like an illegal substance...

OMW - that made me giggle. Yep Aiden LOVES the beach. He really really loves the beach.

Aiden would get along well my my trio. You should see the sediment in our bathtub at the end of the day!

My DS8 could play with sand and dirt all day long. If it is anywhere around, he will find it and proceed with digging and playing.

Exactly this with my child!

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/opinion/timothy-egan-let-em-eat-dirt.html?_r=1

My son never minded playing in DRY sand. What drives him nuts is getting his feet wet at the beach and then walking through the dry sand and therefore getting sand stuck to his feet. We had a few tantrums about it when he was younger. It's frustrating because we live near the beach and he loved being IN the ocean but we tend to avoid days at the beach because of this.

Always perplexed me because I love playing in sand & mud.

My DS loooooves to play with sand. He also loves to build with sand. He will build for hours (like 6-7 hours a day) on the beach. Though he prefers wet sand, because it is better to build with, he will happily play with dry sand.

When we go to the beach (which we do often) DD7 has always preferred to lie in the sand on her belly, slither along, and throw sand on her back as she goes. She looks very much like a sea turtle on land. I have umpteen photos of her completely breaded, from head to toe, starting from age 0. I tell people, "She is grounding herself." Seriously, I think she's satisfying her sensory needs.

I think he will be so happy to read these responses. Of course I know the follow up will be - "cool so when can they come play in the sand with me"... BUT that's for another day! lol

Yes! DS is a huge sensory seeker with sand. He wallows in the sand for hours when we go to the park, largely leaving play equipment untouched.

DS6 is another sand lover and can play in it for hours as well. If sand is unavailable then dirt will do...

Children often play in the sand.

Umm....yeah, I'm STILL like your son at age 52. Heck, I just hope a kid with a sandbox and some Tonka toys moves in next door so I've got an excuse!

Ha ha, Old Dad! I am actually similar. Love the sandbox. Always wanted one as a kid and now I'm having fun with ours with my trio

This! Lucky for me, my son is the child you describe. Me + Kinetic sand = human equivalent of kitten with ball of yarn.

Right there with you OD at 51 LOL

The beach and the sandpit are still founts of almost endless entertainment. I say almost because I can still vividly remember the horror of my first cat cacky mining experience. Nothing, to this day, rivals its olfactory odiousness for me.

It doesn't stop there with mere sand either one of the things that I love about the Spring is the smell of the earth when digging garden beds. I have beds that I can sink my arms into up to the elbows and it is a glorious thing.

My DD appears to be cut from the same cloth thankfully :-)

thanks for all the responses. He had a great time earlier this week - his friend's older sister happened to come visit and she played in the sand and mud with him. They managed to get some other kids involved and they were mud covered by the end. Totally amazing and he LOVED it! He got to throw sand, roll in it etc and for once no one complained that he was throwing sand. He was in his element!

My daughter (9) loves playing in sand, but not necessarily rolling around in it. She loves making things, though.