Slide, for indoor use?

[lovepiggie]

Hello! We've been thinking about getting a slide for my DS, almost 17 months, to use inside on rainy/cold days. I'd like it to be fairly small, so it fits in our apartment... And preferably wooden! One day, I'd like to own a house and take it outside, hah. Does anyone know of any slides they would recommend? Does anyone have any btdt stories about indoor slides? (Like, is it actually a really bad idea?) Thanks!

[tzs]

ikea makes a smaller wooden one for toddlers.

[Mayfly]

I found a Little Tikes slide at the thrift and that has worked out well. I like that it can be indoor/outdoor. Just FYI, my daughter has tried the ikea slide and her foot (in a shoe) gets wedged (and once totally stuck) in the ladder. It's nice but that would be a drag to have to deal with.

[crunchy_mommy]

I've seen the IKEA one but it is kind of big (and expensive!) IMO, and I don't think it would be suitable to use outside. I haven't found anything cheaper or smaller though! http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10089916 The very gradual slant makes it take up more space than a steeper slide...

I don't think it's a bad idea to have an indoor slide, but make sure your toddler actually LIKES slides before investing in one... My DS just isn't into slides at all. Several of our friends have brought small toddler slides indoors (mostly for parties, although maybe they keep them inside all winter, I don't know!) and he wants nothing to do with them. He's not into outdoor slides much either but every once in a while he'll go on them for a bit if I go down with him. I can't believe I almost spent $150++ on a slide that he would probably use about 5 times EVER. For him, better physical activities are jumping on the couch/bed, climbing the stairs, etc.

[quantumleap]

We have a slide inside. I wanted a wooden one, preferably in a cube, so with a bit of fort potential too. But, the only thing I could find was waaaaay more money than we could swing. Are either of you handy with wood? We did find plans for a few things. We wound up with a 30$ plastic slide from a department store (Zellers). It's pretty crappy, only because the angle of the slide makes it so that dd stops half way down the slide. My only advice is to make sure there's a demo in the store that you can try before you buy the thing (we didn't do that)! Anyway, our slide is sort of crappy, but it still gets a lot of use both by dd and by her friends (of both the human and the stuffed variety). 

[~Amy~]

We have a Little Tykes one that I picked up off Kijiji quite cheaply.  It was only used for a little while before we got it and is in awesome shaped.  We used it outside over the summer & then moved it back inside for the winter.

[Everrgreen]

I have the Ikea slide and I like it.  It doesn't take up too much space (it's in the corner in my sons playroom).  The slide is gradual, but my son comes flying down that thing!  And he does really enjoy it using it.  He always climbs up the slide rather than using the ladder and he also often uses it for his cars, balls, and other toys.  I wouldn't use it outside though, it's definitely an indoor slide! 

[SimpleLove]

We have the Step2 Kangaroo Climber in our small living space and it's been perfect. Just under $100, I think.

[kittykat2481]

I used to want one of these for the playroom when DS was smaller. I've seen them on craigslist and at garage sales from time to time at a good price. I also know you can get a plain old slide pretty inexpensively too. Neither are wooden, but both will do well inside or out, without taking up too much space.

[sk8boarder15]

Originally Posted by tzs 

ikea makes a smaller wooden one for toddlers.

Yes, my sister has this one in her house for her son, its great! 

[Twinklefae]

We had one for a while and it was great!  It's wonderful to be able to redirect a climber onto something appropriate!

[lovepiggie]

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! Lots of think about... I do know that he loves slides, there is one at the playgroup we go to and he will be on it all morning, so I think it's a pretty safe bet that he would like one at home..I'm going to check out some second hand stores first!