Should we bother with a backyard swingset

[mommyoftwo]

I am debating getting one for my kids as a birthday present-they will be seven and five this month. We play outside a lot!!

Are they worth the money?

Are there certain brands that are better than others?

Thanks

[mamato3cherubs]

No advice on brands, we got a cheapy form kmart i think. My kids just absolutly love theirs! Unless you get one of the bigger heavier wooden ones though, i dont think the 7 yo would have too much more time to get good use out of it. I think the one my kids have will be good to about 8 or 9 though.

[beanma]

Hey there!

I'm considering it, too, but I got no flat place in our yard! I think they'll enjoy it for awhile yet. The kids at school do love to play outside. I'm contemplating doing like some of our neighbors and nailing (bolting, I guess) a 2 x 8 between two trees and hanging swings from that. Then I was considering making more of a tree house thing. Some of those pre-fab set-ups are $o expen$ive and I'm $o cheap!

[mommyoftwo]

I didn't realize that they could get so expensive.

I think that we are going to skip it-everyone in our neighborhood seems to have one that isn't used.

We'll just stick to walking down to our local playground.

Or visiting you -Beanma!

[RainCoastMama]

I couldn't imagine life without ours. The set is the central focus of much of their outdoor play - it's a Little Tikes set for 0-7 yr olds, 2 swings, fortress, slide, hiding place.

Having said they, they are @&#(*@ expensive - GPs bought ours. I chose the LT one specifically for the rounded edges and safety features, but would love a cedar one when they are older.

I've found a lot on Craigslist either now - springtime - or fall when people don't want to put them away. But act fast - they are popular!

[pinksprklybarefoot]

When I was a kid, we had a cheapie one. My dad built a sandbox in the corner of our yard and put it in that. We used it until we moved. I was 11 and my brother almost 8.

When we moved, our apartment complex had a small park/swingset thing. We used that the entire time we lived there (2 years).

I'm sure the nice wooden ones are a lot more fun and useful, but we managed to have fun on our crappy plastic/metal one. I'm sure it was totally worth the price to my parents.

[Sharlla]

I was thinking about it, WM sells a really decent one for $400.

[spu]

we invested a ton of $ on a swing set, built a pea-gravel bed with organic gardening/siding, and I tell you - boy am I glad we did. We live in a neighborhood, and even though there are playgrounds in all the towns, we'd have to drive to get to one. With our own swing set, if the kids want to go out after dinner or while I'm cooking, or before the bus, they can run out back and play - even if it's just for 10 minutes. They become so creative back there - playing all kinds of games. We even use it in the snow with snow pants (tons of fun on the slide!!!) and can put a sprinkler on top of the slide in the summer.

Have you considered buying a used set? I'd rather a used - but better brand, than something that's filled with splintering wood and chemicals, that needs to be maintained or has a weight-limit.

[rmzbm]

YES!!! SO worth it! Though I am no help on brands...DH was doing a job for a guy and when he moved he GAVE us (FREE! ) their swingset. It's really nice but didn't cost us a penny. So all I can say is it REALLY gets used and I think it would be worth the $.

[mommy2abigail]

I think so. We would never have been able to afford ours, but grandparents/aunts/uncles/friends all chipped in for dd1's second birthday and bought her a nice wooden one. We use it everyday that the weather is nice.

[nataliebassoon]

I remember my brother and I loving ours growing up, and it meant the neighborhood kids liked to hang out at our house- so there's a bonus for keeping an eye on your children, getting to know their friends, etc.

[BusyBeeMom]

Depends where you live. I am a big "public spaces" booster, so if there are parks/playgrounds w/in walking distance, I probably wouldn't - I love encouraging the kids (and myself and the sitter) to engage in the community, meet other kids, etc.

Or, if you have neighbors who have sets and your kids are truly welcome to play, I might not. My kids are at my parents all the time, and they play on the neighbors sets, with the other kids (always supervised by us though, and of course we're very respectful of their things, space, etc).

I live in an apt. We have a little playground at our complex which is great - it's like a backyard, but used by about 7 kids, so there's almost always a playmate!

If none of the above apply, it would probably be really fun for your kids

[root*children]

I bought ours used for $300, it originally was a $1200 from Sam's Club. My kids LOVE it! My nearly 8yo is into the fort/slide/fire pole area, while my nearly 5yo hangs at the swings, under the slide, and the sandbox, but also likes the fort with his friends. The hitch for getting it so cheap was that we had to dismantle and haul it from the sellers' yard.

We looked at the TRU ones that were on sale for about $500, but my husband who's a carpenter felt that they were VERY poorly made. The only decently made ones are closer to $700 & up, so go used!

[cloudswinger]

I got ours from the neighbors trash pile! It was one of those wooden fort things. We were able to rebuild most of it with a few new pieces of wood, and basically got a 1500 set for about 200. If you build your own, you'll find the most expensive stuff is the hardware, which is what I was originally trying to get from their discarded pile, but then other pieces turned out to be salvagable too. And on top of that we got a tube slide off freecycle and added that in.

[mom2annika]

I got a metal one off the local garage sale list for $15. DH (an engineer) took it apart, brought it here, and reassembled it though. Watch for sets with houses that are for sale...very often the sellers will leave it rather than pay freight to ship it. And if the buyers don't have kids or the real estate agent thinks it's taking up too much of the yard, you might get a deal.