What's in your backyard? Do you love it/recommend it?
We're considering a wooden play structure from Costco, but I am unsure, somehow...I feel like as soon as we install it, our son will hate it, even though he loves to go to the playground at the school down the road.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
Same concerns here and it might make our yard super cramped since we have a pool. We need to do some measuring to see if we have enough safety clearance for the swing!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
Yes, that's our issue as well! Our backyard is long and narrow, so I am really not sure where we'd be able to put this monster. And, we also have a pool and I feel like that should be enough!
I'd love to put the whole mess in the front yard, but it's not enclosed and i am pretty sure the neighbors would freak out!
pomegranate / 3779 posts
You could just do a simple swing in the front yard. Several of our neighbors have them in the trees in the front.
squash / 13208 posts
I would love one but they are soooo $$$$$
We installed 2 swings under the deck and a stand alone slide.
Its worked out great!
nectarine / 2274 posts
Our yard is oddly shaped so we weren't able to buy a play set off the shelves. We ended up getting a custom made one by Cedarworks. It's a huge investment, but it was worth it to us. Lo loves it and plays on it every single day. Plus it's so nice to just open the back door and have access to it. I really wanted 2 swings, but there's an AC unit right next to the playset.
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
Not sure if this is your thing, but I'm obsessed with these: https://imagiplanks.com/
they are expensive, but so cool. I feel like absent of woods for kids to play in, they offer amazing opportunities for open ended play, and they can grow with a kid.
I can see a set of those and a simple swing lasting a kid for a very long time!
We had a small set growing up but I don't remember using it very much. We had a giant rope swing that we used all the time. Granted, we lived rurally so mostly we built rock forts and that sort of thing.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@looch: My husband suggested the same thing about putting it in the front yard! I said heck no.
kiwi / 673 posts
@mamabear57: that is so awesome!! What is the ground covering under the playset?
nectarine / 2274 posts
@beachbee: It's rubber tiles, since our playset is quite tall, we needed something really thick in case LO was to ever fall. Dh did the research and told me that pea gravel/grass/wood chips wouldn't be enough of a give if LO fell from 5 feet (height of the slide). Link below with where we bough the rubber tiles and more information about them.
http://www.rubbercal.com/Eco_Safety.html
@Beebug: The playset area is 20 x 20.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
We like ours, but my older one would rather go to the playground because she can find other kids to play with. She is a bit obsessed with making friends! So I am hoping that we get more use out of it once her little sister is older and can play with her. It is nice to have for play dates, though. And we have used it for 2 home birthday parties.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@mamabear57: thanks for that, very interesting with the rubber tiles! I have seen those before, but I hadn't thought about it for the yard!
@stine_ciro: there's actually a swing hanging from the tree in the front already!
@Silva: thanks for that, also an interesting option!
@Andrea: that's my son exactly, although, once we get there, he usually gravitates towards the bigger kids, which isn't ideal at the moment!
kiwi / 673 posts
@mamabear57: thanks for the link! Those look perfect from a safety perspective. One more question - are you in an area with a lot of rain? I worry about purchasing all of those tiles and them getting moldy since we get a good amount of rainfall. Thanks again!
pineapple / 12526 posts
We're in the process of designing a wooden play structure to custom build in our backyard at home. We're going to build it ourselves, with my dad. Much more cost effective for us.
honeydew / 7091 posts
My SIL has a pretty standard one (much like the ones at Costco) and her 4 yo son refuses to go to a playground now! He gets really upset when she mentions maybe going to a park or something, and he says that he just wants to stay home and play on HIS playground.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@loveisstrange: I had thought about doing it custom, but there's no way I trust us to finish it before my son is off to college! I am exxagerating, but we just don't have the talent to pull it off! I am curious to see what you come up with!
nectarine / 2274 posts
@beachbee: Our contractor still put in whatever necessary for drainage and below the tiles is sand. I'm in SoCal and we're having a drought so I have no experience with rainy weather or mold.
pineapple / 12526 posts
@looch: My dad actually brought it up. He wants to do it for her and he has mad carpentry/home improvement skills. It just happened that DH and I had been discussing it already, so it became a joint project.
We're thinking something with 2 towers and a connecting rope bridge and then a swing set out the side, possibly a sand box under one of them or turning the underneath into a playhouse.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
That sounds awesome! I would love to do something with two towers and a bridge, I feel like the swings are a waste of space!
pomegranate / 3503 posts
We have one. It came with our house when we purchased it. In the past, we would use it here and there but ended up going to the playground more. But I think this year, it will start becoming very useful as the kids are older and don't require as much supervision on it. I can let them out while preparing dinner and still keep an eye on them through the window. Exactly what I pictured when we first bought the house.
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