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Posts tagged outdoor swing set
On Finding the Swing Set That Suits Your Kids
Dec 28th
Most swing set manufacturers see toddler swing sets as a very small subset of their larger product line. In fact, not many companies even make separate swing sets for toddlers. Perhaps they feel that since it’s inevitable that toddlers will quickly outgrow this stage, they would do better to concentrate on the regular children’s swing set. Whatever the reason, if you’re looking for a set of swings for your toddler, you may not have as wide a range of choices as you’d like.
The main swing set companies, such as Play Nation or Rainbow Play Systems, for example, don’t really offer toddler swing sets among their playground products. Instead, they provide individual bucket swings that can be added to the larger sets as swing accessories. These bucket swings are made of sturdy plastic or resin, and either wrap all the way around the front, to form a secure enclosure, or at least come with a strap that crosses in front of the abdomen to hold the toddler safely in the seat.
There are some companies that make complete swing sets for toddlers, however, in size ranges that fit the toddler size more readily. For example, Little Tikes features several sets that don’t just have secure swings but come with a wide range of slides, club houses, small climbing walls, or even a little tunnel. These kids’ swing sets are made in the United States, of sturdy colored plastic, and even the most elaborate sells for no more than $200. They stand lower than a regular swing set, and all the elements are designed with extra security for the smaller child.
You can weigh the pros and cons between toddler swing sets or the larger versions. You may decide that you don’t mind being a bit more watchful of your child for a year or so, and go for a regular sized outdoor swing set. If your personal economics would be less strained by going this route, you can still be confident that the available bucket seat accessories will allow your little one to have some outdoor fun and still be safe and secure.
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Buying a Swing Set for Your Kids
Dec 28th
If you want to create a virtual playground in your own backyard, now’s your chance. Many companies offer swing sets and more, to help you with your project. Whether you want to order a single swing set kit, or like the idea of accessorizing until you create a masterpiece that will attract every child in your neighborhood, one of the many companies and websites that market swing sets will be able to help fulfill your dream.
Take Play Nation, for example. They deal almost entirely in residential swing sets, some of them almost literally palatial, with multiple wings and passages, slides and climbing walls and all sorts of activities, sometimes taking place on two levels in little forts. But as you peruse Play Nation’s website (www.playnation.com), suddenly you come upon their Breckenridge Playhouse, with real doors and windows, a little porch, and a peaked roof with a couple of gabled windows. Swing sets and more, indeed!
If you rather fancy following in the footsteps of President and Mrs. Obama, then you might also consider a swing set from Rainbow Play Systems (www.rainbowplay.com). Rainbow features swing accessories, more than separate structures, as a way to make your backyard playground more elaborate. So you can add things as simple as a mounted telescope or bubble panel, or go for more complex items like a tic-tac-toe panel or a picnic table. When Rainbow offers “swing sets and more,” they’re not kidding.
But if you really want “swing sets and more,” why not visit the website of the same name (www.swingsetsandmore.com)? This is a site that features products from many different companies, sort of a “one stop shopping” location. If you’re truly going the “full playground” route, you can find all the extras you need here, like trampolines, pool toys, separate club houses, and so on. But naturally the most important items, given the name of the site, remain the swing sets. Whatever you’re looking for in a kids swing set, the chances are very good that you’ll find it here.
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It’s Nice To Have Your Own Swing Sets
Dec 23rd
You may think you’re going to the store just to buy a simple backyard swing set, but get ready to be surprised; you’re likely to come home with a whole lot more than that. Between the extra frames and activity centers and the other possibilities for expansion, all the available swing set accessories are going to be very tempting. You may even envy your kids all these opportunities you never had. But think of the fun you’re going to have, setting up the new set and maybe, just maybe, having a go at some of the activity centers yourself.
The accessories category for swing sets is rather broad. At the more prosaic, “hardware” end of the spectrum, you have everything from the aforementioned bolts, to safety handles to add to the sides of ladders, to brackets and chains for hanging extra swings, to clips that allow for the adjustment of swing height. In a way, you might consider these swing accessories to be the behind-the-scenes business of the adults, making sure the mechanics are working so that the children’s fantasies can be safely maintained.
The fantasies that children play out on a custom swing set are limited only by their own imaginations and the space you have in your backyard. In addition to the basic swings, the kids might play with a tether ball, walk through passageways with bubbled windows, or climb a wall of ropes to reach the upper level of a fort, where they can peer over the fence with a mounted telescope. The swing set accessories include both the actual structures you can add to the existing edifice and the toys that can be affixed to them.
It’s almost a misnomer to call these assemblages mere “swing sets” now. Residential swing sets are often more like complex activity centers, with the actual swings being just one small part of the elaborate whole. There are some basic sets that just have the swing tripods, or perhaps have a slide attached at one end, but you can also buy very elaborate arrangements. Whichever you begin with, keep an eye on the extra swing set accessories, so if you want, you can create an entire stage upon which your kids can play out an infinite number of scenarios.
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Swing Sets to Play With
Dec 23rd
The swing set installed for their daughters by Barack and Michelle Obama at the White House marked an important moment as the new First Family’s priorities were made clear for the whole nation to see. The hope that came with the election was somehow crystallized with the clear evidence that the happiness and settled family life of the Obama children were at the top of the list of what was considered important. This kids swing set demonstrated to everyone that some things are too important to be sacrificed for a job, no matter how big the job is.
It’s not that a swing set is a new concept, as these play structures have been around for decades as fixtures in many people’s backyards. In more recent years, the trend seems to have been less on backyard usage and more for parks and recreational areas, where the play is perhaps more scheduled and requires a special trip and supervision. But the backyard swing set is reappearing somewhat more often now. It provides kids with a chance to get off their computers and engage in play that exercises both their bodies and their imaginations.
The set installed by the Obamas was made and set up by Rainbow Play Systems of South Dakota. Rainbow swing sets went through a rocky period a few years ago because some major parts that were made in China were prone to breaking; one girl broke her wrist when she fell from a defective set. Greg Foster, owner of Rainbow Play Systems, spoke of the recalls and other problems at the time the White House set was installed, mentioning how all the important parts of a Rainbow swing set are now made in the U.S.A. and inspected here, with only very minor parts still made in China. There have been no more safety issues since.
It’s a significant fact that President Obama had his children’s swing set placed within view of the Oval Office, so he can watch his daughters play. This fact demonstrates his and Mrs. Osama’s commitment to retaining as normal a family life as possible. But more than that, even though they may just have intended this play area as something that would benefit their children, the new swing set almost can’t help but be an example to the rest of the country too. It shows how even the most complicated family situation in the land can retain its core of parental care and safe play.
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Playground Swing Sets: An All Time Favorite
Dec 23rd
Parents now watching their children cavort on playground swing sets may shake their heads, recalling what used to be. They’ll undoubtedly remember two rather different types of play areas they grew up with. The kids swing set in the backyard might have been more lightweight and perhaps a bit shaky, while the set in the playground was much sturdier and was comprised of a metal slide, swings and perhaps monkey bars. Now, of course, the two types of structures have grown very similar.
These days, even though the metal swing sets of the past haven’t entirely vanished, play structures of wood are generally more popular. Of course, they can’t be made of just any old wood, and the material must be correctly treated for weather and durability. But with that done, playground swing sets of wood are almost as strong as metal ones, and are in many ways much safer. And components that aren’t made of wood, such as swing seats and slides, are now made of strong plastic.
The modern playground swing sets, like their residential counterparts, also tend to be more compact. They don’t always feature separate, freestanding structures as they used to, with the swings in one location, the slide in another, the teeter-totter in another, and so on. These newer sets are more modular, many having a small central tower off of which different elements branch. So the frame for the swings might come off one side of the tower, while the slide extends from another side and a climbing wall might lead off from yet a third side. The swing accessories, in both the playground and home sets, can be added or changed as the local needs dictate.
What seems to have been dictated in recent years for playground swing sets is extra safety, after accidents with other sets became serious. Designers attempted to soften hard edges, and provide structures with more give. For example, now a children’s swing set often stands on a padded surface made from recycled tires. The merry-go-round, which was sometimes a real source of injury with its metal bars, is frequently eliminated altogether. The ultimate goal is to keep children as safe as possible, yet still retain the sheer enjoyment of playing outdoors on swing sets.
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How Playing Helps Your Child Develop Physically and Mentally
Dec 19th
Playing is an important part of child growth and development. Even animals, cubs roughing it up with each other, birds diving through the air, monkeys running around, all enjoy playing as an integral part of living. Playing is an essential part of life, and experts believe it is crucial in children sharpening their faculties and abilities.
Playing, especially on an outdoor swing set, gives your children much-needed exercise of their muscles and helps them stay in shape physically.
It has been proven scientifically that during play, brain connections are enhanced especially in the case of children. A lot of parents do not realize the significance of recreation for children, and in this fast-paced world, tend to neglect making opportunities for and overseeing constructive play.
Playing helps children learn more about the world they are in. They can observe and recognize and test their beliefs, their relationship with their surroundings, and they can identify their role in the family. What is amazing about playing is that it covers learning of practically all aspects of life.
Children would often play with something that they know they can do well, and this aspect helps them improve their self-esteem and boost their confidence. Playing fosters socialization, when they start with physical toys and begin to share these with their playmates, learning to take turns and honing their assertiveness, and ultimately realize how to care for others. Extensive studies show that parents who play and interact with their children end up with children developing superior social skills and emotional quotients.
Playing is also an avenue where children can do problem-solving and deal with the different situations that may arise from it. Surprisingly, playing even develops a child’s language skills, as it often takes lots of words and sentences repeatedly during their play activities. When children play or pretend to be truck drivers, doctors, or office executives, they even grow beyond their years and mature more rapidly.
Today’s wide variety of swing sets for kids gives children of all ages many opportunities to develop both mental and physical abilities. These creative backyard play sets come with many options and features that inspire the imagination of children and provide lots of wholesome exercise in the great outdoors.
