Playground Equipment
 

Hi Everyone, We are in the process of getting a playground for our park. What is a favorite for your kids when you go to a playground? What don't you like? Do you think swings are important. The reason I ask this is some areas are banning swingsets because of liability. Anyway, I would really appreciate some feedback on this. Thank you!

This is a very important question!!! Playground equipment is expensive. We have a playground within walking distance of our home, and there is no equipment for the 5-6 year olds. One set of equipment is too small and easy, the other set is too large and difficult. I'm sure this was not the intent of the city when they purchased the equipment. It does, however, have a large sand box that the kids love.

Check out pictures of Summit Park in Blue Ash Ohio. My grands love this park. A google search of "summit park, blue ash", will bring up several pictures.

Baby swings are nice for the little ones. My other grands usually ignore them.

My grandson loves the swings and the slides. I know they have been taking out swings for a long time. They were my favorite thing when I was much younger. Of course, our parents weren't sue happy back then and "accidents" can happen.

When was the last time you saw a teeter totter? Or a merry-go- round. You know the one where you ran along the outside and then jumped on and held on while your got dizzy. Are they too dangerous also. (How did we survive. Said, tongue in cheek. lol) How do kids survive today?

Good luck on finding something that meets your needs.

I can't believe we ever survived childhood, LOL. Swings were my favorite, the higher the better. And under the playground equipment we had lawn if we were lucky, dirt more often, and sometimes asphalt! Now they have squishy cork-like surfaces.

I taught the primary grades for many years. The favorite equipment is swings, but if you can't have those the second is a large multi use climbing structure. It needs monkey bars, slides, climbing bridges and an area under neath for imaginary house play. Add tubes for yelling into and a couple of steering wheels. If you can't put sand around and under it add a sand box.

When I was in school and years later when my son was in school there was at least one broken arm or leg from falling off the slide. Never any serious injuries from the swings. Bumps and bruises are a part of growing up. Our parks here are removing the sand from the play areas--they attract critters that think they are public restrooms. But the swings-merry-go-rounds- monkey bars and slides are still here and they have added the jungle gyms.One of our parks has a miniature merry-go-round and those animals on a spring and a smaller jungle gym for the littler kids.

Monkey bars were my son's favorite. It was all I could do not to stand beneath him. Yes, he fell occasionally usually on his fanny. He was fine.

So swings are banned but parents buy trampolines for the little darlings? Very confused. Adult supervision at parks is the key to safety. Jungle gyms still around? I was always afraid that I would fall. I survived parks just fine...even as I would spin till I dropped! (Merry go round) . But people are quick to sue over a hang nail.

Sandy

My best friend (more like a sister to me) is from Ohio, and she lived
in Blue Ash.

My ex & I visited them there in 1995, we loved the town.

Baby swings, slides, jungle gyms, a fixture with a sand box, steering wheels, playhouse.

The playground equipment here is so bland the kids get tired of it. 4ft high slides, swings about two feet off the ground with a complicated strap to hold them in, a walking beam ankle high, rubber pieces so thick on the ground it's hard to walk on. Lot of money wasted on the equipment the kids avoid. They climb on the bridge that goes across the ditch or in the ditch. LOL DH built a sew saw, a flying jenny, a climbing wall, and put up a tire swing for our grandboys. Ages 2 and 3. They love the flying jenny. DH put a long board on a big stump, attached it to the middle so it would turn, the boys push it and then try to jump on. Sometimes they make it sometimes they don't. LOL

my son always loved the wooden parks. we had one that was a castle with a pirate ship.
what a shame that kids can't have swings because of lawsuits. what kid didn't jump off the swing at the highest point? How many of us hurt ourselves and didn't run home and blame it on a swing. we'd get yelled at for doing a stupid thing. Poor kids nowadays.