What is the best type of swing set?

Swing set= How much money should I spend- Cheap Metal vs. Wooden?

• I am a housewife so we are on a budget. I have been honestly selling on ebay and saving up for a swing set for my daughter's birthday- So when she turns one we will have a swing set for her. My mother is trying to convince me NOT to blow the money on a wooden one.... I was looking at the Gorilla brand which is nice and made in the USA. They start about $1,000 and go up very quickly. The one I love is $2,000 but I don't know if I'll have that saved by April. My mom wants me to get a cheap metal one from Kmart for a few hundred dollars. She said Kids don't play on them that much... and it's a waste of money. My mom is super cheap which I respect but I am wondering if part of it is that my nephew lives with her and she is getting him the cheap metal one. So half of me wonders if she just doesn't want me to get her granddaughter a better swing set then her grandson. (Like after I got Professional pictures of my daughter all she did was go on about how she should get Professional pictures of her grandson......... ) What is your feeling on the wooden swings sets vs the metal swing set? The wooden ones looks soo much more fun to me :) Category

• Answer:

  I was hell-bent on getting a wooden play set for my 2 girls, aged 2 and 4 at the time. My husband didn't want to spend the money (or stare at it in his perfectly-manicured yard every day). We had a few fights over it. After several discussions with friends and family who have these things, they all wanted it because "everyone has one" so somehow this became a "standard item" if you have kids. They all said their kids loved them........for about 3 weeks. They boys maybe used it a bit more, but everyone said it was not used enough to warrant the cost, the space they take up in your yard, or the eyesore when they get weathered. The friends, because they all spent the money and have them sitting in their yards said "get one! you have to get one!" but the family (who are more honest) said not to bother because the kids don't play with them all that much after the novelty wears off unless their friends come over and even then, its not for very long - 1/2 hour at a time, then they get on their bikes or play ball instead. Most family members said they wouldn't do it again. Its a great idea, but its kind of like a new fad toy - it wears off and then they toss it to the side. Also, most of their kids are grown now and its too costly and too much work to tear the thing down and have it hauled away! We had two offers of "take it away for free!" but we didn't have the vehicle for it, and they were pretty old and probably rotting out and unsafe to re-install. Not to mention the stress of trying to figure out what went where and how to get it back together [safely] again. Oh, and it will cost you another $500 -$800+ to have the thing set up if you're not a do-it-yourselfer. Anyway, everyone says get a swing set, definitely, because the swings get used the most and for the longest (into pre-teen age), but get a good one, not those cheap, short little K-mart ones - they just don't last, they're too small so she'll outgrow it fast, and because they're so small, they don't swing very high so not much fun. The slide gets used until they are no longer toddlers (3-5). The other climbing stuff doesn't get used at all unless there's a clubhouse-type thing which they like to play/hide in when they are little (3-5). Those are just the opinions from my neck of the woods, hope it helps. It would suck to spend all that time and money on it and then have your kid say "can we go to the park to play?" anyway! That's what my husband was afraid would happen, because nothing you can buy will be as big and as much fun as what's in the park. So, my husband won and we opted to get a tall, metal swing set - its just 2 swings and a trapeze bar, but its 11 1/2' tall and they love to swing high! My husband also built them a 2-floor playhouse that we use for storage in the winter and will convert to a tall shed when they outgrow playing with it. Last summer was the second summer of the playhouse and they were already playing in it less unless they had friends over - then they spent 1/2 the day in it! (It has a kitchen in it with table and chairs, a chalkboard, drapes on the windows, etc. and the second floor has a cheap "lookout" telescope) Oh, and get a trampoline! They will play on that more than anything! (but not now, your girl is still too young).