Outside Play

We bought a wooden plaything like the one you show here when my oldest was 5 and my youngest was 1. You definitely don't want to spend the money on something now that they will outgrow in a year. If you are supervising them they will be fine!

Hi S.! I think the wooden sets are kind of dangerous, myself. By the time your girls are big enough to really use it, the wood might not be looking so good. I bought a play structure from Step 2..and I love it!
http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1309
I think something like this would be great for your daughters...there are lots of activities involved with it. We got our daughters when she was about their age. I can see we will get many years out of it. She loves just playing around on it...but when she gets a little bigger, I am sure she will love tea parties in the clubhouse. No matter what you choose, go to google and then shopping, and type in whatever you decide upon. The best price will come up. Also, once you find a store with the best price, go back to google, and type in the name of the store, and online coupon... i.e. Step 2 online coupon. From there you can find all kinds of deals on free shipping, etc. Good luck...and have FUN!!

We have a wooden swing set with a slide for our 3 year old and 20 month old, and we've had it since the little one was nine months old and the older one was just over 2. I was a little wary at first, but a friend who no longer wanted it gave it to us, so we couldn't turn it down as we never would have been able to afford one on our own. They play on it just fine. There have been some bumps and bruises, but that will happen with boys, no matter what kind of play structure you have. Just make sure to supervise them closely until they old enough to play on their own. They are not going to be 14 months old for very long.

The wooden ones are too dangerous--Look at the ages on them--most of them will say 5 or 6 years old and up. We got my son a really small one made for 12 months and up that had a little slide and swing, but he doesn't play much on it anymore at 3 and we plan on getting him a wooden one in a year or two.
Here's a link to it if you want to check it out:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2476237
I honestly wouldn't waste your money on any sort of jungle gym though, and instead get him riding toys and use the park for climbing.

Our house came with a 7 ft wooden swing set. Ever since my son was walking (1yr) he figured out how to climb up the ladder to the top.
I recommend getting one of those net guard from Home Depot or Lowes so they don't go through the top.
Just watch the height of the swing set. The best thing about the wooden ones is you can always add on to them.

Hi S..

My daughter will be three at Christmas. My husband and father-in-law built her a wooden swing set in the backyard when she was about 10 months old. They built the frame and we started with just a baby swing. Then for her first birthday and Christmas we added a regular (belt) swing (for me :), fort and slide. We've been adding to it little by little. This Christmas, she wants the trapeze bar which will repalce the baby swing (which is now usually used for her dolls.)

I tell my husband almost everyday that the swing set is one of the best things we've ever invested in. We use it practically everyday. I think as long as you are outside with your child and the components are age appropriate, it poses no significant danger. We love "playing pirate ship" in her fort. We added the wheel and telescope this summer.

I'm lucky that the my husband is very handy and built the structure. That was a significant savings. We bought all of the pieces through Woodplay. Everything is more expensive than you'd expect. That's another perk of adding things as you go.

Hope this helps.

N.

i think the wooden playgrounds are great. at 14mos you supervise them on anything so it is not dangerous and when they get older they are fine.

I feel the same way. I think that one of those full size wooden playgrounds is to dangerous for a toddler. I would check into getting one made by little tykes. check with toys r us they have several different types for different ages. They are safer and they sometimes last longer. Hope this helps.

L.

Hey, S.~ I know this response is late and you've probably received great advice (didn't read anyone else's post). Anyway, my husband and I are thinking about getting our daughter (10 mos old right now) A huge wooden play gym (or whatever it's called!) for her 1st b-day. My thought is that anyone can view anything as being dangerous. It all comes down to the child learning how to play with what they've got. My husband is also in the construction business and I know my daughter will be around big piles of wood and other potentially hazardous things. I guess what I'm getting at is you can't worry about everything and worry about everyone elses hangups. Your child is going to be in an environment that is not a padded room with fluffy pillows, etc. Might be a good idea to allow your child to get used to playing around something like a big wooden play gym, so when they are out helping daddy it will only be normal to hang out around such materials.

If you remember, can you let me know what you end up getting your child? I'm sure you're researching and I would like to know what you come up with! Thanks :)

We have a wooden play set that our 17 month old loves. We hvae the little tykes play set too from Sam's that has the little slide and bridge and tunnel underneath, but you can't beat the swings. We have 3 kids, 10, 3, and 17 mos and both of our little ones played on the wooden play set. The little tykes play set is good too, but they grow so fast. Hope this helps.

We have a Rainbow Swingset since our youngest was 1. The only thing we did was leave the stairs to the top off until she is old enough. She is almost 3 and climbs up the slide. Swings all by herself. If, you do want a wood one. Then make sure it is cedar not pressure treated wood. Just seal it once a year to keep it from getting damaged.

Okay, lets get real here...you can go ahead a get a small plastic something or other that your kids will outgrow...soon! Or get something that can last a long time. Heres how I look at it, if you had an older child that had the nice big wooden thingy, would you go and get a smaller something too? Chances are no. Society these days tries to make you think you need all these many kid items...I've had three. And after kid one I decided I didn't even want a changing table...although they are good for storing stuff.
You get what you want, what you feel comfortable with. Just be logical with both your sense and your cents. Good luck.