I was wondering if anyone has those playsets that aren't made of wood, but made of plastic like material made to look like wood. Do these playsets hold up? Are they sturdy enough for older children as well? We are looking at getting our son (20 months) a playset for the back yard. We have looked at the Rainbow Playsets and have found some there we like but I've heard about these other kinds and like the idea of no slivers and no restaining over the years.
Due to costs we did the real wood set which I don't like. They do sell covers that wrap around the wood. I saw covers at Home Depot.
Personally, I'd go with the wood because your child will outgrow the plastic. My parents have a nice little plastic playset they bought for their house which just sits there now. We got a Rainbow playset when my youngest daughter was 2 and now she is 4 and we use it each day. Yes we will have to restain it but it will last forever. Even the big kids next door play on ours. You can get baby swings too which is what we did. We also got the teeter totter one as well which is their favorite. In the two years we've had it I dont' think they have gotten slivers.
Check out the Step 2 playsets. We got one with 2 swings and a slide with playhouse underneath last year and our 3 1/2 yr old son loves it. I was concerned that he'd grow out of it fast, but my aunt had a similar one and her kids still played on it well into their school-age years (the type of play changes - it became a clubhouse, a mission base, etc. for tag games, but it was used) They are sturdy and well-made, yet you can move it / sell it when you need to without a huge backyard construction project. Two of my son's neighborhood friends each have large wood playsets (that take up the whole yard and need maintenance) and there is a large playground in the neighborhood, it's nice to have the variety. Good Luck!
L. (mom to 3 1/2 yr old boy and 10 month old girl)
I don't know much about the plastic playsets. We actually just put up a wooden one. We bought ours at Sams. My husband put it together. All the pieces were numbered and it only took him a total of 36 hours. Our friend spent more money and got his at Lowes. The pieces weren't numbered....its been a 2 weeks and he still doesn't have it together yet. The one we got is very sturdy, but we will have to weather seal it and maybe restain it every so many years.
