I have sat on many sales calls and heard the shock in the voices of our customers when they heard about the cost of a swing set. They know they are looking at a high-quality item that is handmade right in Parkesburg, PA, but it still is a bit of a gut check. Most of the time, it is not the actual cost of the vinyl swing set or playhouse that is disconcerting but rather the fear that all this money will be wasted and the swing set will sit unused in their backyard, a monument to a poor decision.
I am not going to sit here and promise you over and over that your children will daily use the set and come in all rosy-cheeked, regulated, and happy. You know your children, and this is a decision you will have to make. I explore that topic in depth in this blog post here.
What I am going to do is explore four reasons a vinyl swing set is a great investment for you and your children. We will explore the following benefits a swing set brings:
Let’s get started!
As a dad of three kids, I understand how important outside play is for a child’s health and well-being. All of us parents know that and I think most of us harbor secret worries along the lines of, “Are my kids inside too much? Should I kick them outside more often?”
I will not use shame and guilt to sell you a swing set. I am a dad. I have been receiving guilt-themed ads, which should be thrown into the fire of Mt. Doom from whence they were forged. Hear me clearly: you can provide all the outside play your children need without a King Swings swing set. Walks in the park, intentional games, and things like that are great options!
I will, however, point out the convenience of a King Swings vinyl swing set. Right there, in your backyard, surrounded by your fence, you have your own little playground that your children can climb on, swing, slide down, and all the various physical activities a swing set can provide. An imaginative game that involves exiting and entering the tower can burn off a surprising amount of energy as the children walk up and down the stairs, climb the rock wall, and race around the set.
They don’t have to have shoes, matching socks, or have their hair combed (for that matter, neither do you!). They can run right out the back door in just the bare minimum. No finding the sandals that somehow went under the dryer, no packing the diaper bag, just throwing open the back door and saying, “Out!”
Having a backyard swing set is a convenient way to help your children get their daily outside play time in without much extra work from you.
Why is outside play so important for children? Do you really want a swing set marketer to go into the medical reasons? Probably not.
I want to make a few observations as a dad, not a marketer. When my kids get enough outside play, they sleep better, play better, and are more enjoyable to be around. Their little feelings and bodies are much more regulated, and we have less wild play inside the house. Parents intuitively know this without studying all the scientific findings, though, by all means, dig into those. They are fascinating and help reinforce the need to make outside play a priority for your children and, if I may be so bold, you, too!
My son straddled the grasshopper, his hands extended in both directions, holding other children at bay, his face flushed and ready for combat. At the same time, he declared he would not let anyone crush this precious bug!
This dramatic scene occurred on the neighborhood playground, and wow, was this a chance for a learning experience for my son on how to handle conflict with grace. That little incident, played on the local playground, provided so many teachable moments for all involved and helped prepare the little minds for their adult lives.
A swing set in your backyard will provide such interactions. Granted, your experience will be different than the one related. Your children won’t interact with strangers, but they will learn how to share, solve problems, and interact with their siblings and friends.
Creative play provides a nonstructured environment for the children to learn to navigate and have fun. Sports, video games, and the like have built-in rules to keep the game moving, but creative play is wild and free and will fall apart if one child decides he will be a stinker about the situation.
How many social lessons can occur while playing on a vinyl swing set?
And on and on it goes. It might look like a game of “Spaceship to Mars,” but the social learning and growing occurring during the game is phenomenal.
I get it. The world presses in on us like never before. On the bottom left of my screen, a little red exclamation mark appears throughout the day with “breaking news,” and none of it is ever good. Even as I finished this sentence, the notification suddenly changed to orange with fresh “Breaking News.” Nope, not going to click on it.
We need to protect our children from growing up too fast and being hit with grown-up problems too soon.
Again, a vinyl swing set is unnecessary for this, but it is helpful. A swing set provides a place for a child just to be a child. No smart gadgets, no blinking lights, no concerned conversations in the background. It’s just sunshine, the juicy pop in their clenched fist (and likely all over their face), and good times ahead.
If you get a swing set for your backyard, you and your spouse should intentionally make a stress-free zone. I am talking about what you (and me), as the parent, bring to the play. Leave work inside, leave the news off, leave all the adult junk behind before you step out to play on the swing set with your children. This is a place for them. Let them be kids there.
This segways into the last point.
While most of the play on the swing set should be without parents, sometimes it should. A cool summer evening pushing your children on the swings can have a lasting impact. So can a hot August day with hoses, pools, and sprinklers.
The point is not what you do but how you do it. Be there, be present with your children. We should leave our balls and chains, aka our smartphones, inside while playing with the children.
You never know what may come up as you swing beside your preteen or sit with your toddler sipping tea at the lemonade stand. The point is that you are spending uninterrupted, focused time with them in their space.
Again, no need for a swing set to do this. You can be an amazing parent and do everything above without a swing set. The vinyl swing set is just a convenient, easy place to foster connections.
King Swings has been making swing sets for 30-plus years. We care that your swing set is actually your swing set. That means the design meets your family’s needs and that you are happy with your purchase. We believe that swing sets are worth investing in for your family’s mental and physical health. We are standing by in Parkesburg, PA, to answer any of your questions.
Call our team at 717-687-8210 or stop by and play on our FREE playground at 3270 Lower Valley Road, Parkesburg, PA, 19365.