Playing Is Educational

One minute my daughter Angela is an astronaut, the next she’s a pirate (yarrr!), and the next she’s a princess. Her imagination, like most children’s, is boundless. She gets to live out her fantasies every day with make shift costumes and toys. We installed a wooden play set in the backyard that is as diverse as her imagination.

The wooden play structures we put together includes a swing set, monkey bars, a slide, climbing wall, and tree house platform. Angela uses the play set as her home base. When she’s an astronaut the play set is her shuttle. When she’s a pirate, it’s her trusty ship that will guide her to the buried treasure. Of course, it’s also her castle where she and her friends can be princesses of their make believe castle.

Children are incredibly creative. Parents should provide their children with toys that encourage imaginative play. Young girls particularly like playing with dolls. It’s not uncommon for young girls to name their dolls and give them complex back stories. Expand the creative possibilities for your daughter by purchasing wooden doll furniture for her and her dolls.

Wooden doll furniture is sold online by many above board suppliers. For my two daughters I bought a 41-piece block style set of wooden doll furniture. The set included beds, tables, chairs, mattresses, sofas, and even a flower box. My girls spent hours each day playing out vast, complex story lines with their dolls and the doll furniture. Purchasing wooden doll furniture can encourage the same imaginative play in your child.

If you’ve ever traveled west, then you know what I mean when I say that the home décor of that region is of a different culture. Influenced primarily by the Native Americans, the colors and patterns of the textiles, tablecloths, figurines and paintings all tell a story of natural spirit and tradition. And even more recently, the area to the west had once been Mexico, which also carries a dominant influence of heritage in the styling of homes and public buildings.

Most popular in Western wall art are tribal-influenced paintings that represent the symbols used by those of many years ago. Each spread of canvas tells a different story. Hand-carved wood dolls and wooden doll furniture are popular fixtures in any little girl’s room and boys can’t seem to get enough of the handcrafted tomahawks. Let your inner cowboy surface and see what native and traditional decorations call out to you.

My wife and I discussed the matter at length, and we finally decided to install some playground equipment in our backyard. The time was right as our kids just turned 5 and 7. We would have bought the structures sooner, but we were concerned about adequate safety measures. With a combination of adult supervision and protective ground covering, we’ve found a sensible solution.

Anytime the kids feel like playing on the wooden outdoor play structures, either my wife or I will go outside with them to keep a close eye on their safety. I bought some excess wood chips to cushion any potential falls – covering the surrounding area with a foot of chips. We learned from experience that sand and grass, while soft, tend to erode and disappear from underneath the structures.

Wooden outdoor play structures provide children with a wonderful location for their outdoor active play.  If your are thinking about purchasing an outdoor wooden play structure for your children, we would like to recommend a Gorilla Playset.  One of our favorite’s is the Tiki Treehouse – Beachcomber because it has a lot of features at a very affordable price.

Your children will enjoy pretending being Tarzan and living in this synthetic thatch-roofed Gorilla swing set with bamboo accents.  They can swing on the swings, hang upside-down on the trapeze bar, or climb the Caribbean Cargo net.  This backyard playset also features a gang plank climbing ramp, a built-in picnic table area with a sand box, and a slide where he can enjoy the rush of sliding down to the ground. 

All wooden outdoor play structures, (cedar, redwood, treated lumber, or untreated lumber), require maintenance to preserve to look, beauty, and integrity of the wood.  Depending on the climate that you live in, it is recommended to re-stain or reseal wooden play structures every couple years. 

Here are some guideline to assist you in choosing your stain.

First you need to choose a stain appropriate for the weather conditions in your area.  There are different brands of stains that have different properties, depending on local weather.  Some stains have added protection against mildew and rot found for wetter climates and others have added protection against ultraviolet rays.

To determine how many gallons of stain you will need to buy, figure out how many square feet of wood is on your outdoor play structures.  Also keep in mind that you will likely need to apply more than one coat to achieve the best coverage.

Match the stain to the type and age of your wood which your wooden play structure is constructed from.  Some stains work best on pretreated lumber, which generally only requires a water sealer.  Untreated lumber should be stained immediately and requires more protection than treated lumber.

Stains come in a wide variety of colors, choose the color of stain that you desire.

Look for brushes or pads that are appropriate for applying stain.  keep in mind that stain is thinner than paint.  We recommend pads because they drip less than brushes, resulting in a more even stain application.

If you follow the above guidelines, your wooden outdoor play structures will last for generations.

It is important to keep your children safe when they are playing on their outdoor swing set.  To promote safety during their active play, it is ALWAYS recommended to provide adult supervision and be actively involved.  Stay alert, move around, and keep your kids in sights, especially your young ones.

1)  Go over basic precautions with your children, such as, always taking turns and sliding down feet-first on the slide.

2)  Refrain children from walking close to, in front of, behind or between moving play features.

3)  Refrain children from twisting swing chains or ropes since this may reduce the strength of these items

4)  Warn children to avoid swinging empty swing seats or gliders

5)  Teach children to sit in center of swings with their full weight on the swing seats

6)  Teach children to use the backyard playset in the intended manner.

7)  Teach children not to get off play equipment while still in motion. 

8)  To avoid potential clothing hazards, while your children are using their backyard playsets, make sure they are wearing well-fit clothing and shoes. 

(Avoid loose fit clothing or items with loose strings: drawstring pants, ponchos, halter-tops, scarves, or etc…)

 9)  Children should wear shoes at all times.

10)  Allow your child to only play on equipment that is appropriate to his age.

11)  Make sure the playground surface, underneath swings, climbers, and slide has the appropriate ground protection.  (Standard lawn and grass areas are not considered as ground protection.) 

 12)  Refrain children from climbing on playground structures when wet.

13)  Bring a safety kit with you. 

(This can be as simple as a zip-lock bag that contains some wet wipes, antibiotic cream and a few adhesive bandages.)

14)  Make sure your child is wearing sunscreen and stays properly hydrated. 

For more safety tips – view our other articles or visit our web-site: Playground Equipment Safety.

Information is supported by the National Program for Playground Safety

Children love to imagine owning their own home and making the rules.

Do you remember your old tree house, fort, or hide-out area?  This was the one place where you could do imaginary active play activities, socialize with friends, or sit back in your quiet place and read a book.

Well, the Breckenridge Playhouse is a wonderful place for your children.  Let them play house, camp-out, or perform their own imaginary active play activities.

It features:

 1) Factory-stained and sealed wood that is resistant to rot, decay, and insect damage.  No painting, staining, or roofing is required.

2) The window and door panes are made of polycarbonate and are completely functional.

3) The Breckenridge Playhouse also has a front porch area, a flower box, and gable exhaust vents that are screened.

This playhouse kit is panelized for quick assembly and comes with everything you need.

Your children will enjoy their Breckenridge Playhouse for years!

You invested into a wooden outdoor play structure to enhance your child’s life.  To keep your child safe and to maintain your investment, we suggest that you perform the following maintenance to your wooden play structure:

1)  To keep your wooden outdoor play structure looking good for years to come, you should apply a stain or apply a waterproof coating on it every 1 – 2 years to prevent water penetration.  ( This applies to all wooden play structures.  It does not matter if the play structure is pine, redwood, or cedar. )

2)  Inspect the wood framing for any splinters, large cracks,  rough spots, sharp edges, or decay that may occur due to wear and usage.  If required, you should sand them down, and then stain and waterproof the areas.

3)  Inspect for any deterioration or corrosion on structural components that are in contact with the ground.

4)  If your wooden outdoor play structure requires ground footing supports – make sure that they are not exposed.  If they are, back fill the area with sand or bark mulch.

5)  During the regular usage season, twice a month, make sure the your play structure is safe for your child.  Inspect all the nuts and bolts to assure that they are not missing, loose, or exposed.  ( Tighten if needed. )  It is particularly important to to check and tighten all bolts at the beginning of the season. 

6)  Check the swing elements, swings, chains, and slides monthly for wear, cracks or deterioration.  Inspect for any rust or chipped paint on any of the metal components.  Replace these parts at the first sign of deterioration.

7)  Inspect for any missing or damaged equipment components such as handrails, guide rails, and swing seats.

8)  Add sand or bark mulch to any worn or low areas beneath your wood play structure.  ( If is recommended to have at least 5″ of loose-fill surfacing in a playground area.  See: Consumers Product Safety Commission at cpsc.gov for more information on protective ground surfacing.)

9)  If you live in an area where the temperature drops below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or if the play structure is not going to be used, remove the swings and canopies to prolong the life of those items.

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines of Americans, your child should have 60 minutes (1 hour) or more of active play each day. 

Active play is a vital part of your child’s early childhood development because it increases their heart rate(aerobics), builds their muscles, increases their balance, and strengthens their bones.  Active play is any physical activity in which your child is actively moving at a moderate-intensity or vigorous-intensity rate.  (For example, walking for a distance is moderate-intensity and playing chase is vigorous-intensity.)

Encourage  your child to participate in active play activities that are enjoyable to them and offer variety.  By investing in a wooden outdoor play structure, you would be providing your child with a place to enjoy many active play activities that would promote aerobic play, muscle strengthening, and bone strengthening.  Your child can pretend that he is swinging from vine to vine, like Tarzan, as he swings on the swing, a mountain climber climbing up the rock wall, or an Olympian – climbing the ladder and sliding down the slide. 

Make playing on your wooden outdoor play structure part of your child’s daily routine. 

DID YOU KNOW:  

Obesity in children has increased:  Data from NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased: for children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 12.4%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17.0%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.6%.

For more information – look up obesity – at cdc.gov