Looking for a Good Swingset for My 2-Year-old.

Definately check out craigslist! we got a huge rainbow swingset for under $1500, retail was over $3000!! there are some good deals out there! Good luck

To date I've purchased:
Metal swing set (three swings, slide, rocking horse type swing, etc)
Little Tikes 8 in 1 climber set
Little Tykes Playground
Little Tykes Cottage
Rocket shaped baby swing
Baby swing
And a $5 saucer swing from the thrift store.

By far and away the most used outdoor toy has been the $5 saucer swing that hangs on the tree in the front yard. Why? because it's in the front yard and attracts kids like flies and then my kids have friends to play with. All the other toys sit unused in my backyard.

Every mom I've ever talked to has wanted a play structure for the backyard so the kids can be 'safe' playing in the fenced yard where you don't have to be there every second to watch them. They install as elaborate of a structure as budget will afford, the kids play with it, for at most, a season. Then the kids are back to whining about playing with their friends in the front yard.

My advice? Save your money. If they want to swing, walk them to the park. GL in your decision!!

I do home childcare, so my set has been used ALOT in the last 12+ years. We actually built it when my daughter was 2, so that was 13 years ago.

We did a "kit" from Menards (any home improvement store would suffice..where it tells you what lumber , etc to buy then it comes with certain hardware, etc in the actual kit, with instructions)..we just needed certain components. We wanted a fort type area, with a small sandbox under it and the wavy slide to come off the fort up above. Then an "A" frame swing section. Its actually 2 seperate pieces we attached. It is big and spread out, we have changed out some of the small accesory pieces (steering wheels and such)..the infant swings I have replaced a few times..but the big kid swings (3 of them)..I am just now replacing THIS year (they are in the shed ready to go!)

We did have my father in law build a different set of steps to get up top to the "fort" and slide. My daughter was only 2 and I anticipated doing home childcare in the next year or 2 (I had been a nanny for many years and it was getting time for a change for all of us)....and the steps that were part of the kit were a straight up and down ladder....well 2 year olds are not very good at this. So we built a mini version of deck steps...narrower, with the mostly-enclosed sides...short stepped for short legs.

I think we may do a paint stain thing this summer...it could use a facelift after more than a dozen years and about 3-4 dozen children using it heavily over the years!

My point is...go for the Rainbow or the "Build it yourself" models. If your hubby is a handy fella...research the build it yourself ones at the large home improvement places. Get one (or the smaller parts..swing part, fort part, etc)..and modify as you need to like we did with the steps!)...we use it all year round (well its pretty muddy right now..UGH!). Have your hubby get some buddys....feed them some good grilled burgers or such...and have them get it done in a weekend! Thats what we did! You won't regret it BTW~ We "boxed" ours in several years later...made life so much easier with mowing..plus I have a collection now of larger plastic climbers as well (little tikes, etc)...so now it all goes into the boxed area and mowing around it is a breeze!

You can do it!

I disagree with the poster who said to save your money and skip the playset altogether. I've had a very different experience. My boys are now 10 and 13, but we got a Rainbow playset when they were 4 and almost 1. Those first few years we used it EVERY DAY that the weather permitted. (I am a SAHM so we were around a lot during the day to use it.) We even used the slide in the winter--it was super fast with a little snow and snow pants! We splurged and got the monkey bars, which turned out to be one of the best things we did with regard to the playset. They have been hugely popular. My kids use the swings, the sandbox, the monkey bars and make forts in the playdeck. My youngest and his friends still use it on a regular basis. I would recommend, as others have suggested, you invest in something sturdy that will last longterm (such as a Rainbow) and try to find a used one on Craig's list. If your husband is handy he can rebuild it. I'd offer to sell you mine, but we still use it!!

Toys r Us is a great place to buy for your child. They stand behind their products. However if you are undecided you can check any name brand and type in the name but add reviews on..... There is a wide spectrum out there. Walmart is the same, they as well stand behind their products but again you can always check out the reviews just by typing the brand name and reviews. Good luck!

Lol I read your post and I thought you said - Looking for a good "swingers set". I was like wow, this place is getting a little "different". Sorry had to post that. I got a good laugh lol.

We bought one from Home Depot and built it ourselves. My husband went down the slide and broke it the first time he went down it. We vowed to get a nice one when we moved. We bought a Rainbow. We use it A LOT! Our kids are little and at home almost full time so it is a good thing for them. If you don't want to pay that much(it is a lot!), check out Craigs list- there are so many people that sell them on there. We were hoping to buy one used but never found one!