My Daughter Will Only Go on the Swing at the Park!

First off there's nothing wrong with her only wanting the swings. She's got her favorite and that's it. You could find a park with no swings to take her to occasionally. If you just want her to run and play with a ball you can find a place away from sight of swings and play there and then take her over just before you are about to leave the park and let her swing on the swings. Also, other children are a great motivator. So if she has a friend around her age or even older who you can have a playdate with then she might be more willing to try what she's doing. I wouldn't push it too much though.

I'm a little late with this response but when my son was going thru that swing only stage (and who wants to deal with a tantrum at the park when it is supposed to be fun???) I took him on walks from our house to downtown. I figured by the time we walked to the park with the swings he got plenty of exercise getting there! I noticed that you are in Watertown, would it be possible to bring your daughter to Victory Field and just run the track with her? Blow bubbles and have her chase them then go to the swings
Best,
M.

pick a park without swings.

It's a phase, my child did the same thing, I just brought him somewhere else to be sure he got some exercise in. Go to Morgan Park or go fly a kite with her, anywhere you can walk or run together without a swing in sight. Enjoy.

At her age your daughter is old enough to understand that no means no. Make sure you are clear with your expectations every time you say no, and stick to it! If she feels free to pitch a fit like that, then you need to work on her listening to you in general.
When you take her out of the swing and say "no more swing", a reasonable expectation would be for her to ask maybe once or twice. Just firmly say "no more swing" and that's it. If she fusses, then leave!
I would never allow my children to throw a fit like that for me. When I say no, it means no. Life is so much easier when children know what the expectations are and how to behave themselves. She'll be happier too!
-S.

We went through the same thing with my 18 mo old son...When another kid wanted a turn, i would count back from 10. when i got to 1, he had to get out. If he got out when i asked without a tantrum, he got to pick a treat from my bag (bubbles, a train etc. It took a few times of me "helping" him out of the swing, but he learned that there was a benefit about getting out too. We also talked about turn taking (as much as kids that age can understand it)

If you want her to get excersize and she will only swing, take her somewhere else that does not have swings. You could always just tell her one swing turn each time you are at the park, She may meltdown for a bit, but just redirect her where you would like her to play, Maybe save her swing turn for before you leave. Another suggestion is arrange for a playdate at the park, having a child she knows there may distract her from the swing.

Try to find a park without swings. My daughter wanted me to push her all the time at the park and i felt like i was missing out on the mom socializing when she was at the park, so we found parks with no swings for those playdates

A lot of toddlers go through this at this age, in fact, my 3.5 year old and my 22 month old fight over the same swing on our swingset almost daily! My advice would be to keep encouraging her to try other things, but don't fret too much if she doesn't want anything but the swing. It is a phase and she will work her way through it eventually. As long as she is okay with giving other kids a turn and sharing the swings, I think it's perfectly normal, though frustrating for you. As far as exercise goes, try going for a walk around your neighborhood before or after the park so she at least gets some time to walk and run around. I don't know how close the park is to your house, but you might even walk there if the streets are relatively quiet, or park a bit away from the actual park and walk from the car. Don't worry, she is probably getting more exercise than you think! Good luck and have fun playing!

Choose your battles. She may not be running and jumping, but she is getting plenty of fresh air which usually weras them out.
Or go to another park that doesn't have swings.

Any chance of taking her to a park that doesn't have swings?