Pressure-treated or cedar wood are a plus, since they’re durable. If you want a wood swing set, Powell recommended checking what kind of lumber the manufacturer uses. Plastic is most common among swings and other playsets made for young children. Metal sets are often more affordable, especially if you’re looking for a simple swing set. “Wood is by far the most popular in residential settings, while you see more metal in commercial/public play areas,” said structural engineer Mike Powell. What to Consider When Shopping For a Swing Setįirst and foremost, you want to decide whether you want a wood, metal, or plastic swing set. Suffice to say he knows a thing or two about what makes a swing set safe, stable, and secure for your family. Powell has also assembled a number of pre-purchased swing set kits over the years and has used his expertise to construct his own playset from lumber and metal bracketry. With over 20 years of experience, Powell has inspected hundreds to thousands of homes, many of which have swing sets and wooden playsets that were part of the inspection, to determine the cause and origin of structural failure. The Expert (Mike Powell): Mike Powell is a structural engineer and the owner of Red Flag Home Inspection in Tampa, Florida. For this story, she also tapped into her large network of parent friends and colleagues, many of whom have purchased a number of swing sets for their own families. She is also a mother to a third-grader who prefers slides, but still enjoys a good push on the swings now and again. Show more The Expert (Priscilla Blossom): Priscilla Blossom has spent nearly a decade writing reported features, service pieces, essays, round-ups, trending news and commerce stories geared towards parents and families for publications like Parents and Parents Latina, Romper, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Mommyish, MommyNearest, TinyBeans, and more. To help you shorten your search, we consulted an expert, reached out to a number of parents, and thoroughly researched the best swing sets you can buy right now.

Plus, it’ll get them out of your hair for a bit while you try and enjoy a moment of quiet time-and who can put a price on that?īringing home a swing set is a definite win-win, but it’s a serious investment compared to buying new toys, so you may feel some pressure to pick the best one. More time on the swings means less time inside staring at screens. While there’s no replacement for a trip to the park, putting a swing set or playset in the backyard will give your kids the option to go out and play anytime. And those of us who are parents know the joy of sharing that experience with our own kiddos.

Most of us still remember trips to our own neighborhood park to enjoy this simple pleasure. Whether you’re young or just young at heart, there’s nothing quite like the care-free feeling of swinging back and forth on playground swings.

Affordable outdoor playsets