Bree’s Backyard Big Toys

I have been wanting to blog about this for a while. Bree turned 2 in November and received plenty of gifts. Her grandma, Ettie and her parents bought her an outdoor play equipment and art supplies. The play equipment was delivered late and Ettie didn’t even get to see it all set up by the workmen. This house did originally have a wooden play fort with a swing situated along the back fence but it was old and had started to fall apart. I never quite like the idea of letting Bree explore that. I was very happy that it was removed late in Winter to make way for new equipment.

The new play equipment consists of a simple fort/platform with a roof, a wave slide, a small sandpit (under the platform), monkey bars and two swings. To get up to the platform, the child can either climb up the ladder or the wooden wall with climbing stones similar to indoor rock climbing. I went to inspect it while Bree was napping. My instant thought was that it was too big for her. I also thought that Bree will need a swing seat for toddlers. The swing seats that came with the play equipment are the typical wraparound style suitable for children over the age of 3. Children of Bree’s age are better suited to using a seat with back support and restraints.

I was looking after Bree on the day the workmen came to put it together. I had to keep it a secret from Bree because her parents wanted to surprise her when they got home. We went out for lunch when the workmen arrived and when we got home, Bree went straight to nap. After her nap, she had her afternoon tea before going out again to the park. With the blinds down, she didn’t even bother to take a peek. Her mum came home at around 4:30 pm and her dad came home about half an hour later. Together we ventured into the backyard. Bree stepped out after her parents, being careful because she used to tumble over the threshold. As her parents were immediately in front of her, she didn’t see the swing set at first. When she did, she dashed ahead laughing and saying, “Wings”. That is the way she says the word ‘swing’. Her proud father immediately lifted her up and placed her on one of the swings. She held on to the ropes tightly even though her dad had one hand around her and pushed her gently with the other hand. Her mum was like a little girl swinging next to her own daughter. It was quite a funny sight because I have not seen Mum let her hair down very often. It all went pear shaped when Bree’s dad let go of the hand around his daughter’s body to give her a stronger push. This caused the swing seat to rock and that stunned the tot into tears. It all happened just as I was about to suggest getting a toddler swing seat. Bree’s dad immediately put one hand around her again and one hand supported her back. Poor Bree, her legs were stiff and they jutted out in front of her and her feet were trembling. Her mum came to the rescue. She lifted her up and showed her the slide. She cheered up a little sliding down the wave slide. Her father made a comment about the swings being different from the baby seats at the park. Her mum suggested buying another seat and almost instantly turned to ask me where to get one. Informed as usual (on things like this), I suggested Toys R’ Us because they have a dark green one that matches the set. I advised them to be cautious when buying the swing seat. They have to make sure that the attachments at the end of the ropes are compatible to the swing hooks on this swing set. I also suggested that they contact the retailer to see if they have a toddler swing seat for equipment from the same manufacturer to ensure compatibility. Since they were asking for my opinion, I also quickly asked if they were going to invest in adding tan bark to soften any accidental falls. It turned out that they had already made arrangements for that. Goody!

Bree was swinging on a new swing seat a week later. In his hurry, Bree’s dad forgot to buy play sand for the sandpit. The sandpit is left empty for now but Bree is just as happy using it as a cubby since she is still not very good at climbing the ladder to get up to the platform on her own. Both parents agreed that although the play equipment is way too big for Bree for now, it will give her many years of fun.