After reports in recent years showed that many existing wood-treated playgrounds were leaching dangerous chemicals, most of them were removed or were marked for removal. Since that time, colorful metal and plastic sets have taken their place in public parks and schoolyards everywhere you look. Some consumers hanker after those old fashioned wooden structures which reminded them of their own childhood. In fact, some might have been the very same ones they had played on during their elementary school days.
While alternative materials are frequently used to create new jungle gyms, outdoor playground sets are still made out of wood by some manufacturers. They are just not treated with arsenic anymore. These sets have the advantage of aesthetically matching their natural surroundings in a forested park, or a tree lined back yard. They look less intrusive than the vivid metal alternatives, yet they can sport some colorful features.
Consumers now understand the importance of preventing excessive UV exposure to their children’s skin and eyes. To this end, playgrounds frequently come with covered areas made from bright, striped canvas or plastic. This is especially true wherever there is a high slide platform. Most of the structure will be open, but certain elevated areas also make space beneath where kids can escape the heat. In some cases accessories such as binoculars or spinning components are added and these could be red, yellow, or blue.
All playgrounds need swing sets. This is where kids learn to fly and adults recapture that feeling of freedom from their younger days. Babies and toddlers frequently find the swinging motions soothing. Wood swing sets will sometimes be made with bright yellow or blue seats instead of black ones. Climbing frames will offer colored foot holds for climbing with both hands and feet. There is no need to eschew color entirely just to make the switch to wood.
Even very small kids playsets are made from wood for use in domestic backyards. These have all the familiar elements such as a slide, climbing area, and swings, just made small enough for a little patch of land and little people. Playground equipment comes in a variety of sizes depending on the location where they will be added or built. For example, preschools need short climbing areas and short, narrow slides for little bodies. At an elementary school the needs change as kids get older and ages are mixed. There has to be something for everyone to do, sometimes all in the same place. If older kids are playing games on the top portion, running up and down stairs and up the slides, then little children can make a fort underneath where a lemonade stand has been built for imaginative play.