Swing? Monkey bars? Best garden stuff for DCs age 12

[DaisyCrazyLazy]

We are having our garden done and have just dismantled the trampoline that's barely been bounced on for over a year. Kids want something else instead but I don't know what. At 12, are lids still into monkey bars, nest swings, trapeze bars etc? Or am I better off with a hammock swing? Or a summer house? What do your DC12s play on with their friends?

Not play equipment but we’ve recently bought an outdoor swinging egg chair and my 11 year old DS likes sitting in it to read his book.

My pair (12) have hammocks and I hardly dare admit on here a hot tub.

Mine wouldn’t have played on outdoor toys like you describe

They might like the hammock

What about swing ball or garden games instead? Big water guns!

Yeah at 12 I was going to say hot tub as well. Bit of responsibility emptying it and checking levels etc.

If they've not been on the trampoline for a year I wouldn't waste money on a swing/bars etc. How about laying a patio and getting a biggish paddling pool or even a hot tub or I agree with PP re hammocks. Also nerf/water guns etc. Are they sporty? Maybe a (cheap) badminton net or football goals that can be easily dismantled and stored when they've lost interest.

What about a couple of pop-up tents? They are easy to store when not in use, can be filled with blankets etc for a den, gets the kids outside and they can gossip with their mates all day long (plus, sleepovers!)

I think they are better off going to the park to use zip wires etc by that age. Save your money and enjoy a more grown up garden.

I bought Dd (10) a hammock this year as she'd outgrown the trampoline, I got it from Wayfair - excellent delivery and £200 cheaper than identical looking ones else where.

What about digging a pond where the trampoline used to be, we did at the start of lockdown and DD finds it quite mesmerising and sits watching the bugs flitting to and fro for ages.

A hammock is a great idea... can anyone recommend one on a stand pls as the tree isn't strong enough to hang one form!

@Daisycrazylazy Dd has this one its out of stock atm but wayfair have lots of others, identical looking ones were at least £200 more on specialist websites.

The wooden frame ones look nicer but the metal frame ones are a lot cheaper. DDs one doesn't have wooden pieces along the top and bottom of the material and is like a cacoon when you lay in it which she likes, with the wood the material is taught and better to sunbathe on but are the ones that tend to spin if you get on it wrong.

A cheaper and space-saving option if you need more than one hammock is to permanently concrete some posts in the ground with fixings on the (big eyelet-type things) and then use carabiner clips to attach the hammock.

That way you don't have to accommodate the frames. When the hammock isn't in use you can just detach it, roll up and put away.

It's almost impossible to find equipment big enough fro older children that will fit in a garden. During .lockdown DS has been using the climbing frame for pull ups and that sort of thing but hes too tall to use the monkey bars or really bother with it if he were able to be out and about.

They do like the summer house to hang out with friends and have their own space, and we use it to store the garden chairs and stuff over the winter. It's close enough to the house that the wifi reaches. Hammock is also popular.

To keep them active were starting to look at some basic gym stuff, weighted hula hoop and excercise bike have both been well used in lockdown. We have a few of thse foam mats that link together which again have been brough out to use in the garden a lot recently.

No climbing stuff for 12yos. Waste of money. Just somewhere to hang out.

Maybe a trapeze on the swing.

Maybe a slackline.