Would you say this is appropriate for a toddler?

[Yebbie]

I have a toddler (2.5) and a baby on the way. We have moved house and have an absolutely rubbish village park now (literally 1 metal slide with steps and some swings) toddler is used to a brilliant one so we've had tears over it a million few times, I share a car with my partner so a lot of the days I'm home with toddler we can't drive to a good one. So we spoke to him about getting a park for our garden, especially with baby coming I don't want to feel stuck getting buses to keep him entertained all summer with newborn in tow.

He has specified he wants a "towa" and a "wiggly bridge"

I have found these from Wickey.. but all the ones I'm finding with a wobbly bridge don't have steps as much as they have climbing walls. He's never done a climbing wall! Is this something you'd think suitable for 2/2.5 plus (with constant supervision)

It's expensive so I want something that will last both kids a good decade, wobbly bridge is restricting my options a bit but I don't want to spend hundreds and it not be quite what he wants so the kid can just have a bridge but yes, will he realistically be able to use this?

I know the first one has a kind of ladder but the planks look really far apart so I can't imagine him using that much easier than the climbing wall?

The other pic if you can kinda see has a rope and the wood to climb up or a climbing wall. Just not sure if that's realistic for his age? I don't want him to not be able to get up on his own and me constantly be heaving him up it..

Yes, it think it would be great for a toddler but worry about your comment of it lasting a decade for the money - my dd(7) would happily play on it but I think she'd be begining to outgrow it really so not sure it necessarily haals the longevity you're after

Sorry, just seen your second post, climbing up a wall with a rope is probably age 4-5 kind of thing in my experience but the sloped climbing wall would be easier than the vertical one

You could add a couple of extra rungs on the ladder of the first one, in the large gaps?

Please put plastic covers on the swing rope.
Came home and the babysitter hadn't noticed ds hanging by his neck on a twisted swing... Had to cut him down... He still remembers over a decade later
.

That looks awesome, my just turned 3 year old would love it.

It's fab, OP. It won't last a decade as your DC will outgrow it - but it will be lovely while they are little. We had something similar for our DC when they were younger (didn't consult them, though) - plus an absolutely immense trampoline. They loved both, though I think the trampoline was possibly a better buy as they were still using it when they were 11/12ish, unlike the playground thing, which they had well outgrown by the time they were 8/9ish. I don't know how trampolines are regarded now; at the time, there were warnings about how only one child at a time should use them, but I thought the main thing was to have a net around it. There were a few black eyes etc caused by children of different ages and weights bouncing around, but it was basically brilliant.

Also, OP, if you have more children, you will find that they just somehow learn to climb up walls, swing themselves, etc, etc, etc. I was still flapping over DC1 as his younger siblings were doing goodness only knows what.

I think it will be fine with supervision, and once kids what to do something they can learn pretty quickly.

Is it going to last though? Is it going to be 'boring' when they are 6/7.
What do you do with these things in winter? Do they get slippy and need lots of cleaning.

I would have given my right arm for something like this as a child. But we weren't allowed one because the garden was on a slope. But when dd was younger she got a massive swing set in my parents garden. Not that I'm bitter about it or anything 😂

A sloped climbing wall like the pink one, yes, bit I think a 2 and a half year old would struggle with a vertical one. Sure they would eventually get the hang of it, but you might find you spend a lot of time lifting them on and off.

Well the second one isn't born yet and I may have one more so as long as it's lasts until all my kids are bored of it I'm happy! If it lasts 8 years that works out around £100 a year, just seems a lot looking at it like that. Especially if he's going to find it difficult to use for a year or so?! Thanks hadn't thought about the tilted one being better so will go for that one

It is supposedly pressure treated and can handle all weathers, if slippy when wet can monitor that, 10 year guarantee on all the wooden bits so I hope it would stand in that regards, age they'd get bored of it I don't have a clue really? I feel like I'd still play on it and I'm 27

We were thinking about getting something like this but my kids are 2.5 and 6 and reading the responses I feel like we might have missed the boat a bit.

If I were in your position, with little ones the ages of yours I definitely would though. My 2.5 year old would manage the ladders on those fine, and presumably by summer (when it would be getting the most use) your child will be 3 which I think would be peak age for something like this, it looks great!

We bought that exact one at the start of lockdown for my (at the time) nearly 18 month old to grow into. Now 3 and still going strong. She was capable of the ladder before she could do the climbing wall end but I wonder if an element of that was just confidence.

The only thing we did do was buy a couple of extra planks of wood from our local timber merchant for the wobbly bridge, the gap between the bottom plank and the bottom of the bridge was quite big and I was worried she could slip under it - not sure if that was necessary or not really!!

It gets a lot of use, I'd reccomend it!

Looks great! My DS could have done that before he was two. Obviously they learn as well.

He's always loved a wobbly ladder. They're much more interesting

We bought this for a 2.5 year old and never even been near it. Leave it at least another 2 years.

My 3 and 4 year olds would be bored by this. There is a similar setup in the closest park to them and they no longer want to go.
Climbing wall is doable from 3, my kids often go to a climbing centre with family and can climb to the top of the normal climbing walls with a rope and harness. Something clicked around 3 and they suddenly understood how to do it. At climbing centres they change the pieces around weekly, I’m not sure a setup that never changed would be as interesting.
I don’t know if it would be interesting to have in the garden all the time though. The interesting thing about a park is that the child’s access to it is limited. Our neighbours had a climbing frame you build yourself with loads of possible configurations and we played with that for years.
You might also want to see what you can pick up second hand, then resell if it’s not a hit.

My 2 year old would be able to do the climbing wall and the planks. This is down to the practice she's had at the park. Your toddler will master it pretty quickly

@Footnote

My 3 and 4 year olds would be bored by this. There is a similar setup in the closest park to them and they no longer want to go. Climbing wall is doable from 3, my kids often go to a climbing centre with family and can climb to the top of the normal climbing walls with a rope and harness. Something clicked around 3 and they suddenly understood how to do it. At climbing centres they change the pieces around weekly, I’m not sure a setup that never changed would be as interesting. I don’t know if it would be interesting to have in the garden all the time though. The interesting thing about a park is that the child’s access to it is limited. Our neighbours had a climbing frame you build yourself with loads of possible configurations and we played with that for years. You might also want to see what you can pick up second hand, then resell if it’s not a hit.

Hmm thats worrying if they'll get bored of it that quickly. We really don't have a suitable park closer than a 30 minute bus ride so I thought it would be a hit! The only thing he's had outside for the past year has been a sand and water table and he wants to use it daily no matter the weather so I hoped this would be similar. It's so hard to know I guess. I thought this one goes further than just climbing/sliding etc as with the tower and pirate ship etc it's good for imaginative play as well.

I think I'll cry if for nearly a grand it just sits there unused! Didn't want to buy one second hand though as then there's no warranty / 10 year guarantee!

We got a similar version second hand off Facebook. It gets used loads in decent weather by my 4 and 2 year old and all their friends, however
When the youngest started clambering on it we had to put up an extra barrier over one drop as I couldn't run round fast enough to supervise.

Also have a think about what you'll put underneath it? We have some large mats under the climbing wall and rope swing as that was where the kids were falling most often. I do often think about getting some rubber bark though, but it is expensive.

It looks fantastic. I echo to look secondhand, ebay and marketplace. . My toddler would have loved this at that age and I can imagine it will get at least a few solid years use from both kids. You can sell it on afterwards too.

It depends on the children but my 7 year old with his friends still plays on his. They mainly use it more as a lookout and a den though, with the slide being an emergency exit!