What is the garden toys that your kids have got the most pleasure/longevity from?

[united4ever]

I managed to tame the overgrown garden we got when we bought current house. It is kind of lacking in things to do though for the kids. I thought they would use it more and improvise (big lawn mainly). 7 year old boy and 4 year old girl - what would you recommend in terms of something that will get them out into the garden more?

There are swing and slide sets like this:

www.toysrus.co.uk/toys/little-tikes-hamburg-swing-and-slide-gym-set/0123017

but they range from £250 to £500 which is a lot. It's ok if they use it well for years but would hate for it to be a novelty and then never used. We go to the park regular too and that would always offer more than what we could put in our garden.

Then there is a trampoline. Could you let your kids trampoline unsupervised at 4 and 7 years old?

Any other suggestions? Feel free to link up specific models or items:)



----
This thread is quite old now so some of the suggestions may be out of date, but if you’ve landed here looking for garden toy recommendations, we’ve recently updated our best outdoor toys page with lots of great options, as tried and tested by Mumsnet users and their kids. We hope you find it useful.

MNHQ

[HeadDreamer]

Climbing frames and swings are also a waste of money.

I find it easier to go to the park where the climbing frames, slides and swings are much bigger. Unless yours are as big and high as the ones in the park, I won't bother.

We don't have trampoline in the local parks so I'm thinking about that.

[idontlikealdi]

Mud, stones and mud.

The nuggets have a kitchen, sandpit, playhouse and swing but always back to the bloody mud.

[idontlikealdi]

Buggers not nuggets!

[gingerboy1912]

Swing and sandpit

[PassMeASpanner]

Trampoline
TP climbing frame and slide (in summer they have a hose going down the slide, extender on the bottom - great fun)
Swings - mine did love them but don't use them any more (11yrs +)

In that order

[SpaceKablooie]

at everyone saying opposite things about the same garden toys.

I really want swingball now.

[Fourarmsv2]

Think trampoline is fairly unanimous?

[Bryna]

Please be careful with bamboo canes when they suddenly snap( usually in your hand) they truly are a lethal weapon!!! (Sorry to put a dampener on the thread)

[iMogster]

We have this climbing frame, it has no maintenance, 10 year guarantee. My 2 boys use it for hours at a time because there is so much climbing on it as well as swing and slide. It's so much easier than going to the park and it's great for when other kids are over as it's strong enough to get other kids on too.

dunsterhouse.co.uk/monkeyfort-wilderness-w2-8m-x-d3-4m

My boys don't like trampolines, so that wasn't an option for us. We have a plastic Wendy house. It hasn't been very popular, but I find it great for storing all the small loose garden toys! I prefer them getting toys out of this than going in the shed which has sharp tools etc.

If you're lucky enough to have a mature tree, I would recommend a knotted rope, or tyre on a rope or monkey swing.

Bubble guns are a massive hit. £2.50 each plus topping up with mixture from pound land.

[ShouldHaveStayedHome]

We're thinking of getting a trampoline at our new house when we move in the next month. A lot of posters seem to have them, so what are your brand recommendations??

[LaughingHyena]

Anything to make a den here. We have a TP frame with a den which can be added (ours just throws over, I think the heavy weight ones stay on all the time). Pop up tent is used lots too, a small camping one rather than a kids one.

Turtle sandpit has been well used, we had a small sand/water tray but that was outgrown by 4ish as they were too tall.

We have one of the plastic storage bench things full of bats, balls, skipping ropes, foam hopscotch mats. As they have got older we've added circus skills type things, spinning plates etc. Only problem is when they forget to close the lid it fills with rain, wish I'd gone for a cupboard instead.

Football goals were a nightmare with balls going over the fence, as was the basket ball hoop.

[notagiraffe]

Swings and trampoline, definitely. Still use both as teens.

[amyboo]

Tranpoline. My older kids are 6 and 3 and can use it perfectly fine without supervision. We have a safety net up and steps so they don't need any help. The swing/slide also gets used a lot, but we still have to push the 3 year old. Our wendy house also still gets lots of use (these days it's a helicopter or a lorry). I hate the mess of the sandpit but the 3 year old loves it... We also have small football goals which prove quite popular...

[vienaa]

Our 15ft metal frame pool is the biggest hit in the summer, trampoline is played all year round, we brought a separate slide as I find the ones with the swing sets are not tall enough, swing set and see-saw not so much we also have a play house from Little Tikes but they have gotten to tall for it now, they are 7 and 10

[SquidgeyMidgey]

Trampoline with a net, and a wooden climbing thing with a slide.

[LikeASoulWithoutAMind]

Trampoline and swingball are the biggest hits here. Climbing frame less so - think carefully about whether you really have enough space to make it worth it (I don't think we did really)

Tent also very popular. Or anything to make dens.

I'd agree that sand and water tables are a bit pointless but if you have room, a bigger sandpit would be great. A clean washing up bowl full of water and a few plastic cups etc kept my toddlers happy for ages.

Duplo on a huge blanket was good too. And big plastic diggers.

[Jw35]

Trampoline. Personally I don't want swing sets or slides in my garden as they can do that at the park for free! Trampolines are great, it's expensive to go to trampoline parks so not something kids do very often! It's great exercise too.

I have a 12 year old and one year old. I also have a large paddling pool for summer, a ball pool, a small rocking see saw for the baby and this year I'm getting a sand and water table.

[flissfloss65]

I bought my son a second hand climbing frame with monkey bars and den. He's now 15 and still says how he loved it. I got him a big trampoline and nets when he was 10 and an age where I didn't have to supervise him. Also, he loved flat plastic water slides for summer play.

[minipie]

Marking place! I am looking for something for our (small) garden - I think a trampoline is probably too big but wondered about a playhouse? They seem to get mixed reviews on here. I have two DDs age 1 and 3.5.

[cestlavielife]

springfree trampoline is the best - not the cheapest but it's definitely worth it...they have some ex display www.springfreetrampoline.co.uk/trampolines

[minipie]

oooh cestlavie thank you! They look interesting, we could squeeze one of their smaller ones in, I love that it has a bigger bouncing area because of having no springs (and the safety factor too of course). Silly question perhaps but are they as "bouncy" as normal trampolines? And I wonder if they can be sunk into the garden...

[fiorentina]

Trampoline.
Or a digging patch with spades and buckets and vehicles. They spend hours there.

[cestlavielife]

Dd says it is more bouncy than the old plum one we had. You can bounce off net safely .

[teacherwith2kids]

Trampoline.

We have just put ours away after 10+ years of continuous use. Get the absolute biggest that you can afford / fit in.

[vanillabeauty]

We have something like this, made from old pipes/tubes mounted on some wood and then screwed to a wall. Used for hours.