My daughter has nothing to play with outside!!

apples1

We don't have a giant garden but are considering giving the majority of grass space over to an activity centre for our child for a few years. Any recommendations on good value for money or makes to avoid etc would be appreciated.

Considering 2nd hand on e bay but nothing suitable on there at the moment and nothing near remotely near us at all. Would like one thing that has a slide, 2 swings and somewhere to make camp (e.g tower with canopy roof). Must be wood as will be taking over our garden so has to look "nice"! Needs to be suitable from 4/5 - 10 years.

Little_Miss_Winner

We have been there done it, with these large expensive activity centres, and in hindsight, wouldn't bother again. They take up far too much room, and once your child gets bored of them, which is usually quite quickly, it's what to do with them then?!

Mine have had much more fun with single slides, sand pits, house, and love things like getting the swimming pool out, scooters, skipping etc.

How many children do you have? boy/girls?

apples1

One girl - almost five. She really needs a sibling to play with but a play centre seemed a good 2nd choice! She has a sand pit which is always out. Other than that we have a bike & scooter (although not really enough patio to go far enough to have much fun for more than a few mins). She also has a space hopper and lots of two people games (kids badminton, cricket etc) which we play with her. I just feel a long two months summer hols ahead and hoping I could get something she would play on alone or share with playmates when they come over!

I am interested in what you say about novelty wearing off as that is real concern to me too.

looby75

Ds has a swing/slide/climbing frame activity centre, similar to this one, He is a little monkey who loves climbing and it's the best £100 I have ever spent. He's had it for about 18 months now and has had hours of fun on it, both when he is on his own in the garden and when his friends are over (there is enough stuff on it to keep them all occupied)

I suppose it depends on how much your dd likes sliding/climbing as to how much she would use an activity centre.

amandada

We had a Hedstrom one which we had to replace after about 6 years (some parts rusting so we were concerned about safety). It had a single swing, a boat swing and a 2 person "glider", along with a chute and a play platform. My children were never off it.
When we replaced it last year, we went for TP-we got the metal although they do wood too-which are lovely. This one has a single swing, and boat swing, and we opted for an extender bar with a trapeze with rings.
The children love it (as do most of the children in the street:rolleyes: ), and there are options to put on a basketball board etc as they grow.

I'd definitely recommend the TP-it's well worth the extra few quid....and they keep their value second hand too

Christmasshopper

We have had just about every garden activity possible, but by far the best value for money has been the trampoline. We bought an 8ft one 3 years ago and it has been used almost every day since.
We found that swings, slides and climbing frames were a bit of a fad. They would be played with for the first few months then the novelty would wear off.
Sand pits were popular, but you have to keep the cats out.
Paddling pools are great fun, but they can only be used for a few weeks of the year. Then you have to find somewhere to store it.

poe.tuesday

our children have a trampoline (with an enclosure net), they spend hours boucing and making dens, even when there is just one of them they sit on the trampoline and play, we put a big sheet over the top of the cage so it's like a den, they love it

we only have a small garden and don't have any room for swings etc but the trampoline has been the best money spent, we could only fit an 8 foot one in and it cost £130 from argos including the enclosure

Errata

The kids opposite my house, aged 3 to 18, have a trampoline with an enclosure net. During school holidays and weekends it's in use from dawn to dusk! They use it all year round and it seems far more popular than their bikes, scooters, telly, computer and games.

Counting_Pennies_2

I can highly recommend the TP set.

Mine is metal, and I think it has a longer life guarantee than the wooden stuff from TP, but both are lovely.

TP sells very well on Ebay years after it was bought, so it would be a good investment

ailuro2

Swingball outdoor starter kit was on offer in Asda the other day, can't remember how much for.

imho only having one activity centre isn't much fun if there's no room left to play ball games, make den with deckchairs and sheets, draw on the patio etc.

My 8yo dd loves her swingball (just Tescon's cheap version) and she can play it by herself of against others.

lab-lover

I have a ten yr old girl, she and a girl from down the road have been playing swingball for the last hour. it has been in a cupboard for 2 years so chuffed it has finally got an airing, and you dont need masses of space for it.