Never too old to swing!

How to swing!

Where do the birthdays go? They seem to come round much more frequently than once a year, and my children are growing up far too fast for my liking! My girl, especially, is turning into a young lady (or a grumpy teenager – ask me on a good or bad day and you’ll get a different answer!) almost as I watch, and as she hit double figures recently I was struggling to know what to get her for the big day. Until I asked her. What she most wanted, in all the world, was a swing.

The best wooden swing

I’ve run the gauntlet of technology with my children, the birthday gifts getting ever more sophisticated, until I’ve wondered what on earth there will be left to buy them when they’re 15! But every now and then they surprise me by craving some of life’s simpler pleasures, and it puts a smile on my face. Such was GG’s 10th birthday request. She just wanted a space of her own in the garden, to swing. But where would I find a swing sturdy enough for a 10 year old?

I remember as a child having an iron swing embedded into the ground. It was so much better than all the swings in my friends’ gardens. Flimsy frames with tiny clips that barely clawed at the lawn, that frequently tipped over if you did much more than a gentle sway. I did not want one of those for my girl. Besides, what if I wanted to have a go?

A really strong, solid swing that won't move from the ground

I found the answer in the TP Round Wooden swing. Not only does it look good, it comes with metal fixings that you embed into the ground. We dug down a little and filled each small hole with concrete for extra stability, and as the frame settles into place it will feel even more firmly lodged. With this swing you can choose what to have at each station, and we chose a swing seat, and a trapeze.

I had assumed that the girls would head out and do what they do best – gossip! But no, as soon as they were in from school, on went the dressing up gear, and I was treated to a full-scale trapeze show, complete with ringmaster! The girl who bought hair crimpers with her birthday money still knows how to play 🙂

Best swing ever

 

It was so lovely to see my rather grown up girl revert to being a big kid again, playing simple, creative games with her friends. That swing is going to be so much more than a place for a moody teenager to escape to when she needs space. I have a feeling it will keep her young for a long time to come. And as you can see from this video, not a wobble in sight!

Activity Toys Direct, who supplied our swing, do lots of garden toys for all ages, as well as a great range of the bigger indoor toys. Service and delivery were great, and we couldn’t be more pleased with our swing.

Disclosure: our swing was given to us free of charge for the purposes of review. All editorial content and opinion are our own.

15 thoughts on “Never too old to swing!”

  1. Oh that looks cool! I love how it doesn’t matter how old you are, as you say, swinging is fun!

    Great to see GG enjoying herself 🙂

    Reply
  2. My youngest Joe is 10, he has a swing and climbing frame in the garden, he loves it and spends hours on it. Its amazing how much Kids love outdoor fun isn’t it, and its so good for them x

    Reply
    • There are so many reasons to be inside these days for kids, I love it when there’s a reason to just play in the garden. She’ll often go out there in the rain too, with a tea towel to dry the seat 🙂

      Reply
  3. We have a swing hanging from our pear tree and my mother in law loves it!!! And makes a beeline for it whenever she is here.

    You really can’t beat a good swinging session

    That sounds wrong

    Reply
  4. Am I allowed to say this wasn’t the post I was expecting from the title? 😉

    However, it looks amazing, that’s a proper swing that is. It will last for years I’m sure.

    Reply
  5. I love those photos! We had a TP swing when the teen was young and he loved it. Sadly we had to get rid of it and I have often discussed the idea of getting a new one with my husband but apparently it would take up precious football playing space! That does look like a good addition to your garden though

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Emma Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

error: Content is protected !!