The Benefits of a Home Playset vs. a Public Park Playground

 

• • Benefits of Public Playgrounds
  • Benefits of a Home Playset

  As a child, is there anything better than a playground? On the playground, children can improve their health, learn social skills, use their imagination and more. You may already know your child loves playing on the playground, but getting to the park regularly can be challenging. Have you considered bringing the playground to your own backyard? Both public playgrounds and home playsets are great places for kids to play. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that each of these options offers your family so you can decide if it’s time to install a playset at home.  

4 Benefits of Public Playgrounds

Public parks are a valuable asset to our communities. On average, Americans visit their local park or another recreation facility more than twice a month. There are some significant benefits to taking your child to a public playground for playtime. Public playgrounds even offer some potential advantages over personal home playsets.

1. They’re Freely Available

One plus of public playgrounds is they’re freely available for people in the community. You don’t have to spend any money to have a good time out with your kids. Public parks are a great asset to the community for this reason. Public playgrounds are also valuable for families who live in apartments or have other living situations that prohibit putting up a playset of their own. Even for people who own homes, a tiny backyard or certain landscape features may make setting up a playset impossible. When you can’t have a playset of your own, you can always count on public parks to provide an excellent place for active outdoor play for your children.

2. You Can Meet Others in the Community

A positive aspect of going to the park you can’t quite replicate in your own backyard is the community interactions. By visiting your local park, you may be able to meet others in your neighborhood who happen to be there with their children. Some great friendships are forged this way. You can also use a public park as a meeting spot for organized outings with others in the community. For example, you could have a Saturday morning meet-up where the parents sip coffee on a park bench and talk about their weeks while watching their kids play. You might even choose to host a birthday party at the park. Since most public playgrounds are larger than a backyard playset, they can accommodate more kids and make for a great gathering place.

3. They Can Help Kids Learn Social Skills

When a child plays at a public playground, they’re likely to encounter other children. Even two-year-olds can start enjoying social play, but during the ages of three to six, children become more motivated to seek out other kids to play with. Social play is an essential part of childhood since it helps children learn valuable lessons about interacting with others, including how to:

• Negotiate disagreements and reach agreements or compromises
• Share ideas with others
• Take turns and share
• Recognize social cues
• Empathize with others’ needs and emotions
• Build positive relationships

Especially for a child who doesn’t have any siblings at home or friends nearby, a public park can be a terrific place for them to meet their peers and learn these valuable social skills naturally.

4. They May Feature More Play Equipment

Another upside of public playgrounds is that they also typically feature more varied play equipment because they tend to be larger than home playsets. As a result, kids can engage in more types of play. Swingsets, slides, climbing equipment and more can all add to the fun. Using a variety of play equipment can also encourage children to use more muscle groups during play. They may also want to keep playing longer as they’ll be engaged by all the variety. For example, if they get bored of the swing set, they can move onto the spring riders or the slide to keep the fun and the benefits of active play going.  

7 Benefits of a Home Playset

While there are certainly some valuable benefits of playtime at the park, there are even more benefits of having a playset in your backyard. Many families enjoy both occasional park visits and more frequent at-home play, which can complement each other well and make for a childhood full of fun and learning. Consider these advantages you and your child can enjoy when the playground is right outside your door.

1. You Can Multitask at Home

A significant advantage for parents is that they can multitask when kids are playing at home. It’s long been the case that most fathers work full-time, and now, 55% of moms are employed full-time, with another 12% working part-time. For parents who work, evenings or weekends at home may require you to spend time on laundry, cooking, budgeting and other tasks. If you spend an hour or two sitting on a park bench to supervise your child, you may anxiously think about all there is to do at home. In contrast, when kids can play safely in their own backyard, parents and caregivers can get work done at home. Small children still require constant supervision, though parents can supervise while they garden in the backyard or wash dishes and watch through a kitchen window. Generally, once a child is six or older, they no longer need constant supervision, and children 10 and up can play without any supervision as long as parents know they’re outside playing.

2. You Can Ensure It’s a Safe Play Environment

All public playgrounds should be safe for children. However, limited time and budgets may mean communities don’t always monitor and maintain playgrounds as much as they should. Plus, even a well-maintained playground can still expose kids to germs. In many cases, encountering germs shouldn’t be worrying, but it can be problematic for immuno-compromised children. When children play at home, parents have more control over the environment and can more easily ensure the play equipment is safe and clean. Additionally, while older children can play at home with minimal supervision, playing in a public space calls for more parental supervision. One issue is what’s commonly known as “stranger danger.” Another problem is that children are more likely to be injured when playing on new equipment, making familiar equipment at home generally safer. You can enjoy more peace of mind when your children are safe in their own backyard.

3. Children Can Engage in More Active Play

There are many health-related childhood benefits of a backyard playset. Preschool-aged children should remain physically active each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children and adolescents ages six and up should spend at least an hour a day engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. It’s best if kids engage in aerobic exercise and activities that build muscles and strengthen bones at least a few days every week. In addition to physical benefits, active play also has valuable cognitive benefits. Despite the importance of active play, many children are underactive — and parents are concerned that their children spend too much time with screens. It can be hard to encourage active play instead of low-energy activities like watching TV when kids don’t have an outdoor play area. With a playset at home, kids will always have a place to go to enjoy some active play.

4. Children Can Share Their Playset With Friends

We mentioned that public playgrounds can encourage social interactions, but that benefit isn’t necessarily limited to public playgrounds. At home, kids can have friends over to play in the backyard. If you meet someone in the neighborhood, invite them over for a playdate. Having a playset is a great advantage when you want to have kids over to play with your child. Instead of playing video games inside, they can get some fresh air and exercise and use their imaginations. If you have a backyard barbecue or family gathering, you’ll never have to worry about what the kids will do to entertain themselves. When you have a playset there, the kids will always have a fun and beneficial activity to keep them occupied while the parents enjoy time together. You may even find that your house becomes the hot spot for get-togethers since you have an excellent setup for kids.

5. It Encourages Independence and Imagination

Most parents know all too well what it’s like to hear a child declare they’re bored. If you’re trying to limit screen time, kids may languish around the house, wondering how to entertain themselves. You can involve your kids in group activities, like baking cookies or playing a board game, but it’s also healthy for kids to figure out how to have fun on their own. Parents should look for ways to encourage independence in their kids, and having them play freely is a smart way to do that. When you have a playset at home, you can send your child outside to play and see their sense of independence and imagination grow as they figure out how to have fun on their own. Solo play also encourages children to learn important skills like time management, executive function and organization, helping them learn to be aware of and regulate themselves physically and emotionally.

6. You Can Choose Equipment That Suits Your Child

Another significant benefit of building a playset in your backyard is that it allows you to choose the type of play equipment that best suits your child. At a park, you may have to guide children to use equipment that’s appropriate for their age and ability level — and keep them from using equipment beyond their abilities. At home, your child can enjoy a playset that was chosen specifically for their abilities. In the future, you can change out the playset or add new equipment as your child grows. Beyond ability levels, children also have different preferences. For one child, the ideal playset may be a swing gym where they and their friends can swing together, and for others, it may be a fort with climbing equipment and a slide. You know your child best, so you can pick out the perfect playset for them. You can even design your own custom playset for the best fit possible.

7. It Can Improve the Value of Your Home

The benefits of building a playset in your backyard also have an impact on your home’s resale value. If you list your house for sale in the future, an attractive, high-quality playset in the backyard can be a real asset. Your real estate agent will certainly want to include this information since it could draw buyers with young children to take a look at your property. More than one-third of home buyers have children under 18 living at home, so a space outside for kids is likely to resonate with many buyers. Even homebuyers who don’t have children at home may love the idea of a playset in the backyard for nieces and nephews or grandkids. Overall, installing an attractive wooden playset in a yard can take it from good to great by boosting curb appeal and creating a wonderful haven for kids to play.  

Why Choose a Wooden Playset From Superior Play Systems?

If you want to enjoy the benefits of installing a playset in your yard, your next step is to choose the best option for your family. There’s an overwhelming variety of playsets to browse, so you may not know where to start. We recommend you pick a wooden playset from Superior Play Systems — the largest outdoor residential recreation retailer with the best warranties in the industry. We love constructing quality cedar playsets because we know wooden playsets offer some distinct advantages to families, including:

• Aesthetic: Whether you’re thinking about resale or want to create a stunning backyard, a wooden playset is the way to go. These playsets offer timeless charm and blend in well with the natural environment.
• Safety: Wooden playsets also offer some safety advantages. For one, wooden playsets won’t get as hot as glossy surfaces, making contact burns in the summertime far less likely. You also don’t have to worry about rust or sharp spots that can appear on metal equipment over time.
• Durability: Quality wood playsets are exceptionally durable. The chemical-free Pacific Cedar wood beams our playsets feature are strong and made to last. They’re naturally resistant to problems that can sometimes affect wood, such as splintering, fungus and pests.

 

Turn Your Backyard Into the Perfect Play Area for Your Kids

With a wooden playset from Superior Play Systems, you can transform your backyard into your child’s personal playground. You can look forward to your child engaging in more active play and eagerly inviting their friends over for backyard adventures. Help your child enjoy the wonders of childhood and stay active with a quality wooden playset from an industry leader you can trust. If you have any questions, contact us today for more information about our playsets. You can also visit a showroom near you to see playsets in person and pick out the perfect option for your family.