Our playscape is nice but not gigantic. It has a slide, an upper deck with a ship's wheel. There'e a ladder on one side to get up and a fake rock wall on the other. There's a bar to swing on and spots for 3 swings. Under the upper platform is a tire swing. My kids love it (at 4 and 17 months). But it sure cost a lot more than we expected (thank goodness for generous grandparents). The quality is excellent, and the guys who assembled it were true professionals. They tried out everything to ensure it could handle adult weight. I believe the total coset was somewhere in the neighborhood of $3000. Of course, our yard was already set for it. Good luck with all the other obstacles.

We moved to a neighborhood with multiple playgrounds within walking distance so we didn't feel the need to put one in our (very small) yard. We'd heard about how expensive they really are & since our yard slopes, we knew we'd spend even more getting it ready to put n a set. We've had people try to give us structures & I have no desire to have one. The playground is a great place to meet other kids & get to know their parents. My kids use our yard to play make believe games & build forts instead.

@UrbanCricket I don't have kids yet, but I have to disagree with your post. My sister and I played on our backyard swing-set from the time we were toddlers all the way until I was in junior high. Ours was nothing fancy, just swings, a fort area, and a slide, but we loved that thing! Whenever it needed to be repainted, my dad would let us pick the color we wanted. It was bright blue for many years!

@urbancricket That is a good point. What a bummer!

we too loved our play set. built by my dad! slide and all! it was simple square platform about eight foot up and a sand box under it. we played on it as well as our neighbors.

recently in my thirties I found out mom use to lock us outside. I dont recall that but I do remember drinking from water hoses, making forts, card board box play, pretending our boxwood bushes were a counter for a store. i doubt it was like an all day thing and i dont recall it being negative just out door fun time. very different times.

My kids are 6 & 9. We bought a good playset direct from a factory and saved about 40% off retail. We bought it when the oldest was 4. It was used a good bit the for the 1st couple of years, but only sporadically last year. We do have a computer, a wii and netflix, which got a lot more use. My kids still love a good playground and we are just a few blocks from the beach. They'd rather go somewhere different with a chance of seeing other kids than hang out on our playground. Best loved outdoor toy? The rope swing and their bikes.

My daughter is 3 and we have another on the way. We live outside the city, so we have to get in the car for everything, including parks. It was a good investment for us. We have a sloped backyard, so it was worth it to invest in professional installation. I didn't want to worry that we did it wrong.

We bought a cheap playset about 5 years ago, and I never felt like it was very safe, so last year I decided to get rid of it and get a new one. But the new ones were ridiculously expensive, and we had other issues like the ones mentioned in the post. So I designed one myself and hired a contractor to build it. It cost MUCH less than any comparably-sized one on the market, plus it had everything that the kids wanted on it - including two decks (one five feet off the ground, the other seven feet up!), a glider, two swings, an acrobat bar, a hammock, a picnic table, a slide, a climbing wall, a ladder, a climbing rope, and a pulley with a basket from the top deck. The kids have used it consistently since we built it - even in the middle of winter! I highly recommend going this route. It has worked out fantastically.

We had no intention of buying one, as we were promised a brand new playground within walking distance, by the housing developers that completely ravaged the forest that used to surround our house. After a couple of years with the promised playground nowhere in sight, we decided to buy a play structure for the kids so they'd have somewhere safe to play.

We dropped about $1200 on a good sized one from Costo, with the same fears that they'd grow tired of it after a few months and it would become a bug nest in the back yard. They surprised us, and are still using it actively two years later, even in the winter. it has a closed off lower portion with a door, and a loft-style upper portion. Depending on the game, it can become anything from an army fort, to a castle, to a house. They get tons of use out of it, and we usually have a few neighbor kids back there, as well.

We debated de-sodding and laying down rubber mulch or pea gravel, but left it with grass and it's holding up alright so far. The grass get a little worn under the swings, but my husband has never complained about mowing around it so it can't be that hard. We plan on power washing it and staining it this year to keep it in good shape. It's cedar, and has held up well in a completely un-shaded back yard. A good investment for anyone with kids!

I bought a huge, beautiful cedar playset for my kids back in '92 or '93 for about 1200.00. They used it pretty consistently until we had to move in '96. I'm still kicking myself for selling it for 300.00. I found out later that my sister sold hers after having it about 12 years, for the same amount she bought it!

Buying one of these really depends on your kids. We have a really nice cedar playhouse that we got from Costco. It was used maybe three times during last summer. The kids would rather play on a Kijiji bought Little Tikes Slide than that. We're contemplating the swing set b/c I know that's what they gravitate towards on playgrounds but as with any new toy, it's only fun when the other kids are on it with them.

We bought a swing set at Costco years ago. It was the best money we ever spent. Our kids and their friends have spent countless hours playing on it. Having said that...it took days for my husband and brother-in-law to put together. Every bolt, screw, and piece of wood came separate. Still, totally worth it!!!

We bought one from a big box home improvement store. It came with everything we needed to put it together. Took a few weekends to do it, but we find that it was well worth it. Our yard is flat and we were able to place the playset in a way that it didn't come too close to our fence or power lines. The children are now 6 and 4 and between them and the neighborhood kids, it gets plenty of use.

Here's a small tip...invest in upgraded/heavy duty swings and hinges that will hold the weight of an adult so that you can enjoy the set as well! We did so that I can use the play set as well. Because I'm apparently a really old kid :)

I have to add that the only downside that I see is that it does make it nearly impossible to have a sophisticated garden-party type yard when you've got a behemoth play set looming in the background.

We bought a decent one on craigslist for less than $200 for our new house. (Wait around, the nice ones are often listed for A LOT more but if you're patient you can get a deal.) The UHaul rental was less than $100, and lunch for a few friends who helped was probably $50. It was disassembled in big pieces, so reassembly was easy. We didn't worry about 6' clearance or mulch or power washing or anything. It has been a great way for us to meet our new neighbors since all the kids who pass by our house want to play on it. It's fun -- don't over-think it!

We have a very modest, used swing set that gets used often. When we lived in an urban area, we used the parks. Now that we're in the burbs, our kids (6 and 8) play with all the neighbors. Would my children sit and watch a movie or play animaljam on the computer instead if we let them? Without a doubt... that's why we don't : ) Also, we find the back yard situation less "helicoptery" and I don't miss the disgusting or non-existent bathrooms. Ours was cheap, but I would have paid triple.

@urbancricket - I too completely disagree. I am a nanny, and all of my charges have gotten plenty of use out of whatever set-up is in their backyard. They all watch their share of television and some are allowed to play computer games, but their screen time is restricted. It's up to parents to set appropriate boundaries for screen time... if a child knows that television/computer isn't an option, they will find ways to amuse themselves and invariably will end up outside.
The best playset I've encountered in my work was one designed and built by my charges grandpa. He was a builder before he retired, so that helped! He designed it in a modular way, so that as the kids got older it could transform from into a full-sized cubbyhouse/hang-out space. He also added a water wall, for when it rained, so that the kids could play outside, without actually being in the rain (making rainy days a lot more fun). He stole the idea from a museum exhibit - the water would collect off the roof, and then travel down through pipes, wheels etc. The kids could change/stop the flow of the water by turning different parts.

If you're handy you could try a plan off anawhite.com or similar? It may also be cost effective to hire someone to build off that plan, and then add the hardware and paint/stain it yourself. There's a company here in AU that supply playgrounds, but you can also go and buy all sorts of accessories separately (slides, ladders, buckets and pulleys, telescopes etc) to make your own play set.

@hinmelb - OMG I want a water wall! I grew up in TX, and with so many droughts the thought of a water wall blows my mind. Love it. We always wanted to play in the rain.

When we bought our hour last summer it came with not one but TWO swing sets (both eith a couple swings, an observation platform, and a slide) in a not very large backyard. We don't have any kids yet plus we think two swingsets is a little too much, so we plan to take one of them down and put up a garden in its place this summer.

We have two parks in our neighborhood (affectionately referred to as Park #1 and Park #2 by my son) but if we didn't, we would definitely have a swingset. It would get used pretty much every day, I can guarantee it. And we do own a tv, but there are restrictions. Outside play is a necessity any day we can get out there, like today when it's 80 degrees in Michigan!

A friend who's a landscaper warned me away from the shredded rubber "mulch" -- it never breaks down and you'll never be able to rake up all of it if you get rid of the playset. And it gets really hot if it's in the sun.

I have twins and we're lucky that our house came with the swing set/slide combo. It's small scale, one slide, two swings, nothing else, but my kids LOVE it. And don't get tired of it. Yes we have parks nearby but two toddlers are impossible to take there alone and we love the convenience of our fenced backyard play space. We also hit up craigslist and got a smaller little tikes slide/climber (they were one and a half last summer and the bigger slide ladder was too much) and a freebie play fort we redid with some plastics paint, added a couple of cozy coupe cars and some play mowers and my kids would stay outside sun-up to sun-down if I'd let them.

We built one and it was actually pretty inexpensive! (I think around $300?) I posted a complete tutorial on my blog: http://www.viewalongtheway.com/2011/07/our-diy-playset-part-1-the-tower/

I would recommend you check out Step 2. They have a fort they call the Clubhouse Climber that runs about $590. If you sign up for the newsletter, sometimes they offer free shipping. They offer durable, little-kid friendly play options. I tried to find the Clubhouse Climber on Craigslist, but had no luck. My sons played in this at the local nursery and loved it. There are other options available from Step 2 which don't require much space in height. Check them out http://www.step2.com/c/Outdoor-Play/?&pricefilter=4&showall=1.

We bought our (Peppertown fort) from eBay, the seller had already dismantled it so we picked it up, cleaned it & restained then assembled it which was a month long process, about a day to build. We saved $2k in the end, the stain, new bolts & we replaced the swing etc which added up to a few hundred on top of the price. We are thrilled with the choice dispte the work & extra costs. It's a great set up we never coud have afforded new.

It as 2 decks, 2 swings, a climbing wall, a huge slide, money bars & a sandpit, my kids love the sings & role play inside but not so much the sandpit & slide. What I didn't factor in the beautiful full-shade location was leaf/flower litter from a mock orange (I think) t thing is constantly covered by annoying small flowers & the lack of direct sunlight cultivates mildew on the canopy.

We bought ours for $200. A small one with a fort, a sandbox below, a slide, rockwall, ladder, rope ladder, and 2 swings. We just power-washed it, no stain was really needed as the wood was in good condition. I too was afraid the kids would get tired of it, but they haven't!

And as for computer/TV time, we are pretty strict about that. TV is limited to 2 hours a day and computer time is only as an incentive for good behavior at the end of the day. (15 - 30 minutes tops!) Otherwise, I tell my boys to go outside and play. They generally have a great time and have learned to pretend play and use their imaginations. The $200 was money well-spent IMO.

We don't have a playground within walking distance, so we bought a small playset from Costco and it's great. My son loves to play outside and I'll buy just about anything to promote that. When he's older (he's 2), we will add a fireman's pole to the playset and later build a treehouse.

Wal-mart, Toys r us and any number of other big box stores sell an $80 metal "A" frame that has two swings, a slide and a teeter totter. Your kids are not going to care that it did not cost 2 semesters of collage tuition, or is made of redwood, or has actual climbing wall grabs attached to the side. They will climb all over it, swing, slide, turn it into a fort, a spaceship, or a circus; no matter if you dropped $100 or $5000.
I suppose everyone has their reasons for getting those huge (in my opinion, overpriced) wooden things, but for my family we decided to go with the much more affordable metal one, plus season tickets to the zoo, science museum and children's theater, all for less than an upgrade to the cheapest wooden model cost.

We bought a set we designed from Ultrabuilt 3 years ago. The price was by far the best we could find for a modular wood set. It's held up really well and is very popular with our 2 boys and our friends. Sunday we hosted 20 kids for my older son's fifth birthday party and most of the time the kids were outside playing on the set.

@APEZALLA - any tips on dismantling the play structure? We found a nice one off of freecycle! We have 3 people total, helping, 2 vehicles (a pick up truck & a van with all the seats removed). I'm assuming - take pictures and mark everything (nuts & bolts to what post, etc..) I'm super excited (and my kids will be too). Now, if only the weather would cooperate O_o this weekend. sigh.