Tween/teen-friendly backyards: swingsets and/or other things they'll enjoy?

[Anonymous]

Fire pit.

[Anonymous]

We have a big circular flat swing and 11 year old still loves it.

13 year old throws a ball sometimes and plays hoops. He does use the hammock on occasion

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Are the kids who stopped using swings early ones who really enjoyed them when they were younger or not? My 8 year old adores swings and always has, and I'd be shocked if she stopped using our swing set in the next year or two, although I'm sure it's possible. My 5 year old likes them fine but has never been as much of a swing lover so I'm much less sure when he'll stop.

Your eight year old is about to change so so much. She will not be swinging on swings at 11! In middle school some kids get into makeup and dating and drugs. They are not swinging.

No need at all to scare other ppl or the op. Not all kids will do those things and that includes the op's kid. I managed to get through MS without that stuff just fine.

I said some kids do those things. But very few kids still play on swing sets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did your kids stop using swings? 10? 11? 12?

6

Our second used it until about 8. Certainly not as a tween or teen. They used nerf guns outside after that.

[Anonymous]

Treepod

[Anonymous]

I have three teenagers.

One uses our basketball hoop daily, the other two rarely do.

We have a ping pong table in the backyard and none of them use it to play with their siblings, but nearly every time they have friends over the kids end up playing ping pong.

[Anonymous]

They are going to need a tree house for weed smoking and sexual experimentation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They are going to need a tree house for weed smoking and sexual experimentation.

+1

[Anonymous]

We have three kids who are always outdoors. Best thing we ever did was NOT buy one of those expensive swingsets. We instead got less permanent outdoor equipment and switched it out when they got bored. We had a trampoline during Covid that got a lot of use (TBH - kids were in middle school and late elementary at that time and were probably just a bit too old).

We have a rope swing on one of our trees and a soccer goal. Basketball hoop in the driveway - these all got a lot of use.

But our kids were all bike riders and as soon as they were old enough to ride through the neighborhood independently (around 6-7 years old) they would hop on their bikes and go to their friends houses to hang out. Then they would just travel around the neighborhood.

The people in the neighborhood we know with swingsets paid a fortune for them, didn't get a lot of use out of them, and now that their kids are older, will need to pay someone to come out and figure out how to get rid of them.

[Anonymous]

What about indoors in a basement? What gets most use? My kid is 11 and asking for a foosball table and a ping pong table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ours still get some use, but we converted it to a ninja type course with some obstacles. My chatty tweens will still sit on the swings with friends and just talk while lightly swinging, too.

This was me.

Better though, was a shady screened sun porch where we could sit and chat and play our boombox.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Are the kids who stopped using swings early ones who really enjoyed them when they were younger or not? My 8 year old adores swings and always has, and I'd be shocked if she stopped using our swing set in the next year or two, although I'm sure it's possible. My 5 year old likes them fine but has never been as much of a swing lover so I'm much less sure when he'll stop.

Yes, loved them. But still don’t by 8? 9?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When did your kids stop using swings? 10? 11? 12?

8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did your kids stop using swings? 10? 11? 12?

6

We just got rid of ours. 11 and 6. Youngest would rather kick a ball or play sports than play on a swing set

[Anonymous]

My teens love our zipline