There’s one swing set accessory that you can hardly think of as an accessory at all, really, so integral has it become to the very idea of the swing set through its modern history. That structure is the slide, which has accompanied the outdoor swing set through many alterations and new designs. Whether it’s a freestanding structure beside the swings, or is attached directly to the actual frame, a slide seems somehow necessary to the whole concept of a swing set.
Remember those old metal swing sets with the tall slide that sometimes got so hot in the summer sunshine? Or perhaps your playground included one of those spiraling metal slides with a tower that contained a mysterious curving staircase inside. Most adults have very fond memories of their local playground slides, so it’s no wonder that even with all the other changes in swing sets, designers have retained the slide and at most just modified it to make it safer, rather than doing the unthinkable and removing it altogether. Some things are sacrosanct, after all.
One thing that has changed in the design of outdoor swing sets, though, is the very nature of the materials they’re made of. For the most part, metal has been replaced with wood or a strong, colorful plastic or resin. This is true of the slide as much as of any other swing set accessory. Metal slides may not have vanished completely from playgrounds, but it’s very rare these days to find one on a residential set.
One of the advantages of the newer type of slide is an extra safety factor. With the different, more rounded shape of this swing set accessory, not to mention that it’s made of materials that don’t experience the same temperature extremes that metal did in different seasons, children are now much less likely to suffer injuries. This means that they can enjoy their playground or backyard swing set with the same enthusiasm that they always have, while their parents breathe just a little easier on the sidelines.
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