WWYD - Folding slide & teeter totter **OR** Climber??

[emmasmama]

We have a very small courtyard size backyard. We've already fenced it and put in playground rubber mulch and now I'm trying to decide what outdoor toys would be be most flexible and get the most use. I realize winter is coming, but our weather is more temperate, so on nice days this will still get alot of use and keep me from making the trek to the park.

I'm trying to decide between getting the Step2 Woodland Climber:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00007A1S2/ref=ord_cart_shr/102-3796452-9298504?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

**OR** getting the Step2 teeter totter & folding slide for 1/2 the price:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000067R1S/ref=ord_cart_shr/102-3796452-9298504?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000W3ZWI/ref=ord_cart_shr/102-3796452-9298504?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

This is for a 19mo who is very active and climbs everything (totally fearless) and a timid 3 1/2 yo to play with together.

Help me decide what's best!

[C99]

If your younger one can climb the stairs on the climber, I'd get that one. We have an older version of the Step2 climber (it is much taller) and both kids love it. My 18-m/o can almost climb the stairs herself and will be able to do so next spring. My 3.5y loves to play under the structure and makes up games that go around it, so I think it's best for an element of imaginative play and not just straight up active play.

Where did you get rubber mulch?

[traciann]

I would get the climber...because I think thats what my 18 month old would enjoy. Bonus is that I think it would expend that pent up energy the best.

eta: we have the kangaroo climber that we keep inside, and it as become DD's favorite thing lately.

[Joolsplus2]

We have a step two kangaroo climber in our living room and my 7 yo LOVES it (ok, not the same thing, I guess I'd vote climber, too). But look for a smaller teeter totter, too...we had the old alligator one (wonder if they still make that...) that could hold, one, two, or three kids, and the utter joy of my almost 2 yo dd screeching 'Teeeeeee tah tah!' was totally priceless. This one's a little smaller and cheaper... http://www.littletikes.com/toys/toys-detail.aspx?Product_ID=2492&gcid=C16744x008&gtkw=2492 (gee... might not work with a muted brown decorating scheme well, but you get the idea)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[emmasmama]

I bought the Groundscape brand of rubber mulch. They actually had it at a local nursery/garden center, but some of the play structure stores had it too. It wasn't cheap ~$24 a bag, but it's no maintenance and the area where we wanted it for the kids to play is pretty small.

http://www.groundscape.com/

There is a place on their site where they have a dealer locator. I really like it alot. We put it in about 3 weeks ago and the color is really nice - kind of a reddish brown, very rich - kind of like mulch when your first put it down before it fades. My husband did a 17' x 16' area of the yard in a few hours, including doing some leveling and removing a cement block paver "patio" from the area. He put down some "weed blocker" fabric stuff also from the gardening center beforehand. The rubber mulch is made from recycled tires and doesn't stain clothing and tracks much less into the house. Also doesn't need to be replaced or refilled. I just had my playgroup over and even with 4 kids running in and out of the house repeatedly I only found one little piece of it in the house. It has a nice cushy texture when you stand on it, kind of like you're on a gymnastics mat but imagine that it's mulch instead, if that makes sense.

[emmasmama]

Okay, so sounds like most people would choose the climber then... hmmm, and here I was leaning toward the cheaper option, LOL! My 19 mo can defitely climb the stairs - she climbs the big kid slide structure at the park and then goes right down one of those chute style curvy slides. My 3 1/2 yo doesn't even do that!

Anyone think the slide and teeter totter would be good enough? I can see the advantage of the climber having the underneath part for them to do imaginary play, but it looks so short that I wasn't sure how practical it would be. I saw some reviews on Amazon that said it was too short for their kids to use as a sandbox.

[DAKnits]

IMHO, I think your child would get bored with the slide and teetor toter -- I would also get the climber. We have that climber at our My Gym and DD LOVES it even now, at 2 1/2. I think it has a LOT more longevity.

For me, it took me a long time, but I finally realized that in trying to save myself some money, I made a lot of decisions I regretted later. Now I'm stuck trying to sell stuff on craigslist at a loss, and I ended up buying the more expensive option anyway.

[emmasmama]

Thanks for your response - this is the thing I always worry about - when is it worth it to spend the extra money and when is it a time when the kids won't know the difference. It sounds like this might be one of those times when it would be good to put in the extra cash. I checked out Craigslist too and it seems like these have good resale even, so in a couple of years, I could probably find it a new home if the kids are too big for it.

I know we'll never have room for a big swingset at this stage, so this is pretty much the biggest thing I would put in the yard and it seems like it has a lot going for it between the play area, slide, climbing walls on sides and steering wheel on top.

Thanks again for all the replies!

[emmasmama]

I decided to go for the climber and ordered it from Amazon, no tax, free shipping plus $20 bonus Amazon gift certificate issued with purchase over $100 until Nov 16th... I can post a review after I have it set up if anyone is interested!