Backyard help!

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

We are getting DD a swingset for Christmas. Our backyard has St. Augustine grass and DD hates it. Plus, there are the occasional snakes, lots of lizards, turtles - you get the picture. The grass is a great hiding place. I want to take an area and put mulch or something down for the swingset. DH is afraid that once we do that, we won't be able to get grass back and when we sell the house, people won't like that patch of mulch. What do you think? Any ideas?

PS I am not just going to throw down mulch but rather make a nicely partitioned section (like landscaping for kids!).

[SnuggleBuggles]

For safety sake they recommend mulch under a swingset, rather than grass.

This is the AAP recommendation:
" *
Carefully supervise young children using playground equipment. Keep children from shoving, pushing, or fighting.

*
The surface under playground equipment should be energy absorbent. Use safety - tested mats or loose fill materials (shredded rubber, sand, wood chips, or bark) maintained to a depth of at least 9 inches.

*
Install the protective surface at least 6 feet (more for swings and slides) in all directions from the equipment.

*
Swing seats should be made of something soft, not wood or metal.

*
Children should not twist swings, swing empty seats, or walk in front of moving swings.

*
Put home playground equipment together correctly. It should sit on a level surface and be anchored firmly to the ground.

*
Cap all screws and bolts. Check periodically for loose nuts and bolts and broken, rusty, or sharp parts.

*
Install playground equipment at least 6 feet from fences or walls.

*
Check for hot metal surfaces on equipment such as those on slides, which could cause burns.

*
Never attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, or pet leashes to playground equipment because children can struggle on them."
http://www.aap.org/family/playgrd.htm

You can always take your nice swingset with you when you move and just put a cheaper one down when you are getting ready to sell so the mulch patch makes sense. :)

Beth

[boogiemom2]

We put rubber mulch under our swingset in our old house for safety purposes. When we sold it, no one really questioned it. The swingset was still out there but we told everyone we were taking the play equipment. The new owners have daughters that are older than my kids and they used that area to put a trampoline. It was no problem. I would not trade safety for my child for a potential problem that may or may not come up. For us, that rubber mulch paid for itself quite quickly in the first few months we had our swingset. It prevented ER trips for my son and for our neighbor's little girl. They both took nasty falls and were fine thanks to that mulch. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Plus, it's much cheaper now than it used to be. Last I checked, it was about half as expensive as what we paid. Good Luck!


P.S. Wood mulch will draw bugs, wash away when it rains and has to be added to each year. Our neighbors went that route and regretted it. Don't use sand because any neighborhood cats will likely use the playground as a litter box.