Outdoor Playgrounds

Here's what we looked for in an outdoor playground.

• Lots of hand holds to help decrease tactile defensiveness: For example, a ramp with a climbing rope, a pirate's rope ladder with wooden climbing steps, trapeze bars for hanging, and a regular ladder for climbing.
• A sandbox: Believe it or not, this simple part of the playground is the biggest draw, and is a great place to expand imagination skills as you build racetracks for matchbox cars, castles and sand homes with miniature landscaping.
• Opportunities to improve balance and decrease gravitational instability: Again, a climbing rope ladder is perfect for this, as are the requisite swings.

An example of an outdoor playground that has these options is the Jungle Fort Swingset from Detailed Play Systems. To look at the swingset and its features, click on the following link: Detailed Play Systems . Happy swingset hunting!