Swing sets are fun! But did you know that they are actually good for your health as well? If you’ve been thinking about buying a swing set, then you’ll want to check out these 5 great reasons why this will be a healthy purchase choice for you and your family.

Health Benefit #1: Move It, Move It!

The sad reality is that kids nowadays don’t like to “move it” at all. In fact, in our technology-crazed society, it can be hard to get kids up off the couch, let alone outside and active. A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study showed that childhood obesity has doubled in young children and tripled in adolescents over the past three decades. The lesson is clear: kids need to get up and move.

According to the CDC, children need a minimum of one hour of physical activity each day. Getting them moving, jumping, playing, climbing, sprinting, and swinging on their own swing set is the easiest way to make this necessary exercise session fly by! Swinging in particular exercises joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons all at the same time for a full body workout.

Health Benefit #2: Being in the Great Outdoors

Getting kids outside in the fresh air and bright sunlight is great for them. According to this ScienceDirect research, being outside for extended periods of time boosts your immune system, calms your overly-active brain, lifts your general outlook and mental health, generates more positivity, and lowers levels of stress and instances of depression. In fact, playing outdoors in nature can even boost creativity and focus, so get on board this natural mood-enhancer and boost your kids’ self-esteems the healthy way.

Health Benefit #3: Learning Life Skills

Whether they are playing in a group or waiting their turn in line, kids learn a ton of life skills on their wooden swing sets. These skills will help them in the future, from interpersonal office skills to parenting techniques. When playing in a group, children learn essential skills such as cooperative play, compromise, fair play, and teamwork. They exercise their social skills and develop better communication skills by working through situations that come up during this playtime.

Even if a child doesn’t want to socialize, they can learn patience, turn-taking, and personal boundaries skills by navigating these lessons out on the swings.

Health Benefit #4: Motor Coordination & Other Physical Skills

Playing on playground equipment isn’t just fun, it’s educational! In fact, Scholastic found that children who play on jungle gyms have better perceptual skills, spatial awareness, sensory integration, and vestibular (i.e. balance) development. These kids are also generally more fit, are better at sports, have finer hand-eye coordination, and maintain stronger mental representation than kids who don’t play on outdoor playsets. Those are some amazing skills you can give your children just by letting them play!

Health Benefit #5: Parents’ Health & Well Being

Parents actually gain health benefits from owning a swing set as well, such as the following:

When you have a playset in your backyard, your kids are constantly occupied and having fun. There is less stress from having to “find something to do” because they are entertaining themselves.
At the end of the day, there is less of a fight to go to sleep because kids have released their energy via a healthy outlet.
When the house is quiet, and the kids are in bed, you can actually go for a swing too! Swings are used in SIT therapy to help relax children with developmental issues. But parents can also sit on their swings and let the stress fly away.
Remember, the healthier your kids are, the happier they’ll be as well. So take care of their mental, emotional, and physical well being all in one shot with an invigorating outdoor playhouse or swing set, and leave the door to imagination and health wide open!