Outdoor Play Area

[Gemma]

I spray-painted my pots one year, and they looked amazing, but the following year they were all pealing. I figured ok, back to your original color, but scraping off the remaining paint wasn't easy, so I left them to peal off on their own and they still at it....I wouldn't want that in my playground

[Alwaysgreener]

Wayfair and Zulily carry Step 2 stuff and it goes on sale there. Both places ship directly from step 2 and Wayfair has free shipping.

But check out simplay3 website, same quality but American made and owned plus they give a provider discount.

[Cat Herder]

They do make spray paint for plastics, they revive yard sale finds like a dream.

[Gemma]

This is good to know!!! Maybe I'll try Step Two. I want a big play house but one that will withstand weather and fading.

Speaking of fading.. we turned my son's Little Tikes car bed into a car for the playground (added sits and steering wheel), it's been in the sun for several years but it has not faded one bit, and then I have a Little Tikes playhouse, made for outdoor, that started fading the next year we bought it and it has never stopped. So my question is...why don't they build outdoor structures out of the non fading plastic they use for indoor things?

[Gemma]

@CH, I love how you express yourself

[TwinMama]

I love the Step Two Naturally Playful collection but I do have to say I have been disappointed in my newer items. The pieces from my earlier collections are so much more sturdy and are still holding up better than the pieces I have collected in the last five years. The first pieces I bought when my now adult kids were toddlers still look brand new, 20 years. The new stuff is dry rotting already and was wobbly on assembly. Now, I could have accidently bought counterfeit products since my last ones were from amazon & target when all the previous stuff was from Step Two "Daycare Solutions" that I can't find anymore. I think they went out business? Step Two may also be using a different manufacturer? I really miss quality in production. That said, they are much cheaper now they when I bought them back in 1994. That seems odd.

This is good to know!!! Maybe I'll try Step Two. I want a big play house but one that will withstand weather and fading.

[Alwaysgreener]

My foster boy have a thing for butter and salt. We were in bed bath and beyond in the kitchen area looking at pepper grinders. I look over and he is shaking salt into his hand and licking his hand. He always wanted butter on his plate with nothing else. I never found out why he craved butter or salt.

[Cat Herder]

AG, I did that often as a kid and it turned out I was anemic. Bone marrow (bit into chicken legs), dark dirt and rocks, it was like I had to have them. Now I chew ice when no one is watching, they say it is related. lol!

[Alwaysgreener]

We had pea stone outside when my autistic niece was little. She would take hands full of it and put it in her mouth then suck on it. She had a thing with rocks in general, she would put bigger ones in her mouth.

[Cat Herder]

I love the Step Two Naturally Playful collection but I do have to say I have been disappointed in my newer items. The pieces from my earlier collections are so much more sturdy and are still holding up better than the pieces I have collected in the last five years. The first pieces I bought when my now adult kids were toddlers still look brand new, 20 years. The new stuff is dry rotting already and was wobbly on assembly. Now, I could have accidently bought counterfeit products since my last ones were from amazon & target when all the previous stuff was from Step Two "Daycare Solutions" that I can't find anymore. I think they went out business? Step Two may also be using a different manufacturer? I really miss quality in production. That said, they are much cheaper now they when I bought them back in 1994. That seems odd.

[Snowmom]

Saaaame.
I used to have a large wood Rainbow set awhile back. Glad we got rid of it because of the injuries. But the amount of plastic toys now in the backyard is an eyesore.

[TwinMama]

That sounds awesome!!! I would love to do something like that. I agree with Cat Herder. I was worried that having gravel would cause problems. What kind of trucks do you have that withstand weather? Did you build your mud kitchen or did you purchase it? A bubble station?!? Shut the front door!!! Do you just leave out bottles of bubbles to play with? I've been trying to find a good teeter totter for my new space that all the ages could use.

[TwinMama]

😆😆😆😆😆 That's awesome!!

[Cat Herder]

How do the kids do with the gravel? I have been considering it for years. I am always so afraid the State will take it away as an option the day after I spread it. It is not on the "recommended" list, but is an option. Do they put it up their nose? Throw it? Put it in their mouths? Dig down to the dirt/mud? How do you maintain it? I am so tired of spreading mulch that breaks down every three months for $600+. I would love a better solution.

[daycarediva]

I have three sizes of playground structures, climbing dome, teeter totter, large construction area with pea gravel and trucks, etc, mud kitchen, sand and water tables, bubble station, and the toys.