We’re taking another look at swings–or a specific swing set to be exact. This old school swing set is shiny, new, and recently installed in my new hometown, Long Beach, Mississippi. Long story short: A local old dude with fond memories of a swing set from his youth raises money to cover the cost of installing something similar. The original set of swings was washed away by hurricane Camille in 1969.

---

A Look At The New Old School Swing Set

As near as I can tell, this is a one of a kind custom build done locally. A few observations. It’s taller than most modern swing sets I’ve run across. I can’t explain the physics that are probably behind it, but as someone who has done a lot of swinging in his day, those long chains make swinging more fun. Maybe it’s that you’re so far out there at the top of the forward and backward swing, when you stop in midair for that split second before heading in the opposite direction.

I also like the fact that it’s so dull. This old school swing set doesn’t yell PAY ATTENTION TO ME like the brightly colored playground catalog swing sets. That’s the way lots of playground equipment was back in the olden times. I like that the structure itself fades into the background, letting the play take center stage.

The design is well-thought-out. Those angled braces on each end reduce site to side motion, something lacking in many off the shelf swing sets.

---

See what I mean? Those long chains really let you reach the sky.

Oh, look at that. They even added bracing under the seats. Over time, the holes in the seats can widen with the forces applied to them during swinging as the bolts rock back and forth. The braces reduce that motion. The cross braces you’ll see on the seat brackets in the next photos help reduce the wear on the seats as well.

---

Look at the solid wooden seats on this old school swing set. You might think it doesn’t matter, but it does. Wooden seats make stand up swinging easier than the ubiquitous flap of plastic most swing sets have. With the plastic flap, your feet sink to the center and your footing is unsure. With a beefy wooden seat, you can firmly plant your feet, grab the chains, and swing like crazy. It’s also much easier to share a wooden swing seat with a buddy, whether you’re sitting down or standing up.

Straddling the seat to swinging side-to-side is easier with wood, too. Try this on a modern seat, and you become the filling of some weird plastic flap taco. Belly swinging is easier on a wooden seat for the same reason. Finally, the rigidity of wooden seats make twisting yourself up and then unwinding easier because the seat keeps the lower parts of the chains separated. On plastic flap swings, your body is compacted more and more as you twist.

Some assert that stand up, belly, side-to-side, and twist-and-unwind swinging are inappropriate ways to use a swing. They are, of course, wrong. These activities are great ways for kids to build their confidence, their vestibular and proprioceptive systems, their ability to assess risk, and much more. Do a bit of hazard mitigation and provide proper supervision, and these things are perfectly safe. They’re easier on old school swing set seats, but can be done on modern plastic flap seats.

With a bit of help from someone with basic woodworking and welding skills, you can convert your modern flap seats to old school swing set wooden plank seats.

I wonder if the overbearing play police invented those flap seats to suck the fun out of swinging. “Hey guys, kids really enjoy those old school swing sets that’ve been around forever. It takes a hurricane to knock them out of commission. The little whippersnappers are having too fun, what can we do to stop it?

We’ll never know.

Bonus Content

The physics of swinging are the same on an old school swing set or a modern one. Take a look:

---

Have thoughts on the photos–or thoughts on our thoughts? Share them in the comments. You’ll find more play space critiques here.

Brought to you by Explorations Early Learning
Contribute content to Playvolution HQ