For a developing organism, properly designed children’s slides are an excellent simulator that can replace classes on sports grounds or in gyms. Fun on such attractions makes almost all muscle groups work, improving physical performance and mental state.

Advantages of children’s slides

Fascinating entertainment for children with a ladder and a fun descent was invented by the British Charles Wicksteed back in 1922. For a hundred years, a slide for a child has become a common attribute of city and private courtyards or a recreation park. According to research, a simple attraction brings children a lot of benefits:

1. Prevents obesity.
2. Eliminates stagnant processes.
3. Active entertainment brings a lot of positive emotions.
4. Even shy children, during the fun, imperceptibly join the communication in the team.
5. Improves metabolism.
6. Develops coordination and endurance.
7. A long, cheerful rest causes a healthy sleep.

The design of the children’s slide

Almost all such attractions consist of the following basic elements: ladders for climbing to the top of the structure and an inclined descent with a slippery surface. In recreation parks and courtyards, stationary structures made of metal, wood and plastic elements are installed. The slopes are made in the form of an open gutter with sides or a curved wide pipe. For use in a spacious room, a folding children’s slide made of light plastic and metal fasteners or inflatable products made of PVC fabric is suitable.

The main elements of children’s slides:

• foundation;
• racks;
• frame;
• stairs;
• launch pad;
• descent;
• additional elements (house, horizontal bar, sandbox).

Types of children’s slides

Structures at recreation sites differ not only in size and material, but also in varying degrees of design complexity. Modern children’s slides are classified according to the following criteria:

1. Execution material — wood, plastic, metal, rubberized fabric.
2. The height of the slide — depending on the age of the kids.
3. Stationary attractions, collapsible, portable.
4. According to the installation method — free-standing children’s slides, as part of a play complex with a swing and a sandbox, portable (folding, inflatable).
5. Descent configuration — with a flat chute, children’s slide tube.
6. Children’s slides to the country with an open area or with a house.

Wooden children’s slide

On their own plots, the owners try to use natural materials in construction, so utility rooms, swings or landscape decor are often made of wood. Boards, beams or logs look organic in a rustic setting on a green lawn. Moisture-resistant chipboard or plywood boards are suitable for arranging the attraction. Let us consider in more detail what significant advantages a children’s slide made of wood has:

1. The material is eco-friendly and durable.
2. You can make an attraction from construction waste.
3. The construction is easy to carry out with your own means.
4. Wood does not get hot in the sun.

Disadvantages of children’s wooden slides:

1. Boards and bars require periodic painting or varnishing to protect against decay.
2. The tree is deformed in the open air.
3. With insufficient grinding or due to warping of the material, the risk of injury from splinters increases.

Plastic children’s slide

It is extremely difficult to make a strong structure out of plastic waste on your own. Mostly a children’s plastic slide for the street is purchased already in the form of a finished product. Synthetic material is relatively fragile, but if you do not exceed the permissible loads and select the attraction taking into account the age of the kids, then it will last for several years even with intensive use. The advantages of a plastic product are many:

1. The slide is light.
2. The risk of getting splinters and cuts is excluded.
3. The product is suitable for transportation or transportation across the territory.
4. Plastic folding slides are easy to hide in a storage room for the winter.
5. Huge selection of designs of any design.
6. Miniature children’s slides are suitable for use in a children’s room.

Metal children’s slide

With a strong foundation in the form of a concrete foundation, a strong frame made of pipes and a corner, the structure for innocent fun has no competitors in terms of durability. An iron children’s outdoor slide is the most vandal-resistant product, it lasts a long time even in common city yards with intensive use. The main advantages of this choice:

1. Excellent durability.
2. High reliability.
3. Steel perfectly tolerates the effects of precipitation and frost.

Minus iron slides:

1. The design will be heavy and overall.
2. Iron gets very hot in the sun.
3. If you need to move the attraction to another place, you have to dismantle it.
4. The metal needs to be painted periodically.
5. Any roughness and burrs should be removed immediately to prevent cuts.

Inflatable children’s slide

If the main criterion is safety and cost, then PVC fabric products have no competitors. There are no sharp corners or invisible burrs, the child will not be able to get hurt while riding or in case of accidental falls on soft structural elements. Such a children’s slide is perfect for swimming, it is not afraid of prolonged contact with water. Inflatable rides feature a variety of designs, are easy to store and transport, and are available for different age groups.

Choosing a children’s slide

The dimensions of the structure for fun fun are always selected taking into account the age of the baby. For a one and a half year old child without the supervision of a mother, even an inflatable PVC slide for a playground with a height of more than 125 cm is a potential danger. In addition to size, there are other criteria that you need to consider when choosing a fun attraction:

1. Factory slides are supplied with quality certificates confirming the safe use of the attraction.
2. There are no burrs at the sliding points, the seams are carefully polished.
3. The height of the product corresponds to the age of the child.
4. There are no sharp corners.
5. The heads of fasteners on the front side are recessed into the surface of the material.
6. The children’s slide remains stable during use.

Children’s slide for the street

In a spacious yard, in the absence of restrictions on dimensions, you can use universal designs, taking into account the growing up of kids. Open space allows you to install outdoor children’s slides of high complexity with additional elements:

1. On street attractions, instead of an open area, you can install play houses.
2. If there is free space, it is possible to attach horizontal bars, ladders, exercise equipment with bars, a Swedish wall and rings from rolled metal to a children’s slide.
3. It is easy to equip a large slide with several slopes of suitable height for children of different ages.
4. It is advisable to cover the landing site with a safe elastic material or equip a large sandbox here.

Children’s slide for the house

In a closed room, any furniture hides precious space. In order to save living space, a children’s slide in an apartment should have a compact size, even if it is used in a separate room. Consider the main tips for choosing this product for the home:

1. Plastic folding slides are famous for ideal parameters for use inside the house. They are perfect for home fun for a preschooler in the winter, they can be transported in packaged form when traveling to picnics or to the country.
2. A versatile product is a transforming slide, which, if desired, can easily be turned into a simple sports simulator, chair or deck chair.
3. For a home pool, it is better to purchase a water-resistant and easy-to-storage inflatable attraction.

Sizes of the children’s slide

The dimensions of the attractions depend on the materials used and design features. A large children’s slide for an open area is several times superior to a folding plastic product for the home. Consider the size of the slides, taking into account the different ages of the children:

1. Toddlers up to 4 years old — the height of the playgrounds is not more than 0.5-0.8 m, the height of additional elements is up to 2 m.
2. Age 4-8 years — platform height 0.8-1 m, height of additional elements up to 2.5 m.
3. Age 8-12 years old — the height of summer slides is up to 1.5 m, for winter slides up to 3.8 m.

Do-it-yourself children’s slide

Although this product serves for innocent fun, it must be built in compliance with the basic building rules. When using waste wood or metal, materials must be selected without signs of rot. Rust and uneven edges must be cleaned and sharp edges removed. Frame elements are mainly made of thick timber or pipes. The site is allocated in a safe distance from residential buildings, communications and buildings.

How to make a children’s slide with your own hands:

1. The plan-scheme is calculated independently, taking into account the preferred dimensions and the material used. Ready-made layouts with the specified dimensions are available online.
2. We cut materials, sand boards and beams.
3. Under the supports we dig recesses up to 60 cm, it is desirable to concrete the iron poles.
4. We make the floor at the top of the children’s slides from durable boards, between which we leave small gaps of a couple of millimeters for water to drain.
5. If it is not possible to purchase a ready-made slope, then we make it from wood.
6. We sheathe the gutter with moderately slippery and safe material — metal, plastic, plywood.
7. The width of the slope is up to 80 cm, on the sides we make small bumpers.
8. Children’s slides are necessarily equipped with a ladder with railings, which are required to maintain balance and safety.
9. At the top, you can equip not a simple platform, but a small house with two doors and a window.
10. We sheathe the walls of the children’s hut with a board or chipboard.
11. All caps of fasteners are recessed, torn edges and corners can be closed with corners.
12. The surface of the elements of the children’s slide is sanded and painted.

The basis for the children’s slide

These attractions often exceed human height in height, therefore, possible unsteadiness should be eliminated already at the design stage. It is optimal when a children’s slide for a summer residence is installed on a foundation filled with a strong mortar with protruding metal pins. Corners are welded to the reinforcement for convenient fastening of pipes, bars and other base elements.

An alternative option is budget dacha structures standing on wooden poles. In this case, the supports must be buried at least 60 cm into the ground, having previously covered them with a waterproofing material to the extent of their penetration. To fasten the boards in the racks, the corresponding grooves are cut out, the elements of the base are connected to each other with self-tapping screws and bolts.

Slope for children’s slide

With the independent manufacture of these structures, slopes have to be created from available materials. The approximate angle of inclination of the children’s slide is about 40 °. At the end of the slope, it is recommended to equip a braking platform located parallel to the platform plane. The sliding surface is carefully polished to eliminate the risk of splinters and cuts.

Options for how best to equip a ramp for a children’s slide with your own hands:

1. Slope for a children’s slide made of metal. The frame is made of a square profile, crossbars are welded at intervals so that the coating sheet does not sag. Sides are made of a bar or a pipe.



2. Slope from wooden bars. Longitudinal boards are sawn from below for stable attachment to the transverse bars, the fruit is tilted. Be sure the wooden surface is polished to eliminate even the smallest splinters.

Children’s slide cover

Falling onto tiles, paving stones, paved paths, or concrete slabs can cause serious injury. Do-it-yourself slide for a playground should be installed on a leveled area with a safe area in the landing zone. An important role is played by the quality of the slope coating, the presence of burrs, roughness, protruding fastener caps can lead to injury. For the manufacture of a gutter or pipe, the following materials are used:

1. Finished descent from plastic — excellent and safe coating, the disadvantage is the relatively high cost.



2. Galvanized or stainless steel coating — the most popular and most affordable option. The disadvantage of this method is that the tin is very hot in the heat, poorly bent corners can cause dangerous cuts.



3. wood flooring – wax polishing, plywood, laminate. It looks beautiful in the interior or on the landscape, it does not heat up in the heat. Minus wood — the material shrinks over time, rots when wet for a long time.



4. Linoleum — a budget option for a children’s slide. It is necessary to constantly monitor the quality of the slope, such a coating wears out quickly.