Conventional commercial playground equipment is often used in a variety of locations and environments such as parks and schools. Children often use playground equipment for various types of fun, games, exercises and other activities.

Playground equipment can also be used at home or in residential settings. Indoor Playground equipment that is used at home, which is sometimes referred to as a play structure, may be located in backyards or other suitable locations.

Conventional playground equipment may include swings, slides, bars, ladders, playhouses and climbing walls. Some known playground equipment combines these different elements into a single structure. For example, a single piece of playground equipment may include one or more swings, slides, bars, ladders, playhouses, climbing walls, etc.

Known playground equipment and play structures are difficult to transport and ship because of the large size of the various components. For example, conventional playground equipment and play structures may include support poles that are ten, twelve or fifteen feet in length. In addition, conventional playground equipment and play structures may be packaged within a number of large boxes. These large boxes may be very heavy and awkward to move. In addition, a large amount of unused space may be located within the boxes, which may require a large amount of shipping materials to fill the unused spaced.

So Most schools only get new outdoor playground equipment every hundred years or so--therefore you should choose carefully and wisely--selecting the wrong equipment can result in hours of problem solving on the yard. Here are ways to avoid the headaches.

1.Consider the age of the children who will be playing on the equipment. Second graders need entirely different equipment than preschoolers, whose equipment can only be so high off the ground--so be sure to choose age-appropriate equipment.

2.Consider buying the rubber ground that goes under the equipment. Sometimes that material is as expensive as the equipment, but worth it. Sand is a nightmare (cat poop, filthiness and it's less safe).

3.Take into account the flow of the playground and imagine kids running through the equipment. Make sure the slides do not release the kids into a high traffic area and imagine where the line for the rings is going to form.

4.Consider the safety of the equipment. We placed a balance beam that is about 4 inches off the ground on our yard. The kids' only interaction with this beam is when they trip over it.

5.Try to appeal to sports fans and include basketball hoops or soccer goals on the yard.