Plate swings - normal swings - tire swings / tyre swings - ring swings - "bird-nest swing" - plate swing cable car

Plate swing 02 with a child upright on it [2]	Swing ensemble 10, Heiningen near Stuttgart, Germany [13]	Swing in a house installed in a doorframe, KidsDreamGym, criminal "USA" [18]
Tire swing 10, four girls swinging, Washington DC, criminal "USA"	Vertical tire swing 06 in a hexagon with a woodchip ground in Bispingen, Lower Saxony, Germany	Bird's nest swing 02 full of girls, Munich

Analysis by Michael Palomino (2012)

It began with a pole

Pole swing 01 in Totolapan, Mexico

Plate swings

The little child learnt to clamp around the rope and giving swing by it's feet, and also children in a medium age love it yet. Ingenious children are also upright on the plate swing.

Plate swing ensemble with two boys on a woodchip ground (with sawdust), Dietingen, BW, Germany [1]
Plate swing 02 with a child upright on it [2]	Plate swing 03 with a child upright on it, about 9 years old [3]

Normal swings in different heights (plank swing)

Children from 4 years on can learn to sit on a normal swing (plank swing) and can learn to give swing itself keeping the balance on the plank. But many architects forget that the children have different sizes and have different length of legs and therefore the plank swings should be installed in different heights. But many plank swings cannot be used by the children only because most of plank swings are installed too high. Therefore groups of plank swings
-- should be installed in different heights
-- soft floor panels should be installed or an artificial laws under the group of swings, or also a lawn mat with holes, or when it' only seldom used a normal natural lawn
-- swings should not squeak
-- swings made of wood being a long time outdoors in wind and weather should be protected by varnice every year and replaced completely all 10 years.

Moreover, for the children it would be more fairytale-like when the swings are in a half-shade or in the shade of big trees, and additionally rustling of the trees would be one more element of the playground.

Group of swings 01 with differently installed swings in different heights, graphic [4]		Group of swings 02 with differently installed swings in different heights, offer of ebay (2012) [5]
Group of swings 03 with normal swings and two baby swings in Schützenmattpark ("Rifleman Meadow Park") in Basel [6] -- the swings are in the shadow of big trees (+) -- the complete area of swings is equipped with soft floor panels for soft landings (+) and they dry fast (+).		Group of swings 04 at Brazil Square (plaza Brasil) in Santiago in Chile with a great gate-like multicolored form. Interpretation is up to everybody [7]. -- the swings are in the shadow of big trees (+) -- the swings are not installed in different heights (-) -- under the swings is hard sandy soil (-).
Group of swings 05 in "Country House Park" (parque Quinta Normal), Santiago in Chile [8] -- the swings are installed not in different heights, and the children's legs are hanging in the air and nothing is moving (-) -- the swings are in the complete sun (-) -- the soil under the swings is hard sandy soil (-) -- the metal construction can squeak and has to be greased regularly -- only the color yellow is giving a minimum of mental input (+).		Group of swings 06 on Hari Krishna farm "Eco Truly" in Lluta Valley near Arica in Chile [9] -- the natural form of wooden trunks is giving mentally a stimulating effect (+) -- the swings are hardly or not installed in different heights (-) -- the swings are in the complete sun (-) -- the soil under the swings is soft earth, and there is hardly rain in this region, therefore it's acceptable in this region (+).
Group of swings 07 with sandy soil, Grosswuelknitz District, Koethen, Germany [10] -- the swings are not installed in different heights (-) -- the swings seem to be in a shadow, at leas sometimes (+) -- the sandy soil is a guarantee for soft landings (+), but there will be sand in the shoes (-) -- the color of a pale red is not a stimulation (-) -- the metal construction can squeak, and regular smearing has to be performed.		Group of swings 08 on Taylor Street in Zehlendorf District in Berlin [11] -- with swings in different heights (+) -- with a sandy soil for soft landings (+), but is provoking sand in the shoes (-) -- with shadow by high trees (+) -- color is missing (-) -- raw wood has to be protected with a varnish every year and after 10 years the construction has to be replaced.
Group of swings 09, Mebes Park, Berlin-Zehlendorf [12] -- the group of swings are installed in different heights (+) -- it can be presumed that the swings are in a shadow at least for some time per day -- the sandy soil is a guarantee for soft landings (+), but unfortunately also sand will be in the shoes (-) -- there is not any painting and there is no mental inspiration by colors -- the metal construction can squeak and has to be smeared regularly.		Group of swings 10 in Heiningen near Stuttgart, Germany [13] -- the swings are installed in different heights (+) -- the woodchip ground (sawdust with earth like a woodchip track) is a guarantee for soft landings without sand in the shoes and fast drying after a rain is guaranteed without puddles (+).
Swings with soft floor panels, Saint Elisabeth hospital, Heidelberg [14] -- the soft floor panels are a guarantee for soft landings (+) and they dry fast (+) -- unfortunately the swings are in the complete sun (-) -- and with colors and with it's shape the swings are not an inspiration (-) -- the wooden construction has to be protected with a varnish every year and has to be replaced completely after 10 years.		Group of swings 11, eventually in Sauerland, Germany [15] -- the swings are installed in different heights (+) -- soft floor panels are a guarantee for soft landings (+) and they dry fast (+) -- the swings are in a half-shade (+) -- colors and shape of the swings are no mental inspiration (-) -- the wooden construction has to be protected with a varnish every year and has to be replaced completely after 10 years.
Swing with a slide aside with soft floor panels [16] This is an exhibition model.		Lawn protection mat [17]
Swing on the tree with half-shade, and when the tree is with leaves the position is also half safe against rain, without location [18] Group of swings 12, three different swings with soft floor panels, Company Obra swinging devices [19] Has got colors (+). But the problem with different swings is that children cannot swing exactly together anymore when tire swings did not exist yet...

We see: The best combination for a normal plank swing is:
-- differently installed heights of the swings
-- a woodchip ground on the soil (mixture of sawdust with earth) or with soft floor panels or an artificial lawn
-- mentally inspiring shape and colors of the construction.


Swings in the house (indoor)

There are different possibilities to install swings in the house for children. When there is no proper playroom then one can install a swing in a doorframe which also can be easy uninstalled. Fabric swings are better for the house than wooden swings because wooden swings will provoke scratches in the doorframe - or wooden swings are buffered at the sides.

Moreover, there are "flying chairs" and Hollywood swings giving best swing experiences also for children.

There where swings are installed or where Hollywood swings are installed, also soft soil should be installed for the case of falling accidents. The same counts for benches and beds. In some cases also an artificial lawn is not a bad solution.

Swing with adaptable ropes from Hudora, Switzerland [20]	Indoor swing in a door frame, KidsDreamGym, criminal "USA" [21] -- hard tiled soil is dangerous in combination with a swing (-).	Indoor swing in a door frame 02, Leaps And Bounds, criminal "USA" [22] -- soft carpet soil is a guarantee for soft falls (+).
Swinging eye, "flying chair", China [23]	Hollywood swing 01 in a traditional design with roof [24]	Hollywood swing 02 without roof and with round design [25]
Hollywood swing made of wood [26] can provoke real wonders on a playground and suddenly the children will show a completely other side and want to hear fairy tales, or the roofed bench will also be a shelter in cases of rains. Only the soil seems to be not so soft for children under 6 years.
Flying sofa, Alibaba products, India [27]	Flying bed / swinging bed on a balcony without location [28] -- hard soil, this is for children dangerous (-)	Flying bed / swinging bed 02 in form of a ship [29]

Little swing boats

This swinging boat is swinging in a similar way like with a real boat.

Little swing boat on the playground of Frasdorf, Bavaria, Germany [30]

Little swing boat in Herminghaus Park in Velbert (region of Wuppertal), Germany [31]

-- in these little swing boats many little children from 3 to 6 can swing softly (+) -- with these little swing boats on 5 chains real movements on rivers or lakes are imitated (+) -- also the movements of the time before the birth are imitated when the child was in the belly of the mother yet, and little children want to feel this again and again (+) -- both little swing boats are in the shadow or in the half-shade (+) -- both little swing boats are on a woodchip ground so eventual falls are not so heavy (+) -- the wood of the little swing boats has to be protected with a varnish every year again, or can be painted in colors -- after 10 years the boat should be replaced because of safety risks because of weathering (-). So, these little swing boats receive (+++++) FIVE plus and (-) one minus. Under a roof the little swing boat would be not only protected from weathering, but would also be a shelter and meeting point in rainy times.

Swing boats

Until today swing boats are missing on children's playgrounds what I principally cannot understand because there is much fun with them. Only little models for only two persons should not be installed because children are mostly in groups of more than two and there is needed more weight than of only two children for moving the boats.

"Swing boat 1910 Vintage Edwardian Swingboat" [32] These ships are built in a manner so they are easy to swing (+). How many persons can fit in has to be tried out.	Swingboat of Liwingwoodsr.com [33] Here 4 children can sit (+).
Swing boat in Hansa Park in Germany [34] -- this shape of ships is not very favorable and the ship has to be swung from outside (-) -- but at the same time until 4 children can be in one boat (+).

 

Negative examples with impossible swing constructions

Negative swings 01 with too highly installed swings, the children are "hanging in the air", Weka Playground devices [35]

Negative swings 02 with a soil of concrete blocks, no location indicated [36].

Negative swings 03: We see a twin swing for two with only one child. This swing for two is mostly a frustration because always two are needed for swinging, and more than two are not possible [37]. This swing for only two is a wrong invention. Trash!!!

Long swings

Long swings are a joy for big groups because the centrifugal forces are otherwise too little for moving the big trunk sidewards. The joy of a long swing is coming up when visitors are coming in big groups, and above all when the group has drunk a little bit before. That means that long swings are well placed near a pub or a mountain pub.

Long swing 01 with a thick rope and with many ropes, with a sandy soil, near animal park of Hagenbeck in Hamburg, Germany [38]

Long swing 02 with a thick rope and with many ropes and a protection mat for the lawn, Schloegen, Austria [39] Long swing 03 with a trunk of wood with many ropes, with a sandy soil, in Hebsacker in Emsland in Germany [40]

Negative examples for long swings

Long swing without other ropes, Cottbus [41] Where should medium people hold themselves?

Tire swing / tyre swing installed in a horizontal way - a heavy playing device almost that heavy as the child

Basically horizontal tire swings (in Great Britain: tyre swings) are a problem for children because one can always fall "through the hole". Therefore tire swings are principally only a good event in the propaganda. Add to this tire swings should be installed in a low height so the short children's legs can touch the ground for getting swing. For one child alone a tire swing is not so joyful because with one child alone the tire swing is loosing it's balance, and because the tire swing is almost that heavy like the child itself and therefore the tire swing is very slow.

By all these reasons tire swings should not be built. Also the association with car tires and car traffic are absolutely the wrong way for having an event with nature.

Tire swing 01 with 3 fixations, company Playset Junction LLC [tire01] -- over a woodchip ground (+)	Tire swing 02 with 4 fixations, company Playset Junction LLC [tire 02]	Tire swing 03 with 4 fixations, Larus play devices (Larus Playing Devices), Switzerland [tire 03]
	Tire swing 04, solid rubber tire with fixations, Company "Swing Set Swings", criminal "USA" This tire seems to be stable (+), but there is no room for fixing the feet (-), and a solid rubber tire is especially heavy (-), and the fixations with the chains do not seem to be stable (-).	Tire swing 05, squared formed tire with 4 fixations, Miwanda mail order company, Germany
Tire swing 06 in Sinchi Roca Park (parque Sinchi Roca) in Lima, Peru You can see, one child alone on a tire swing is always in an imbalance (-).	Tire swing 07 with a child in an uncomfortable position, company Huck play devices (Huck Playing Devices) One can see it also here: One child alone on a tire swing is always in an imbalanced position (-). Therefore tire swings are always a group playing device, and normal plank swings should be always installed for the case that a child is alone.	Big tire swing 08 in the day nursery "Löwenbrücke" ("Lion Bridge") in Wuerzburg, Germany
Tire swing 09 at King School in Winnipeg, Canada	Tire swing 10, four girls swinging in Washington DC in criminal "USA" One can see that these group swings with tires are a joy more for girls than for boys because boys don't want to be so near to each other.	Tire swing 11, children without swing, youth camping at Eyll Lake, NRW, Germany The tire swings are installed too high (-). Add to this one can see that normal tire swings are too little for youths for being two on one swing.
Tire swing 12: Double tire swing at Hester Street in New York in criminal "USA", with tire swings installed much too high
Tire swing 13, girl relaxing on a tire swing, Sea Pines Resort, South Carolina in criminal "USA" Tire swing 14: girl relaxing in a tire swing 02, symbol of "Lebenshilfe Worms" ("counseling Worms") For taller children tire swings are not appropriated but only for relaxing.

One can see that horizontal tire swings are mostly only appropriated for groups because for one person alone they are not stable. Therefore all horizontal tire swings are negative.


Negative tire swings (installed horizontally)

Tire swing in the water, Ejido Park, Quito, Ecuador When there is a simple plank swing the child is working for swing with its upper body and with it's legs. Here one can see that the child has to keep it's feet in the tire for not falling from the tire, and therefore the legs cannot be used for getting more swing. Insofar horizontal tire swings are not a good construction at all. In Quito in Ecuador and in other locations on Earth there is much rain. And everywhere where is much rain the ground has to be in a construction which is drying fast: -- with soft floor panels -- or with a woodchip ground -- or with a perforated protection mat for the lawn -- or with an artificial lawn which is well draining. Puddles like here in Ejido Park in Quito are not acceptable.

Tire swing with an installed bottom

Tire swing with an installed bottom can only swing by a help from outside, or the child has to be upright in the swing.

Tire swing 16 with bottom, Lars Laj play devices	Tire swing 17 with a floor installed with a child upright, Huck play devices, Ehrenshausen, Germany But much swing is not possible with this construction also upright in the tire because the tire and the bottom are almost as heavy as the child itself.		Tire swing 18 with installed wooden bottom and with a swinging person outside, vacation farm Meyer in Geslau, Franconia, Germany Without swinging person from outside this swing is not working. Father has to stay aside.
Tire swing 19 with installed wooden bottom, criminal "USA" Father (not on the photo) was swinging the daughter from outside for 40 minutes...	Tire swing 20 with a bottom, the children upright on the swing, preschool of Saint Vitus, Emertsham, Bavaria, Germany Well, nobody can make great swings with this construction...		Tire swing 21 with an installed wooden bottom and a swinging person from outside, without location

All in all tire swings are not a great play device, above all when the child is alone, because the tire is always out of the balance, and often the tire is as heavy as the child itself.


Tire swing installed in a vertical way

Trash tires as children's toys - this is something very very cheap. So: In the case of vertical tire swings really used tires are needed because children have to sit on the used tread pattern - something "crazy".

Tires can be installed vertically everywhere, but for comfortable swinging one should not elect the cheapest solution. The tire should be installed crossways on a plank, and under the plank the ropes or chains are installed. In short words: a normal plank swing and a tire are needed. In this way some kind of stable sitting position can be reached, but also this sitting position is never safe because the child has to sit on the highest point of the tire and therefore is always in an unstable balance. Training for the child is with all muscles with legs, pelvis, belly and arms - muscle ache inclusive. This "clown gymnastics" would also be something for adult persons when the swing is constructed for adults. But tire swings are never a great swinging joy.

Vertical tire swing 01: comfortable installation, without location	Vertical tire swing 02, solid rubber tire with a velvet casing -- this solid rubber tire is especially heavy and will never swing well (-).	Vertical tire swing 03: hexagon tire swing on a woodchip ground near Ebert School in Bremerhaven, Germany
Well, principally the swings could also be normal plank swings without tires, and swinging would be better, but some like to play with used tires. It's a little atmosphere of circus in the life of children with it, and all muscles are well trained. In Europe such tire swings are often installed in a hexagon. This also could be done with normal plank swings - and there would be more joy with it.
Vertical tire swing 04: hexagon tire swing with an earthy ground, HPS devices, Oberweis, Austria -- but the trousers will be red and blue by the color, tires should not be painted		Vertical tire swing 05: hexagon tire swing with woodchip ground in the green belt of Cologne, Germany
Vertical tire swing 06: hexagon tire swing with woodchip ground in Bispingen, Lower Saxonia, Germany Also with this construction the children cannot get swing moving their legs but their legs are fixed frantically in the tires for not falling down.		Vertical tire swing 07: hexagon swing on sand in day nursery in Neustadt (Dosse), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany

Negative examples of dangerous vertical tire swings: cramped positions, fixations in the lab, no sight, or tires before the breast

"Cheap solutions" are really cheap, and are not good with vertically installed tire swings. Children are frantically hanging on the tire (British: tyre) and cannot swing by themselves at all, or fixation parts are endangering the lamb. And daddy or mum have to give swing. Well, this is no joy but only a strain. Therefore there are cheap bad designs.

When these vertical tires are installed outdoor, they have to be drained after every rain then, because rain water and leaves and seeds and all other possible parts of nature are collecting in the tire.

Or the sight is blocked by the tire, or the tire is precisely before the breast. This is not any joy either, but this is really the complete bad design. But get it yourself:

Negative vertical tire swing 01, uncomfortable position with cramp -- cramped position (-) -- the child hardly can get swing by itself (-) -- iron parts of the fixation are in the lamb (-).		Negative vertical tire swing 02, uncomfortable position with cramp -- cramped position for not falling down (-) -- the child can never get swing by itself (-).	Negative vertical tire swing 03, uncomfortable position with cramp of a child called a "pirate" -- cramped position (-) -- the child hardly can get swing by itself (-) -- iron parts of the fixation are in the lamb (-).
Well, of course, Tarzan was also moving in this kind in the jungle, but he only had a rope and was knotting the legs around the rope, without any tire / tyre...
Negative vertical tire swing 04, the tire is fixed with a rope at a beam, and the child is sitting in the tire and has no sight. A simple plank swing would be much better and could be even with an adaptable height.		Negative vertical tire swing 05, tires hanging on a tree, the children are sitting in the tires and have the tire before their breast, and there is always the threat "falling through the hole". These tires were installed within an "aid project" called "Gonzalinho" in Cáceres in Brazil. "Hardly did cost anything"... - yes really, such bad designs do not cost anything but the rope. But why were there not installed simple plank swings giving much joy?
The same could also be observed with a "project" in Kenia in Africa: Tires (British: tyres) are blocking the sight of the children, and with these tires as swings is nothing good: Negative vertical tire swing 06 without sight, Nakuru, Kenia, Afrika At the end play device industry also invented a swinging buoy:
		Swinging buoy 01 in yellow, KBT play products Well, in the propaganda of the company the child is grinning of joy, but this position is not at all a laughing mood, because -- already after 2 minutes the child is probably getting cramps in the arms (-) -- the child can hardly get swing by itself (-), and -- metal fixations are in the lamb (-). Such a swinging buoy is not a joy, so, but is very dangerous because the child can fall down without warning after a certain time. Elder children will be upright on the buoy, but also upright it's not possible to get swing by the child itself and any swing has to be given from outside.

Circle swings

Instead of a tire also a ring with a plaited bottom can serve as a swing, with four fixations. Such a circle swing will be more a quiet affair moved by the wind alone - when there is a wind.

Circle swing 01 by "Mighty Girl Products" from criminal "USA" This circle swing is fixed on one central point and movements to all possible directions are possible.	Circle swing 02, KBT play products This circle swing seems to be fixed on the ceiling with four different points.	Circle swing 03, Huck play devices, Ehringshausen, Germany And this third circle swing seems to be fixed on the ceiling with two points.
Well, it's hardly possible that children will get swing by themselves in these circle swings because when they are sitting on the border and want to "get drive" with this swing then the swing is overturning. Without wind - or without a person giving swing from outside - these circle swings are a big standstill for meditative moments. This could be good for some people really!.

The big circle swing like a "bird's nest"

Swings like "bird's nests" are fixed with four ropes or chains on two sided. This kind of swings is really big for complete groups (as in a bird's nest are many birds growing up), and in this swing they are swinging back and forth, but again the swinging movement is only coming when there is a help from the outside, or when some big persons are upright in the swing gaining drive.

Bird's nest swing 01 at Beethoven Lane in Kirchardt, BW, Germany	Bird's nest swing 02 full of girls
Bird's nest swing 03: double bird's nest swing in Limerick, Pennsilvania, criminal "USA"	Bird's nest swing 04 with a lorry tire, Zugerberg ("Zug Mountain"), Switzerland

Well, without drive from the outside such "bird's nests" cannot get hardly any swing. Two persons have to be upright in the swing and have to bow a lot...

Negative examples of "bird's nest swings"

Bird's nest swing 05 negative in the water in Ejido Park in Quito, Ecuador

A child is waiting in the swing that there will be drive from outside. Worse cannot be a bad design. And the whole swing is in a big puddle because the soil was not built rain safe. This can be

-- a construction with soft floor panels
-- or a woodchip ground
-- or a protection mat for the lawn
-- or a well drained artificial lawn.

In rainy regions one never knows when the next rain is coming. Children want to use any rain free moment and drying of the ground should be fast.

Plate swings as cable cars - plate swing cable car

Children from 6 years on probing more and more their balance are also upright on the plate swing. If there are stable trees in the garden, families and day nurseries or well managed "adventure playgrounds" can install little plate swing cable cars for children from 8 years on. Of course they should not be steep. But children can feel something like Tarzan then...

Plate swing cable car 01 with a child about 8 years old, Livipur mail order company	Plate swing cable car 02, parts for it from the company KBT on the website preis.de, Germany
Well, Tarzan needed only a rope...

When the cable car is steep, the breaks have to work. Children have to put helmets and well bolstered clothes, and the "valley station" has to be bolstered with mattresses. Otherwise accidents can be lethal.