The swing and why it belongs in a good playground

 High, higher, highest: the children fly through the air, whooping loudly. When the weather is nice, the swings on the playground hardly come to a standstill. Everyone wants to swing over the heads of those playing and look at the world from above. Swinging is a real pleasure to play and promotes the development of the little ones.

What types of swings are there on the playground?

Swings were already used by the ancient Greeks. They celebrated their swing festival Aiora at the time of the grape harvest. Young girls were placed on swings hanging in trees and let themselves swing back and forth. Songs were sung in honor of the goddess Erigone and her father Ikarios. 

Today you can find many varieties of swings in the playground. The best known and oldest is certainly the board swing, which is suspended from two ropes and the child sits on a board made of wood or plastic. In the trapeze swing, the seat consists of a bar. The plate swing, on the other hand, has a round disc that is attached to only one rope. On playgrounds, the nest or bird swing is appearing more and more frequently (see picture below). Here there is room for several boys and girls and the smaller ones can be gently cradled in it if the net is not too coarse-meshed. Otherwise, there is a risk that they will slip through. For toddlers there are extra baby swings or lattice swings, from which they can not fall out. On the partner swing, several children sit next to each other, and on the gondola swing, they sit opposite each other in twos or fours. Rarely are swings for wheelchair users found in playgrounds.

When is the child allowed on the swing?

Toddlers are allowed to swing as soon as they can sit. They enjoy it when we put them in a lattice swing and give them a swing. "More, more!" they cry, and the whining is great when parents put an end to the fun. Some babies find the steady motion so soothing that it puts them to sleep. The rocking back and forth reminds them of their time in the womb, when Mommy's walking around lulled them to sleep. At about 18 months, toddlers manage to hold onto a board swing on their own, even when it's in motion. Ideally, you place toddlers on their thighs, not their bottoms. That way, their center of gravity is in the middle and they can keep their balance best. Parents should stick with it, because toddlers sometimes let go when they don't feel like it.

Swinging has to be learned

At some point, pushing children is no longer enough. They want to be able to swing themselves. The first attempts often start early. But success is a long time coming. It is not until the age of five or six that the offspring manage to swing themselves. The best thing is to show the little ones how to do it or let an older sibling do the job. Then the parents can give the child a gentle push and it tries to move along with its upper body and legs and get more movement. Cheering helps, "Legs up, down, up, down." Of course, this is not successful the first time. The offspring must first learn to adjust their posture to the swing of the swing. But it's true: practice makes perfect. The feeling for the right movement is still established in every healthy child. And if he gets bored with sitting on the swing, he will soon try it standing up.

The importance of the swing for the development of the child

A child who swings has exercise and a lot of fun. It trains its sense of balance by trying to keep its balance. It also needs coordination and good body control to be able to swing in the air. Swinging strengthens the muscles and promotes motor skills. When the swinging movement succeeds and the sky gets closer and closer, the offspring experiences a sense of achievement. He was able to prove something to himself, feels independent and simply great. Self-esteem increases. The boy or girl will go on and try out everything that is possible. But the swing on the playground is also the device for a time-out, because most of the time you move on it alone. The child can relax, calm down and indulge in his thoughts or watch the others. There are studies that prove that the swing movement leads to balance, well-being and less depression.

Nevertheless, the swing also offers a social aspect, because you are rarely alone on the playground. The little ones have to agree on who is allowed on the equipment, when, and for how long. They learn to approach another child, ask questions and take turns. In addition, two or more swings often hang next to each other and there can be a race to swing. In the case of the gondola swing, it is even essential that the children coordinate their movements. And who doesn't know from their own childhood the game "swing jumping off", where you jump down from the swinging device? The goal, of course, is to get as far as possible. Here, the little ones learn to set rules and test their limits, even if most of them make a belly landing once in a while.