Swings and sweet memories

When I was a young girl, I loved swings. Being in Borneo, I remember our home was surrounded by a jungle in the 50's. Beside our wooden house, there was a river with thick tropical trees. I don't know how old the trees were, but I presumed they must be many years because they were so big, old and thick with long woody vines. Sometimes after school, I would join the regular group of children who were my neighboring friends and classmates to climb these trees and use one of it's woody vines to swing around like monkeys around the trees as seen in the movie " Tarzan", then, dropping ourselves into the river. It was dangerous but in those days the word "Safety" never registered in our mind. All we knew was fun and laughter. Now our world has changed. Children are more knowledgeable and less likely to repeat what we did. They are now taught in school from a young age that safety must come first. They have their fun times too, such as computer games etc. The only difference is they are not in contact with nature any more unless it's necessary and there isn't any old trees like we used to have in our time.  Even the place where I used to live, became a residential area of the city. Swings nowadays are made commercially, and they are checked before being used, ie safety comes first. In America, I learn that a license is needed to have swings installed by reputable company in the schools! Yeah, safety comes first is the motive. 

I have a 2 yrs old grandson who is hyperactive and will wrecked my organized garden home in minutes! 

So I started to put up a kid's police bus tent outdoor for him to play, going in and out of the tent. It helps any child to channel all their energy into such activities. Children at this age tend to be very curious and any new things are an excitement to them so, parent's always keep an eye on them to prevent accidents or the child getting hurt. 

I have a portable pool which he likes so much. 

Look at my grandson!😂

He's so excited splashing the water himself and screaming with happiness 🤣🤣

It's lovely to watch little children playing excitedly, full of fun and showing happy faces . Their innocent funny behavior and laughter makes us smile. These types of fun activities will give him lovely childhood memories. 

So I added another outdoor activity to keep him fully occupied. A simple swing. 

I watched so many on Youtube with creative ideas in making one. 

 I liked one channel saying... "using materials lying around the house".

 I bought some wood, wood glue, appropriate screws and a quality rope. The rest was " using materials lying around the house"  such as a measuring tape, tape, and some left over colorful paints.

I saw these 2 samples from google and felt that this is the easiest I can try to make. I am only interested in the frame, not the seat.😁

So I opted for the "X" style frame for the sides then a bar on top of it and supports here and there. Looked simple enough.

Daring to try, takes guts and "Trying" is most important. 

On 17th Nov 2021, I went to a nearby timber shop to get some wood. They helped to cut/saw the  wood according to my required size.

Main wood pieces and some "Support" pieces. 

Lay out the pieces to make the "X" frame at the top of the wood. 

Attached the pieces using wood glue and screws. 

To provide further support, another piece of wood was attached to form an "A" shape frame and an "X" at the top.

Add further support to the back and sides of the frame.

So it's easier to stand the frame. Lastly add the top bar, I tightened it using Japanese square knots. Lastly support the bar with yet another bar on top of the 1st one. 

The top main bar was slightly longer but I have no problem with that because I can use it for another activity such as rope ladder.

Since my grandson is only 2 yrs old, I added just 4 steps as rope  ladder,  enough for him to get amused and climb a bit because he loves climbing. This will help.

I supported the extension of the bar with a wooden stand on the right end of the bar as shown in this picture.

Swing can help develop his grip strength, hand, arm, fingers coordination while climbing helps a child's motor skill development. If you are interested to know what swinging and climbing activity can do to your child, have a look at this web site .

When the frame was completed, the next to do is the rope tie. I did some research from many authors about roping and which knots are appropriate to secure a swing and rope ladder such as the one I am building.

The 1st I did was the Swing Hitch Knot.

How to tie a Swing Hitch Knot.  

This video by why knot is very useful when you need to tie the rope over the bar. 

This type of knot stays stationary during swinging and does not rub against the bar. Watch the Video  linked here and you will understand what I mean. It's easy to follow.

After the Swing Hitch knot is done, I next moved on to do the Braided knot tie for the seat.

This knot is extremely secure and can stand a large amount of pressure. Because of this, it's ideal for the seat of the swing.

 Basic Swing Rope for the seat.

Found this method from Utube by Mark, the braider. 

I like the way this man described in a clear voice, "over one, under one".  It was so easy to follow and resulted in beautifully braided knots.

 This method is also very secure. No matter how much pressure, the rope will not come apart.

I  won't go into detail here of how I did it because the video by Mark, the braider. which is linked here  shows it very clearly step by step instructions. You won't go wrong😊.

Finish the 3 ends with the simple crown knots as shown in the same video

Toy swing for my grandson😂

Nowadays nothing is impossible anymore. With Google and YouTube, learning takes place every day. Unlike in my day, we learnt from schools and libraries. and if we miss a class or not paying attention, we are done! as we cant catch up any more and then lost interest to continue. Now in this modern era with internet, we can continue to learn anytime in our leisure.

When the Swing was completed, I moved on to make the Rope Ladder.

I found an old unwanted remaining curtain rod.

 But, I only managed to make 3 rods out of it, so I substituted by adding another from the left over wood.

Cut the wood to 11.5 inches long

Drill 1 hole on each side of the rod/wood 

Paint the rods and wood with different attractive colours 

When the rods were dried and ready, I started with a pair of Hitch knot on the bar.

Insert a rope into the right hole of a rod. Create stopper knot after the hole of desired length. A simple overhand knot is good enough but I did an extra knot on each of the holes to be more secure, as I don't want any risk of the knots slipping out when my grandson was using it. I did the same on the left side of the rod. Continue until the 4th rod and end the knot. 

The rope ladder was not perfect but good enough to amuse a 2 yrs old boy😁.

Awaiting for final touch, that's... Painting😂.

 Hooray! My colourful DIY swing is done! 

It's just a mickey mouse swing, meant for a light weighted 2 yrs old boy like my grandson. But it's only a temporary swing because kids grew up very fast.

My grandson came to test swing the next day. 

I put out his usual pool as well. My hubby and I put a $10 bet on which he will go to first.

Many of my friends think he will go for the swing, What's your bet? 😉

The day came and he went for this cute little armchair first😂.

 I guessed he doesn't want any of us to win😅. Clever boy! Better to stay neutral!😁

Then only he went for the rope ladder.

Next the swing and then lastly the pool!

He was so worn out after his hyperactive energy spent at the outdoor activities but happy😂.

It was indeed Little Zeb's Day 😅!

Time passes very quickly and in year 2023, he is already 4 yrs old. Much taller and heavier so his daddy bought him a proper swing at my garden.

A proper heavy duty swing for my little Zeb and many years to come.

It supposed to be Little Zeb's swing but ended up being a family swing instead 🤭because everyone in family starts taking turn to sit on it including myself😅

As for my worn out DIY swing, I used it as trellis for my bitter gourd plants.
Waste nothing! 😊

References:

How to tie a swing Hitch Knot

Basic rope swing

Homemade, mini kids swing

Benefit of swinging