Go read the Disclaimer again. I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Seriously.
One of the big challenges with a toddler is finding safe physical activity during inclement weather, which in some climates can last for months. Designer playgrounds solve the problem by putting playground equipment indoors. You can, too.
When a very, very, very brilliant friend of mine was laid off and looking at spending some months at home with her wee one, she decided to do exactly this. Their extremely child-proofed (and therefore mostly empty) living room was cleared out to make way for a Little Tikes climbing structure, complete with good-sized slide. They had it there for several years, until the younger son aged out of it and they both started using it in increasingly dangerous ways. But we never worried about going to a party at their house; we knew Teddy would have a great time. After we moved out to Brookline, I thought long and hard about doing the same, but decided that our living room wasn't big enough to begin with, and we had more in it (because we don't have a separate family room, and our basement is still quite spartan). I stuck with ordering a slide. While it supposedly folds up to be put away, we don't bother. Teddy required close supervision when we first got it, and a little help getting his legs under him and not toppling over on the way down, but he was competent on his own by 18 months. Given the size of these things, it's probably worth ordering something a little old for the kid so as to get the most use out of it. They are quite sturdy, and can certainly be passed on to younger children when the original owner outgrows it.
Finding Fun Kid Stuff in a City
Finding Fun Kid Stuff in a Small Town
Copyright 2007 by Rebecca Allen.
Created February 20, 2007 Updated February 20, 2007