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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 8:05:50 GMT -6
DS is 3 and he's on the spectrum so he doesn't really care for most toys that my nieces of the same age go nuts for. Like we've had tool bench, play kitchen, mega blocks, train tracks, etc. and he doesn't really care for any of it or engage in much "pretend" play. Early Intervention (we have aged out) had a whole sensory physical play room that had one of those plastic castles with a slide, a corner of all mats and pillows to jump and climb, a cocoon/sling swing from the ceiling, a large plastic caterpillar tunnel that you can crawl inside or on top of. He REALLY enjoyed going there and getting out energy rather than sitting still playing with trains type of kid. I'd love to make my playroom into something similar as his X-mas gift but everything is so expensive! Foam "balance stepping stones" are like $60-90 which seems outrageous. The Nugget play couch/mats gets rave reviews but $250 is pretty steep. Does anyone have products or ideas that can help achieve this on a much smaller budget? (I can't find anything on Marketplace, I do bring him to a play gym on the weekend but that's getting a little spendy too)
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Post by gallagher on Nov 15, 2019 8:10:45 GMT -6
Those collapsible tunnels are super cheap. I can imagine that you could make balance beans from lumber and maybe wrap some carpet around it for padding. I never priced those rock climbing wall pieces but I cant imagine they would be too much...just use hefty anchors or hit a stud. For non diy...I'd check let go, ebay, craigslist.
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Post by gallagher on Nov 15, 2019 8:12:23 GMT -6
Also a rope with large knots in it hanging from the ceiling would be super cheap but get a strong hook and mount it to a stud.
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piratecat
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Post by piratecat on Nov 15, 2019 8:17:15 GMT -6
Are you or your H handy? Something like this looks relatively easy to make. And maybe a climbing wall?  |
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 8:25:20 GMT -6
gallagher, oh those are great ideas! I never even thought of the little rock climbing holds, he would have a blast climbing and leaping off
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 8:28:13 GMT -6
piratecat, My H is definitely handy enough for that if he can carve out some time. I never thought to look for anything homemade like that
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joy
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Post by joy on Nov 15, 2019 8:29:17 GMT -6
I’m not entirely sure this is helpful, but my Aug16 baby is getting Tubelox for Christmas. It’s $250, BUT. It turns into so many different items and can be broken down, rebuilt, and stores away easily. It also will remains interesting as she ages because she will build things from pictures and then her imagination as she ages. We’re going to make the jungle gym for her for Christmas morning. Look at the website for a clearer picture. www.tubelox.com |
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joy
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Post by joy on Nov 15, 2019 8:30:28 GMT -6
My kid would LOVE that set up, piratecat! Wow. |
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 8:36:55 GMT -6
joy, WOW I'm going to send that to DH. That actually looks like a value for the price-point, as compared with other things I looked at seemed very limited use for the price. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by veganontuesdays on Nov 15, 2019 8:40:12 GMT -6
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joy
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Post by joy on Nov 15, 2019 8:41:12 GMT -6
joy, WOW I'm going to send that to DH. That actually looks like a value for the price-point, as compared with other things I looked at seemed very limited use for the price. Thanks for sharing! The pack up small, so many choices, and longevity if its use helped me justify the cost. My kid also needs somewhere to burn off energy. She loves to climb and jump and explore. Winter makes all of that sooooo hard so I went hunting. Facebook, man. It advertises what I need. I have it already in my house if you have any questions. It’s sitting in our office unwrapped. |
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joy
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Post by joy on Nov 15, 2019 8:41:51 GMT -6
This was on our list for awhile!!! |
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Post by sudokufan on Nov 15, 2019 8:45:06 GMT -6
How about a slide? We had this one for awhile when DS was about that age: www.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-First-Slide-Blue/dp/B008MH5H4Mwhen he got too big to go down it, he still used it for toys (cars and trucks mostly). We also had an indoor inflatable bouncy house. Or you could do a small trampoline? |
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 8:46:35 GMT -6
joy , WOW I'm going to send that to DH. That actually looks like a value for the price-point, as compared with other things I looked at seemed very limited use for the price. Thanks for sharing! The pack up small, so many choices, and longevity if its use helped me justify the cost. My kid also needs somewhere to burn off energy. She loves to climb and jump and explore. Winter makes all of that sooooo hard so I went hunting. Facebook, man. It advertises what I need. I have it already in my house if you have any questions. It’s sitting in our office unwrapped. Seriously, the summer is SO easy. Play on your swingset, your water table, your bike, the park. Winter is atrocious. We have already scoped out the McDonald's playplace near us which is quite fantastic for a $1 drink admission lol |
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Post by veganontuesdays on Nov 15, 2019 8:47:39 GMT -6
This was on our list for awhile!!! Yesterday was a real test because the 4.5 yr old COULD.NOT.emotionally regulate for the life of him. I had to put him in a bath the second we walked through the door which helped significantly and then he got out and went right to this thing. He worked those big muscles and it grounded him so much that he was a brand new child once he was done. I would buy it 100 times over just for that. (even though we bought it for the 2 yr old who isnt talking yet because he is so sensory seeking that he can't get his body to calm down enough to care about talking) |
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Post by veganontuesdays on Nov 15, 2019 8:48:48 GMT -6
Also, we have a ball pit to put under it for extra fun and we've made it into a pillow blanket fort. Many uses so far! |
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 8:50:17 GMT -6
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Post by bunnyfungo on Nov 15, 2019 10:19:00 GMT -6
I’m not entirely sure this is helpful, but my Aug16 baby is getting Tubelox for Christmas. It’s $250, BUT. It turns into so many different items and can be broken down, rebuilt, and stores away easily. It also will remains interesting as she ages because she will build things from pictures and then her imagination as she ages. We’re going to make the jungle gym for her for Christmas morning. Look at the website for a clearer picture. www.tubelox.comOmg. Thank you for posting this. We had this exact thing when I was a kid! Maybe not the same brand but it was just like this. I might need to buy it for nostalgia purposes, but my sister and I used it forever. |
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 10:28:10 GMT -6
joy, H gave the green light so now we get to stay up on Christmas eve building some cool fucking fort climbing thing with it. hahah victory! Not exactly budget but much better value than anything else I looked at for longevity.
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joy
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Post by joy on Nov 15, 2019 10:43:24 GMT -6
I’m not entirely sure this is helpful, but my Aug16 baby is getting Tubelox for Christmas. It’s $250, BUT. It turns into so many different items and can be broken down, rebuilt, and stores away easily. It also will remains interesting as she ages because she will build things from pictures and then her imagination as she ages. We’re going to make the jungle gym for her for Christmas morning. Look at the website for a clearer picture. www.tubelox.comOmg. Thank you for posting this. We had this exact thing when I was a kid! Maybe not the same brand but it was just like this. I might need to buy it for nostalgia purposes, but my sister and I used it forever. These are compatible with those toys from the 80s!! |
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joy
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Post by joy on Nov 15, 2019 10:44:08 GMT -6
joy, H gave the green light so now we get to stay up on Christmas eve building some cool fucking fort climbing thing with it. hahah victory! Not exactly budget but much better value than anything else I looked at for longevity. I hope E enjoys!!! |
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Pistol
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Post by Pistol on Nov 15, 2019 14:56:21 GMT -6
So my kids also use this as a coat rack but our rock wall gets tons of use. For one kid, you could get by with just one sheet of plywood and one pack of rock holds. I can type a step by step and give you links to the holds later if you are interested. But its fairly simple.  |
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 15:07:18 GMT -6
Pistol, so cool! I was literally JUST on amazon looking at these right now!
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Post by sheilathetank on Nov 15, 2019 15:08:59 GMT -6
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Post by spicysalmonroll on Nov 15, 2019 15:13:52 GMT -6
sheilathetank, It's an hour and a half away but those mats are pretty cool to put under a climbing wall if I make one of those!
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Pistol
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Post by Pistol on Nov 15, 2019 15:56:10 GMT -6
Pistol, so cool! I was literally JUST on amazon looking at these right now! Looks like the ones I bought aren't available any more. But we got the bolt on ones. Took a sheet of plywood and painted it. Spaced out the holds how we wanted and put them on. Then we took 2x4s and ripped them in half so they were 2x2s and put them where each of the studs in our wall were. Since we had 2 sheets, we left one whole and used it to bridge between the 2 sheets of plywood. Then we screwed the plywood to the 2x2s and used trim to make the sides look nicer. |
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