Swing Sets to Play With

After President and Mrs. Obama installed a swing set for their girls in the yard around the White House, they made it clear to people all over the country just what their priorities are. A settled family life was not about to be sacrificed for some supposedly “higher purpose,” not even the highest job in the land, but the Obama daughters were to have a secure and as normal a life as humanly possible. This was a bold and definitive move, as an ordinary backyard swing set became not just a symbol of family life but perhaps a challenge to the rest of the nation to follow suit.

It’s not that a swing set is a new concept, as these play structures have been around for decades as fixtures in many people’s backyards. In more recent years, the trend seems to have been less on backyard usage and more for parks and recreational areas, where the play is perhaps more scheduled and requires a special trip and supervision. But the backyard swing set is reappearing somewhat more often now. It provides kids with a chance to get off their computers and engage in play that exercises both their bodies and their imaginations.

The set installed by the Obamas was made and set up by Rainbow Play Systems of South Dakota. Rainbow swing sets went through a rocky period a few years ago because some major parts that were made in China were prone to breaking; one girl broke her wrist when she fell from a defective set. Greg Foster, owner of Rainbow Play Systems, spoke of the recalls and other problems at the time the White House set was installed, mentioning how all the important parts of a Rainbow swing set are now made in the U.S.A. and inspected here, with only very minor parts still made in China. There have been no more safety issues since.

The swing set kit chosen for the Obama children is like many of the new incarnations of this kind of play assembly. The girls and their friends can climb a wall up into a fort and peek out through “bubbles” in the wall, play on the ropes, and of course use the traditional swings as well. And attached to the swing set is a picnic table, which again demonstrates Barack and Michelle Obama’s commitment to a healthy family environment. This set speaks to parental involvement and safe play; an example the nation can take to heart.

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