Why a Toddler playset you ask?
Kids grow from birth to 3 years of age lightning fast, and to spend the money on anything but a cheap toyish playground that will become worthless in a matter of a couple years would be ridiculous right?
Being that I have spent most of my adult life designing and building kids play structures it makes zero sense to build a product line that caters to the toddlers.Mainly because of the short time frame of 1 to 3 years of age, also Backyard Fun Factory has always provided top quality, high end structures that last a lifetime, and quality before price is paramount for our customers..
This topic has been brought up many times over the years, and shot down every time for obvious reasons described. However the big change about the “Toddler Set” happened selfishly as I became a “Papaw” for the first time. My son Jones, who helps run BFF, had a son in 2021, and we just could not wait to put him on a playset, but it became a little scary with our normal designs at a 5’ deck height. Our traditional ladders and slides are just too much for our wobbly toddler at 9 months. We put our heads together and looked at components that we could see being attractive to our new test pilot (Josiah) keeping in mind safety, and in no time the toddler set was designed. We needed a Swing, safe platform Height, and a safe way to get up on the platform, and a safe way to get down, and a roof to protect them from the sun. DONE!
The next challenge is how do we make it so it is not a bad investment for our customers, given the speed of growth from toddler to 3 year old?. We solve this problem by integrating a phase 2 addition that leads into our main designs, this eliminates the fear of toddlers out growing their set in 2 to 3 years and the waste of money on a short lived investment.
We took one of our most popular-add on structures, and modified it to be the “Toddler Trainer” ,and gave it a sectional enclosed slide, designed for a 3’ 6” deck height. This slide can be raised by adding a slide section that can be added with a phase 2 addition, then we add Platform steps, this option can also easily be added with phase 2. These main components, although more expensive options, have proved to be the most practical as far as growth and peace of mind when it comes to the wobbly toddler navigating their way around the structure. Starting their journey from the ground, up the large platform steps to the main 3’ 6” deck, and down the fully enclosed commercial grade sidewinder slide that drops them off right at the entrance of the platform steps to begin another round of fun!
We could not be more pleased with how this design came together. In my 25 years of designing I have not been more excited to share a product with our customers. The 3 year wait for a toddler to come of age to enjoy a backyard playground is over! I regret it took me becoming a Papaw before this could be created for the families of Backyard Fun Factory. We have had more fun watching our grandson figure out the “gadget wall” with all the knobs, zippers, light switches etc, and the pots and pan wall tic tac toe panel, etc…,so much fun! We are ready to share, So check it out ASAP. We look forward to serving your family, and can’t wait to deliver Phase 2 and 3 ETC…