Author Topic: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active  (Read 2169 times)

YummyRaisins

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Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« on: November 13, 2020, 07:54:40 PM »
With winter coming my wife and I are trying to come up with some ideas for a playset/active play area for the kids.

We have an unfinished basement with concreate floors. We bought some interlocking foam pads from tractor supply to make it a bit more forgiving for falls.

Really something they could climb, jump, and swing off of would be ideal.

My wife has something like this in mind, but it feels much too expensive to me: Koala Adventure Kids Wooden Playset

My DIY skills are pretty limited and I don't have a ton of tools. Mostly drills and hand tools. But I could manage to put something together with a template.

Any have any inspiration for us?

Kids are 5 and 6, but size-wise are more like 7-8 year olds.

Sibley

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2020, 10:04:50 PM »
Balance beam, keep it low and it doesn't matter much if they fall off. you can wrap it in duct tape for padding.

TrMama

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2020, 10:19:59 PM »
I'd be very hesitant to put a jungle gym like that over concrete floors. To make it safe you'd need to add a lot of mats.

Get a small trampoline. We have one that's comes from the adult fitness section of a department store. It's been well worth the $100 I paid.

Also balls. Something to slide on? A hammock swing screwed into a ceiling joist? A punching bag? A hockey/soccer net and the associated balls? Skateboards? Twister.

nessness

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2020, 11:04:13 PM »
We got a Swedish wall gym like this a few months ago:

https://www.amazon.com/SportBaby-Wooden-Swedish-Ladder-Kinder-3-220/dp/B072HN871C/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=swedish+wall+gym+kids&qid=1605333636&sprefix=swedish+wall+&sr=8-5

My kids play on it constantly. Installation takes a while but doesn't require a lot of tools except a good drill. But it definitely needs a mat under it on concrete floors - my kids haven't had any hard falls yet but with how they play, it kinda feels like it's only a matter of time.

Cranky

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2020, 04:34:59 PM »
We did trikes and scooters in the basement, but honestly - I’d suit those boys up and send them outside. There’s nothing like some exercise in the snow to wear kids out.

Steeze

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2020, 05:43:24 PM »
When I was a kid my uncle had a bunch of roller skates and a oval painted in the cellar - we could all go down and skate around. He also had a swing hung from a beam, a ping-pong table, a billiards table and a pinball machine. Basically the best basement ever when you are 10. There were also plenty of winter clothes and sleds to be had.

YummyRaisins

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2020, 07:51:25 PM »
Thanks for the suggestions everybody.

The kid's will definitely be outside as much as possible. However, like most kids, we probably spend more time getting them dressed than they actually spend outside. Sometimes it's just easier to have an indoor option that's as simple as saying "go downstairs and play".

They already have scooters, a hand-me-down drum kit, corn hole, and an old kitchen table to play on. None of that is really great for burning energy, though.

The balance beam is a good idea. My daughter had a birthday party at a local gymnastics gym and really liked the beam. We might be able to fit a swing, too.

We liked the idea of monkey bars and a slide too. That would require more padding than the foam pieces we have now.

Here was a DIY idea for monkey bars in case anyone else needs inspiration: Monkey Bar Plans

Kmp2

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2020, 09:43:39 AM »
We have a climbing wall in the basement (plywood, screwed in grips, paint), with a gym mat underneath it, also rings for hanging and a spare mattress for jumping and A yoga ball etc. With concrete floors indoor ball hockey (we have a reasonably safe indoor set with really short sticks) might be fun. Boxes they can stack, cut and colour are always fun for making some monstrous blanket forts and tunnels. My son made a bike teeter totter out of a 2x8 (about 1m long) and some bricks..

We like to banish the kids outside or downstairs - their choice... from the time we are done work until it's dinner time.

GuitarStv

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2020, 11:30:11 AM »
It depends on what your kids like.

You could buy some rope and screw a few eyelets into the ceiling joists and set up a lot of stuff:
- swing
- climbing rope
- rope ladder

I'd couple that with something they can build a fort out of, like some milk crates (ten would do it) and blankets.  Then throw in some kind of cheap boombox/mp3 player and a couple bean bag chairs and you have the coolest kid hangout/play area ever.

Steeze

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2020, 01:01:05 PM »
My cousin had one of those basket ball games from the arcade - spent hours on that thing

kanga1622

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #10 on: November 16, 2020, 04:41:38 PM »
So your kids have a “smart” room at school that you could steal ideas from? Can’t remember what it stands for but it is based on movement and learning. Ours swaps out activities throughout the year. They have balance beams, lines of tape on the floor with games to go with it (spelling, math, jumping, etc), tunnels to crawl through - sort of like an obstacle course but with brain activities built in. My kids love it!

Do they have a good radio or Alexa so they can have a dance party? That burns off some energy in my house. Roller skates were a popular basement activity when I was a kid. My 7 year old loves to have random stuff available to invent/build. He is famous for making creative houses out of boxes, blankets, and pillows. He likes to make obstacles using those expandable garden hoses  and then we go over/under all his crazy lines.

twe

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #11 on: November 22, 2020, 05:56:22 PM »
A bouncy house. We picked one up at a yard sale and it fits in the basement. Kids aged 5 and 3. Measure it before you buy it, obviously.

EricEng

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #12 on: November 30, 2020, 11:00:07 AM »
Check facebook marketplace.  You can get all kind of play structures for $30-100 that normally retail for $500-1000.  At one point we had three in our basement that we snagged for $20-50 each.  When they get tired of them, resell 6 months later for same cost you paid.  Only out the time to pickup and assemble.

We currently have a large cardboard fort with windows and doors cut out and christmas light lighting stuck through the roof made from free boxes neighbors were giving away.  Kids enjoy drawing on the cardboard walls of their fort.

Another idea is your own ball pit. Buy an inflatable kiddie pool and pickup plastic balls on marketplace for cheap.  Leave it out for a couple weeks and then put it away for a few months.  Rinse/repeat.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Winter is coming - basement DIY ideas to keep kids active
« Reply #13 on: December 10, 2020, 11:30:37 PM »
How about ordering a couple of dozen straw bales? Small, tightly packed. Kids can build their own structures to play in and jump off: forts, towers, mazes, goals... Plenty of energy hefting them around and creativity deciding what to do. Then simply compost when winter's over.