Pros and Cons of Garden Slides

You think about getting a garden slide but are not entirely sure whether this is a good idea or not?

Great! Stick with me since I will show you all the pros and cons of garden slides in the following chapters.

After reading this article, you will have a pretty good idea of what having a slide in your garden really looks like and whether you want to get one or rather go for other nice garden toys instead.

Advantages of Having a Slide at Home

1. A garden slide can make your home look nicer
2. You can increase the resale value of your home
3. Your kids will spend more time in your garden
4. Getting a garden slide may help your kids with finding new friends
5. Garden slides are relatively easy to install
6. You can even build your own slide
7. You can let your kids help you
8. Gives your kids additional space to play
9. You will spend more time together as a family
10. You will have a small playground in your garden
11. You can get help on social media or from forums or blogs

A garden slide can make your home look nicer

One advantage of having a garden slide at home is that it will simply make your home look nicer.

While your yard may no longer look that tidy, garden slides create a cozy and family-friendly atmosphere.

People will know that you aim to improve the lifestyle of your children and that you want to offer them the best possible childhood.

In turn, many people will respect you and the effort you put in to make your kids happy.

Moreover, when you look at a garden slide, you may retrieve nice childhood memories and may remember back to the good old times when you didn’t have anything to worry about as a kid.

You can increase the resale value of your home

Installing a slide in your garden can also be interesting from a monetary standpoint.

Yes, garden slides cost some money.

However, if you get a high-quality slide that looks really good, you will also be able to increase the resale value of your home.

While this might not be relevant for you right now since you might not plan to sell your home anytime soon, you may want to sell your property in the future and increasing the resale value of your home is always a good thing since you will simply get more money once the time has come.

Chances are that you will also attract more people who will be interested in buying your home if your garden looks family-friendly and you have created a welcoming atmosphere with your garden slide.

Your kids will spend more time in your garden

Another benefit of garden slides is that your kids will also spend more time in your garden.

Instead of hanging out in front of a computer screen all day long, your children will have a higher motivation to play outside and to get some fresh air.

In turn, they will likely be healthier compared to children who just play indoors all day long.

Moreover, chances are that they will also have a lower risk of getting obese since playing outside implies burning calories.

Studies have found that there are also many mental health benefits of spending time outdoors.

Consequently, by getting a slide, you can make sure that your children get enough fresh air and that they are less vulnerable to health issues of many sorts.

Getting a garden slide may help your kids with finding new friends

Since garden slides are quite popular, not only your own kids will love to play outdoors.

Also the children from your neighbors will want to come over and play together with your children.

In turn, your children will have a pretty easy time socializing with others and will have the opportunity to make many new friends in the long run.

Thus, getting a garden slide can also make sense in case your children are rather shy and have a difficult time finding friends at school or in your neighborhood in general.

Garden slides are relatively easy to install

Another upside to getting a garden slide is that garden slides are also pretty easy to install.

Compared to other garden toys like treehouses or trampolines, it will not take much time to install a garden slide.

If you know what you are doing, you can finish the installation process within a few hours.

Sure, if you have never worked with your hands before, it can also take you much longer.

However, the average home improver will be able to install a garden slide fairly quickly and this means that you will be able to make your home nicer with relatively low amounts of work.

You can even build your own slide

If you are really skilled at home improvement and have finished various other projects before, you may even be able to build your own slide from scratch.

You just have to get some wood and plastics from your local home improvement center and if you have a good selection of tools, chances are that you will be able to build your own unique garden slide.

Sure, it will take much longer and will also require much more work compared to just getting a garden slide which you just have to assemble.

Yet, it can also be quite a lot of fun to build your own slide and chances are that your neighbors and also your family and friends will be really impressed once it is finished.

Hence, you can also start your own garden slide construction project and chances are that you will also learn quite a lot from it that you can use later on in your life.

You can let your kids help you

You also don’t have to install your garden slide on your own.

You can also let your kids help you.

Not only will this mean less work for yourself, but it can also strengthen the bonds between you and your kids.

Once they turn into adults, they will still remember those nice childhood memories with you building exciting things.

Gives your kids additional space to play

You will also give your kids additional room to play by installing a garden slide.

Especially if your living space is rather small inside your home and you have many children, chances are that it gets really crowded in there.

In such a case, it can be a good idea to give your kids incentives to play outdoors so that the rest of the family has more space to work or also just to relax for a little while.

You will spend more time together as a family

By getting a garden slide for your home, you can also make sure that you will spend more time with your family in general.

Instead of just hanging out in front of the TV on weekends, you can spend more time in your garden and enjoy the sun.

You will also spend more time with your children in general since they will want to play with you.

Consequently, you can just get a better relationship with your kids by installing a slide in your garden.

You will have a small playground in your garden

While having a garden slide in your garden can be nice, it doesn’t mean that it will be the last thing you install in your yard.

You can also continue to add more nice garden toys like a fire pit, a trampoline or a treehouse.

Opportunities are almost endless and you can create your own small playground in your garden, at least if you have enough space to do so.

You can get help on social media or from forums or blogs

You should also not be discouraged about problems that might come along with a garden slide.

Even if you experience some issues and don’t know how to install certain things, you can still get help on social media or from forums and blogs.

There are many people out there who also have a slide in their garden and will be able to answer various questions for you.

Hence, you will also have a big community of slide enthusiasts out there that can help you in case you don’t know how to solve certain issues related to your garden slide.

Now that we talked about all the good things that come along with getting a garden slide, it is time to also talk about the downsides of garden slides to give you a more objective view of what having a slide in your garden really looks like.

Disadvantages of Getting a Slide for your Garden

1. Garden slides can be costly
2. You can’t use them during winter
3. You can’t use them during bad weather
4. Safety risks related to garden slides
5. You may be liable for accidents
6. Your slide may break down sooner or later
7. Your children may lose interest in sliding
8. Garden slides only look nice if they are cleaned on a regular basis
9. You have to spend some time installing a garden slide
10. You have to look after your kids
11. Your pets may bite or scratch your slide
12. A garden slide takes away space in your backyard
13. Most slides are made out of plastics
14. Your kids may no longer leave your property
15. Some people don’t like the appearance of slides
16. Your neighbors may get annoyed
17. There are more exciting alternatives

Garden slides can be costly

One disadvantage of garden slides is that they can be quite expensive.

While you may also be able to find some cheaper models, those cheap garden slides will likely break pretty soon and will often also not be that safe.

Thus, if you want to get a high-quality garden slide that looks nice, is safe and will last for many years, you should definitely invest a few hundred dollars at least.

Consequently, before deciding to get a garden slide, make sure that you have the money to do so on your bank account and that you don’t get into debt for it since you will usually pay pretty high interest rates on your debt which may lead to financial problems later on in your life.

You can’t use them during winter

You should also be aware of the fact that you will simply not be able to use your garden slide in winter, at least if you live in climatic zones where winters are rather cold and it is just not fun to play outdoors during those times.

In turn, this means that your children will likely not use your slide for many months and you should make sure that getting a slide is really worth it in such a case or if you rather want to go to a playground in your neighborhood for sliding instead.

You can’t use them during bad weather

Not only will your garden slide be useless in winter, but it will also not bring any value on days with bad weather.

If it rains outside, your kids will just not want to play outdoors and your slide will just not be used during those times.

Hence, especially if you live in regions where rain is quite common and sunny days are rather the exemption than the norm, chances are that getting a slide for your garden will just not be worth it since your garden slide will just be used a few times a year.

Safety risks related to garden slides

Another problem with garden slides is that they imply significant safety risks.

Many people still underestimate the risk that comes along with letting kids play on a slide.

For instance, your kids may fall down from the slide and especially if you haven’t prepared the ground below your slide properly with soft materials, chances are your kids may get injured.

Moreover, there are also risks related to the incorrect installation of slides.

Especially if you are not that experienced at home improvement, you may make mistakes in the installation process and your slide may collapse sooner or later.

If this is the case while your kids are still on your slide, chances are that this will lead to serious accidents as well.

As you can see, having a slide in your garden is not that harmless and you should definitely make sure to take proper safety measures to protect your children as best as possible.

You may be liable for accidents

If you have a slide in your garden, you will likely also be liable for all accidents that might occur.

For instance, if neighborhood kids come over to your home to play with your kids on the slide and they get injured for various possible reasons, you might be the one who has to pay for medical care or other things that come along with it.

In the worst case, this can even ruin you and you should therefore make sure to get insurance for such a case.

Your slide may break down sooner or later

Even if you install your slide properly, it will just not last forever.

Especially if you have chosen a rather cheap model, chances are that your slide will just break down sooner or later and that you have to get a new one pretty soon, which will cost additional money and time to install it.

Your children may lose interest in sliding

You should also not expect that your children will love your garden slide forever.

While it might be exciting for them at first, your kids may lose interest in your garden slide pretty soon and may rather want to play with other things once they get older.

In such a case, you would have wasted plenty of time and money.

Garden slides only look nice if they are cleaned on a regular basis

Another downside of owning a garden slide is that you will also have to clean it on a regular basis. Only if you clean it, it will look nice.

However, if you don’t clean it, your garden slide will look messy pretty soon and if your kids use it, their clothes will get dirty as well.

Hence, also make sure that you are willing to clean your slide before you get one for your garden.

You have to spend some time installing a garden slide

Even though installing a garden slide will not be that complex compared to the construction of a treehouse or other fancy things you could install in your yard, you will still have to invest some time installing your garden slide in a proper manner.

Otherwise, you may forget important steps and the safety of your slide may not be assured.

You have to look after your kids

You also have to look after your kids if they play outside on your garden slide.

Especially if you get a big garden slide, you have to watch your kids quite carefully since accidents will be rather common and you surely don’t want your kids get hurt in any way.

While playing with your kids in your garden can be fun, it will also be quite time-consuming and this can be an issue, especially if you have plenty of work to do.

Your pets may bite or scratch your slide

If you have a dog or a cat, you should also be aware of the fact that your pets will also try to bit and scratch your slide on a regular basis.

While this might not destroy your garden slide, it can still lead to a state where your slide will no longer look that nice.

A garden slide takes away space in your backyard

Through the installation of a garden slide, you will also take away plenty of space in your garden that can no longer be used for gardening or for other home improvement projects you may want to undertake in the future.

Most slides are made out of plastics

Getting a garden slide can also be problematic from an environmental perspective.

Since most garden slides are made out of plastics, they are pretty harmful to our planet since plastic waste has to be burned and some microplastics will also end up in our lakes, rivers and oceans.

Your kids may no longer leave your property

If you get a garden slide and your kids are really excited about it, they may also no longer want to leave your property and play with other kids outdoors.

In turn, they may become socially isolated and may even lose some friends in the long run.

Some people don’t like the appearance of slides

While some people like the look of garden slides, others just don’t like the visual appearance of those slides at all.

Hence, if you belong to the second group, you may not want to get a garden slide but take other measures to make your garden look nicer instead.

Your neighbors may get annoyed

Your children will often also be pretty loud when they play on your garden slide.

In turn, your neighbors may get quite annoyed in the long run and may even sue.

Thus, don’t think that your neighbors will be as excited as you are about your new garden slide.

There are more exciting alternatives

There are also many garden improvement toys out there that are more exciting than garden slides in my opinion.

If you are really skilled at home improvement, I suggest you go for building a treehouse instead of just getting a simple garden slide. You could also combine a garden slide and a treehouse if you want to.

Top 10 Garden Slide Pros & Cons – Summary List

Garden Slide Pros	Garden Slide Cons
Garden slides can increase property value	Garden slides can be costly
You can make your yard look nicer	You have to clean your garden slide
Garden slides are rather easy to install	Cheap models can break down quickly
Your kids will be more likely to play outside	Risks related to garden slides
You can spend more family time	You may be liable for injuries
Easy for your kids to socialize	Your pets may scratch your slide
You can build your own garden slide	Cannot be used in winter
You can create a small playground	Cannot be used on days with bad weather
Additional space to play for your kids	You have to look after your kids
You can get help on social media	Your neighbors may not like it

Should You Buy A Slide For Your Garden?

As you can see, there are many advantages and disadvantages to getting a garden slide.

In the end, it is on to decide whether you want to get a garden slide or if you rather want to get other useful garden toys like a treehouse, trampoline, backyard pond or a garden fire pit instead.

Sources

https://www.junglegym.com/blog/safety-instructions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playground_slide

About the Author

My name is Andreas and I’m really passionate about our environment and also about growing plants. In fact, I have grown several different plants over many years. I love to see my plants grow and also always try new things to improve my overall conditions at home.

In my blog posts, I want to share my experiences with you so that you can become successful in growing various different plants and improving your home as well, even though you might still be a beginner right now.