How Long do Swings Last?

[jojosmommy]

In the past I have purchased both my swings at a reputabel thrift store. Both lasted 2 yrs with only periodic infant use- not everyday all day stuff. Both motors went out in them. I do not allow big kids in them or allow kids to play with them.

Wonding if I should just spend the big money and buy the $120-200 ones or keep with the thrift ones that seem to last only 2 yrs or so? How long do swings last in your daycare?

[MyAngels]

I have one that I bought new 8 years ago and it still works just fine. It only gets limited use when I have infants, and has stayed in storage between babies, so I'm not sure how many "swing hours" it has on it.

I bought a used one two years ago when I started a set of twins and it has already broken, but I don't really know how old it was when I bought it.

[sahm2three]

In the past I have purchased both my swings at a reputabel thrift store. Both lasted 2 yrs with only periodic infant use- not everyday all day stuff. Both motors went out in them. I do not allow big kids in them or allow kids to play with them.

Wonding if I should just spend the big money and buy the $120-200 ones or keep with the thrift ones that seem to last only 2 yrs or so? How long do swings last in your daycare?

I have a travel sized swing that i bought at a garage sale for $5 that works great. I only put the babies in it while they are fussy or wake hours. So it doesn't get used a lot.

[Cat Herder]

I have a 23 year old wind up swing with a beautiful, handsewn, cloth/washable cover....::

I am not allowed to use it for daycare, though, regs.

IMHO, All newer equipment/toys/furniture, etc. is made to be disposible...

My guess is that because over 70% of our economy is based on consumer spending, producing quality items that last are then bad for the global bottom line.

The throwback to that, though, is that we eventually remember that we could live without them perfectly well in the first place.... Game, set, match.

[laundrymom]

I definately live in a factory town,.. . I read the title, and thought,..
well it depends on if someone else bids for your job! ,...
ok, back to daycare.

[SilverSabre25]

Well, my sister's 10 year old swing that has swung four different babies just crapped out on us, so I'm going to go with "you don't know how long the thrift store swing has been used, but 2 years is certainly reasonable for a thrift store one"

An advantage to the newer ones though is the ability to plug them in instead of using batteries.

[jojosmommy]

I did see that you can now buy the ones with plug ins! hopefully the one I just purchased lasts. Gr*co Duo 2 swing plus bouncer. The seat actually removes so that you can have the vibrating bouncer seperate. That should save me some space!!!! Hopefully it works as it claims. MY own son would sneak upsatirs and sit in our last bouncer so long that he helped to break that one. seriously, sometimes our own kids give us the most trouble.

[kitkat]

I had a nice one for about 2 years in the $120 range. It was used A LOT for about 3 months, then stored, then used for 2 months after being in storage for 2 years, and it died. DH bought a plug in one after the other one died ($100 range). It was HEAVILY used for 3 months and then something happened to the motor. The motor is on back order, so the company sent us a replacement one that doesn't match, but we should be getting a matching one by the end of this month. These were two different swings from 2 different companies. I don't think they are built to last