One piece of playground that most children enjoy is the feeling of freedom that comes from swinging. In some cases, the higher the better! But with special needs swing seats costing anything from $400 to $2000 the cost can be very prohibitive.

Thankfully there is a cheap, and relatively easy fix to this problem. Out of date car seats! These are often given away, if you haven’t got one laying around, or even an older seat that is sold cheap at a garage sale, or on you local buy sell pages. And for bigger kids, something like an old Columbia special needs car seat can work well. We picked one up for $30.

This one is just made from a regular car seat, and is being used by a 4 year old boy with CP. As long as they are comfortable in it, you don’t need to worry about where the shoulder markers are, because hopefully you won’t be having any high speed crashes! You can choose to remove the upholstery for outside use, or leave it in place if it will be under a roof, or you live where it never rains! If removing the upholstery, some EVA foam could be cut to fit to provide a bit of comfort, and you could even glue in some cut down pool noodles to provide extra lateral or head support. To adjust the recline of the seat, simply lengthen or shorten the front ropes in comparison to the back ones.

Now for the Step by Step instructions.

YOU WILL NEED

• Used car seat that is not hinged in the middle, complete with straps.  Upholstery is optional.
• EVA foam, pool noodles etc and a good plastics glue if wanting to add extra support.
• Rope or chain, hooks, etc. Here we have used premade swing rope that came with the loop for hanging, from an old swing. You can buy these at the likes of Bunnings or toy stores. You could also  use plain nylon rope, or plastic covered chain with those little bent pins to hold it in place. Just work with what you have or can easily get.
• A drill and sandpaper
• Somewhere to hang your swing – a tree, a swing frame, a beam. Whatever you have handy.

First, check your seat to see if there are any conveniently located This one had some slots located at the bottom front that were a good size to thread the rope through. Next, drill any holes you do need. Two at the top back, and two at the bottom front. If you are keeping the upholstery on the seat, you may want to think about where would be the best placement. In some cases, you may be able to thread from the back to the front, so long as the knots won’t be in an uncomfortable spot for the child. Use sandpaper to smooth the plastic so it doesn’t rub into the rope and fray it with time. You could skip this if using chain, providing there are no sharp bits of plastic that could scratch your child.

Attach the rope or chain to the seat, and affix by using a knot, or locking pin if using a chain. If using plastic covered chain, put this on before attaching the chain. If using chain, you can simply adjust the recline by selecting which link to hang the swing from. If using rope with a protected loop like this one, it is easiest to adjust the recline by adjusting the length of the rope before tying the knots. Just make sure your knots are tight, cannot slip through the size of the holes you drilled, and leave a bit of extra hanging so you can adjust the recline in the future.Now, hang your swing, insert child, strap in, and enjoy!