Swing (seat)

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This article is about the hanging seat. For other uses, see Swing.

A little girl playing on a swing suspended on a chain.

A toddler plays on a swing made especially for toddlers.

A swing is a hanging seat, usually found in a playground for children, a circus for acrobats, or on a porch for relaxing. The seat of a swing can be attached to a chain or a rope. Once a swing is in motion it continues to oscillate like a pendulum until external interference or drag brings it to a halt.

On playgrounds, several swings are often suspended from the same metal or wooden frame, known as a swing set, allowing more than one child to play at a time. Such swings come in a variety of sizes and shapes. For infants and toddlers, swings with leg holes support the child in an upright position while a parent or sibling pushes the child to get a swinging motion. Some swing sets include play items other than swings - such as a rope ladder or sliding pole. For older children, swings are sometimes made of a flexible canvas seat, of rubberized ventilated tire tread, of plastic, or of wood. A common backyard sight is of a wooden plank suspended on both sides by ropes from a tree branch. Older children can go much higher, sometimes over 15 feet (5m) above the ground.

Tire swings are a form of swing made from a whole tire. These are often simply a new or used tire hanging from a tree on a rope. On comercially developed playground swingsets, oversized new tires are often reinforced with a circular metal bar to improve safety and are hung on chains from metal or wooden beams. They may hang vertically or hang flat, suspended from three of more points on one side. These flat type of swings can hold 3 or more children. Pumping is achieved by using one or two of the three chains attached to the swing, and two (or more) children can pump in turn. Tire swings can also be used in spinners, where the occupant uses their feet to propel the tire. Children find ways of performing dangerous stunts on tire swings, and because of this, many have been removed from schools and parks.

Natural swings may be created by lianas (creeper plant) in a subtropical wild forest like Aokigahara forest near Mount Fuji.

A Rope Swing is a makeshift swing created by tying a length of rope to a tree branch. Rope swings are often located on branches that overhang a river or lake for added excitement.

[edit] As metaphor for business planning

A tree swing design sketch - as envisioned in various stages by management, marketing, production other departments of a fictional company - is well-known as an archetypal humorous wall poster lampooning the shortcomings and dysfunctions of the various elements of a company. It has also been used as a teaching aid.