The Benefits of Children’s Climbing Frames
Climbing frames are a great way to help your kids to burn off energy, increase their climbing confidence and to help them develop their physical strength. Whilst climbing does encourage positive risk-taking, at Plum Play, we design our play equipment with safety and durability in mind, so, children can enjoy the freedom of play and parents can have peace of mind.
Child Development and Climbing
Climbing is an important skill that children learn as they develop. Children first learn to climb when they are young, typically from around 12 months, and this helps them to develop their coordination and spatial awareness. Learning to climb then helps them to acquire new skills. For example, learning to climb by playing on a climbing frame means that they can then use these skills to walk up steps.
Once children have become more experienced with climbing, they can then further improve things like their balance and dexterity.
In addition to physical benefits, climbing frames can also help children to develop mentally. When climbing, children need to make choices, which hand grip to hold to get the best grip and climb up the playcentre or decide which route down the climbing frame to take. Playing in this way helps children to increase their problem-solving skills and decision-making. This can then help them in other aspects of life, such as deciding what clothes to wear each day or which route to take on a family walk.
Children’s Climbing Frames
On your marks, get set… Climb!
A great activity to keep your children active this summer using a climbing frame would be to create an obstacle course.
Children can work together to set out the route using the climbing frame as the focal point, climbing up the ladder and scrambling down the cargo net. They can add other toys into the course too. Why not add in footballs to jump over, cones to run around or draw hopscotch with chalk on the path to add even more fun to the route?
Children can then take turns to see who can complete the course in the fastest time or race each other to the finish.
Another fun climbing frame activity to keep your kids busy this summer is hide and seek. The seeker can head to the top of the climbing frame and count to 100 whilst the other children hide around the climbing frame.
Then the hide and seek fun begins! The seeker needs to find all the hiders as quickly as they can. Remember to look high and low and don’t forget to look in tunnels and dens and behind slides, if your climbing frame has those, there are lots of places to hide.
The Plum Play Climbing Cube Wooden Playcentre is a really good choice for primary-school-aged children; it’s feature-rich, with a wooden climbing platform with steps, rock wall with hand and foot grips, cargo scramble net, double length monkey bars and double length trapeze gymnastic bars. It even has a camouflage fabric den will roll-down door, the ideal base for secret missions and hanging out with friends. There’s an 8ft wave slide with a hosepipe attachment too, so kids can slide into summer and stay cool after all that climbing.
Toddlers’ Climbing Frame
I spy with my little eyes…
I spy is a great game to play with little ones around the climbing frame and encourages them to keep their mind active.
Each child takes it in turns to seek out something they can see on or near the climbing frame and the rest of the children can take turns to move around the climbing frame and guess what the other child can see.
I spy is a simple game to help little ones learn about their environment and can be played in a variety of ways. Perhaps looking for things beginning with different letters of the alphabet, looking for things that are a certain colour or looking for things up high or down low.
Our Discovery Woodland Treehouse – Rock Wall Limited Edition allows toddlers to join in the climbing fun too. The treehouse is ideal for adventurous little ones aged 3+ and has additional limited edition features to help build your child’s climbing confidence. The incredible limited edition features include a rock wall with grips to help support young climbers and build their confidence as they play. This treehouse also has additional handrails to aid young climbers as they reach the top of the treehouse.
As well as the rock wall, this wooden climbing frame also has lots of other features to keep your children active. There’s a built-in planter, the perfect feature to help little ones discover their green fingers by growing their own vegetables or tending to their flowers. There’s also a pail and pull so children can water their plants with the bucket and the bamboo wind chimes also add a nice nature-inspired soundscape as they climb. When they’re not climbing, the easy-clean painting screen allows little ones to unleash their inner artist!
Their First Climbing Frame
We have been a leading provider of children’s toys for over 30 years, so you can count on us to put a smile on your little one’s face. The My First Wooden Playcentre is the perfect first experience for your little climbers. This wooden climbing frame has a small climbing wall and cargo net and 4ft blue slide, so that your little ones can learn to climb and slide whilst also developing their gross and fine motor skills. There’s even a den space so your little ones can hide out in their playcentre or use it as a cosy place to play with toys and think up new adventures.
For first-time climbers, a great way to keep them active here would be to help them climb and count their steps as they make their way to the top of the playcentre. Or maybe they will call out the colours of the hand and foot grips as they go, this will help keep both their mind and body active.
This Plum My First Wooden Playcentre would also be a great place for you and your little one to read stories together in the den after a busy day of climbing. This will help to keep your child’s mind active, whilst also being a great chance to enjoy some peaceful time outdoors together during the summer.
Plum has climbing frames for children of all ages, so whether it’s their first climb or for more adventurous children, we’ve got something to suit your child’s needs.
Now your kids can climb into summertime! If you try any climbing frame activities with your children this summer, be sure to share your adventures with us on Instagram @PlumPlayUK.
Find out more about our climbing frames here.
