Children change at lightning speed. Remember last year when your daughter was obsessed with roller-skates? You bought an expensive pair, but now they are already gathering dust under the stairs. Or how about last summer, when your son was adamant he needed that wigwam in his bedroom? Now, the only creature you ever see using that little hide-out is the cat, when it goes in for a nap. It’s an expensive, tedious process.
This year, invest in something that will really last. Climbing frames truly meet the test of time for maintaining kids’ interest and even adapting to their changing skill levels. Give them something that will build their strength and perseverance. Give them years of fun. Give yourself a break! Give them a wooden climbing frame.
The initial challenge
When you first get your own outdoor play set-up, the novelty factor is enough to stimulate most children. A new adventure tower to scale is a fun challenge for kids to get to grips with. Children develop their physical skills, improving fitness and building muscle strength. But it’s more than just physical play; they also benefit mentally from outdoor climbing. Courage, independence, team-work and risk-assessment all grow each time your child climbs the rungs. The secret is in knowing how to help your play structure evolve with your child. This way, you keep them interested, continuing to develop all these brilliant skills.
Ambitious explorers
Why not add a cargo net to keep things interesting? The ropes are super-strong, enforced and close-knotted. But their wibbly wobbly construction keeps kids on their toes! Kids of all ages can develop balance and strength on a cargo net, as well as problem-solving skills. As they get bigger, braver and stronger, change the gradient of the net to make it steeper. It’ll never get boring when there’s a new challenge to conquer.
Aspiring rock climbers
Climbing walls are even tougher than cargo nets, so they provide an excellent challenge for bigger kids and teens. What’s more, you can up the ante by making the wall steeper and increasing the gaps between grips and footholds. This will help your youngsters improve their hand-eye coordination, strength and confidence. You could even see an improvement in their reaction times as they learn to think quickly under pressure. Keep your mountaineers happy with this adaptable trick!
Future monkeys?
Monkey bars are not only great fun, but also fantastic for building upper body strength. Swinging from bar to bar even helps with physics-based thinking, as they mentally calculate reaching distance. You can add monkey bars onto your climbing frames swing set attachment, getting double value from the space. So stop monkeying around and put it on your wishlist!
Climbing frames evolve with children
The benefits of any climbing frames structure are huge: physical fitness, problem-solving, patience, strength – and all that fresh air! To ensure that it appeals to your children at all stages, a modular frame is the perfect way to keep things new. Let your climbing equipment grow with your child, and see how much they use it over the years. It’s guaranteed to become a firm favourite, and unlike the roller-skates or wigwam, you’ll have no regrets. You’ll all be jumping (and swinging, and climbing) for joy!