How Children’s Climbing Frames Can Keep Kids Active

Children climbing on Plum Play Climbing Pyramid

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 playing on Plum Play Climbing Pyramid

Children’s Climbing Frames

On your marks, get set… Climb! 

A great activity to keep your children active 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 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. 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.

Children in Plum Play Climbing Pyramid Den

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.

Plum Play Climbing Cube

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 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 of a certain colour or looking for things up high or down low. 

Child playing in Plum Play Discovery Woodland Treehouse

Our Discovery Woodland Treehouse allows toddlers to join in the climbing fun too. The treehouse is ideal for adventurous little ones aged 3+ and is a great way to help build your child’s climbing confidence.

This wooden climbing frame 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!

Discovery Woodland Treehouse

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.

Plum My First Wooden Playcentre

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 away the day! If you try any climbing frame activities with your children, be sure to share your adventures with us on Instagram @PlumPlayAus.

Find out more about our climbing frames here.

The Benefits of Climbing Frames for Kids

From learning to walk to climbing trees, kids are always looking for ways to pull themselves up and explore. Climbing frames allow little ones to use their imaginations and safely challenge themselves whilst developing important physical skills such as balance, co-ordination and agility.

Encourage Self Directed Play

Free play on a climbing frame in a well-designed outdoor play area naturally inspires children to be active. It also allows kids to entertain themselves and helps them to think independently and develop important decision making skills.

Coordinate Movements

Swinging allows children to develop and practice coordinated movements. Climbing can also help a child’s cognitive development through problem solving, memory and the feelings of fear and motivation often experienced through climbing also have great benefits to children.

Build Balance

Through sliding, children learn to keep their torsos balanced as gravity pulls them down the slide. Climbing to the top of the ladder also helps with leg strength.

@tanna__tribe enjoying their Plum Wooden Climbing Pyramid

“Pretty sure we won’t ever need to leave the house for park visits again! These girls are loving their new Plum Play Climbing Pyramid with swings, rockwall and a slide. It also offers a fun little hideout under the fort. Hours of play are sure to be had with this neat little set up!”

Plum Wooden Climbing Pyramid

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Plum Wooden Climbing Cube

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