As long as there have been children, there have been climbing frames. They constitute so much more than a bit of a past time that most people would not even stop to think of the importance of this apparatus in a child's development.
For a start, think of the physical advantages of using a climbing frame. The child is exercising and stretching muscles that would never get used sat in front of a computer game. This in turn will keep his blood pumping freely, discouraging lethargy and a tendency towards heart disease. Keeping the heart healthy is essential from as early in childhood as possible.
The lungs of the child on the climbing frame will be stretched to accommodate the extra oxygen needed for physical exercise. This will introduce more oxygen into the entire body which will benefit all organs as well as keeping the lymph system as healthy as possible, leading to a better defence against bacteria and illness.
We then have the mental benefits of a child on a climbing frame. What mental benefits I hear you ask. Firstly, the child has a challenge before it. They have free will to decide how much of this challenge they will push themselves to accomplish and once they've done that, they have the choice to push themselves further, finding their own boundaries.
They will come across physical problems that prevent them from reaching their chosen destination on a climbing frame and they will have a choice - either to find a way round the problem or admit defeat. Learning how to lose is something that many of today's young are protected from but this does not set you up for the realities of life.
The climbing frame is the ultimate way for a child to have fun whilst burying him or herself in physical and mental exercise. And have fun they will! Children on a climbing frame will be accompanied by that priceless sound of laughter and the sheer pleasure of being able to achieve something they originally thought was impossible.
This is not a new thing for children. They seem to be born with this ability to challenge everything and everyone - to push their own limits, even to the point of danger, which is where we as parents come in.
Climbing frames are not just a network of 'stuff' erected by someone as a random idea of play. It was obviously considered to be something that children would enjoy, but why? Well, I look to my grandson for this. He is eighteen months old and manoeuvred his highchair across the room against a wall. He then positioned his little ride on car beside it and began to climb. He then climbed up both to reach the light switch in order to sit and flick it and drive everyone crazy.
Ok, so this may seem like a dangerous thing to do but he was supervised and danger is not something children know which is exactly why they push themselves and how they discover so much of the world around them.
Children have pushed the boundaries of their world's since time began and this is why the invention of climbing frames was a considered and well thought out objective.
Author Resource:-
Shaun Parker is a leading childcare expert with many years of experience in the play equipment industry. Find out more about climbing frames at http://www.rainbowplay.co.uk
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
