Most children are born natural climbers. It’s their way of exploring and figuring out what their bodies can do. Instead of wincing when they try to climb shelving units in your home, get climbing toys for them, like the Pikler triangle. Encourage your child to explore climbing skills safely within your home.
The Benefits of Climbing Toys for Toddlers
The New York Times states that climbing helps children improve their hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and self-confidence. Toddler climbing toys are great for any toddler to have on hand. Here are a few experts to tout:
- Refined Motor Skills
- Balance
- Coordination
- Muscle-Building
- Endurance
- Enhanced Problem-Solving Skills
- Concentration and Focus
- Self-Confidence
- Imagination
- Sensory Development
- Active Play
Choosing the Right Climbing Toys for Your Home
While you want your child to remain active and participate in physical play, climbing toys that will keep them safe can be challenging to find. What works for your home? Here are questions to ask yourself.
- What space do I have available for a climbing toy?
- How much do I have to spend?
- What option will last long enough for my child to enjoy it?
- Which climbing toy will allow my child a variety of play choices?
Setting Up a Safe Indoor Climbing Space
Toddler climbing toys are always safer than climbing the bookshelf and fridge, but they still present a safety hazard in certain situations. You are going to want a safe indoor climbing space for your child.
Make sure there are safe landing spaces around the climbing toy, such as soft rugs or even mats. You will want to move any sharp furniture away from the climbing area so it doesn’t present a hazard to your climber. Forbes says that child climbing should be done with parents nearby and that any climbing items should be kept away from the railing, both inside and out.
Teaching Safe Climbing Habits
In addition to placing the climbing toy in a safe area, you need to teach your child to be safe when they use the equipment. Here are a few boundaries or rules you may need to place on the device:
- Supervision
Perhaps you or another adult should be present when your child uses the climbing toy. If they fall, you are right there to help them.
- Both Hands
The climbing toy is a way for your child to seek adventure indoors, but you still want them to remain safe. Let them know they need to use both hands and not attempt gymnastics or daredevil jumps from the toy.
- Put any rules in place around the toy that you wish your child to adhere to. If they don’t, there will be restrictions on how they are able to climb—and they don’t want that!
Engaging Activities to Encourage Exploration
There are tons of ways your child can use the climbing toy from Little Partners®. Challenge your child to a race against themselves, for example. Time him once, then see if he can go faster next time. Include his imagination and ask him to climb to the top, then tell you what he ‘sees’.
It might be a pirate ship in the distance, a rainbow, or whatever else his imagination comes up with. Ask him how many different routes he can find on the climbing toy in five minutes. There are endless activities to encourage his climbing activities.
Maintaining and Inspecting Climbing Toys for Safety
Even if you went about choosing climbing toys that are safe and stable, they may not remain that way long-term. It’s a good idea to check the toy every month or so to ensure the bolts are in place and nothing is loose.
Keep an eye on recalls just in case something pops up with the toy you purchased. Inspect it for anything unsafe and fix those areas before your child gets hurt.
Wrapping It Up
Climbing toys are a great addition to any home with toddlers. While you want your child to explore physically, climbing toys have to be sturdy and placed in a safe location. Get a sturdy toy you can place in a soft area where your child can land safely if he falls.
Once the toy is in place, encourage him to explore his climbing skills in creative ways. Physical play can help him gather self-confidence, enhance hand-eye coordination, and enjoy other benefits as he grows.
