A climbing frame is one play facility most pre-school children will look for in a park. It has some special features that make childhood play stimulating.
From the time a child is able to stand, which is around ten to twelve months, children are trying to climb. Every height they can reach, they attempt to climb, although some such attempts end up in injury.
Why this instinct of climbing in pre-school children! Most of the household items such as cupboards, tables, shelves, electricity switches, door and window handles, etc. are above the reach of children. Children at this age are fascinated by things which they see placed on surfaces or places they cannot reach normally. They are driven by curiosity and like to explore things. Children at this age watch adults climb on a ladder or a side board to access what is kept on a loft. Adults normally keep attractive things which they do not want children to access on their own at a height. This itself is a stimulus for a child to reach them. They do not have an adequate three dimensional view because of which they cannot judge the height correctly. They often underestimate the height.
It is important to offer children practices to climb. They would climb anyway, how much ever we forbid them from doing it. So it is necessary to give them exercises in climbing. In fact Professor Howard Gardener, in his proposal of Multiple Intelligences included Kinesthetic intelligence as one f the dimensions of intelligence.
The climbing frames are often placed over padded surfaces or over sand or grass to protect children from injury when they fall. The distance between the bars are not more than one foot. They have rounded rods, which are smooth at the corners to prevent injury to the hand. The structure is often connected in the centre with bars to all the four sides to facilitate movement between bars and the different sides. It is often painted with led free paint in different colors. It is only five feet tall when used for pre-school children. In child friendly parks, usually this climbing frame will be under surveillance to protect children.
Let me suggest that a temporary climbing frame made with bamboo is an ideal substitute, which can be properly grounded in the soil. I have come across references which suggest that children who take to climbing frame, may have an inclination for gymnastics.
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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