Climbing and upper body equipment is used most often by school age children as it tends to require the use of hands to navigate across the equipment. Because this requires a greater degree of upper body strength, balance and coordination, young children typically have difficulty using this equipment. By four to five years old, children may begin using some climbing equipment.
Examples of climbing equipment include arch, dome and flexible climbers, parallel bars, sliding poles, spiral climbers and other types of upper body equipment such as overhead ladders or rings and track rides.
The “walkthrough” that follows will encompass some general climbing / overhead guidelines, and also provide links to useful resources.
Disclaimer
The pictures on the following pages may depict some items and/or situations which are hazardous or unsafe. They are intended to assist in the identification of unsafe situations, and therefore may not represent “best practices”. If you have questions about any of the pictures or the situations depicted, please contact us at nccrahs@mcrf.mfldclin.edu.Walkthroughs
A "Walkthrough" refers to "walking through" or looking through a series of pictures, and deciding if they show hazards and/or safety items, or if safety items are lacking. After evaluating the pictures and giving an answer, a correction will appear with additional guidelines, recommendations and resources.