Toddler Educational Toys

Lovable toys for creative minds.

Indoor Climbing Toddler toys

Kids indoor climbing frames and slides

Indoor Climbing Toddler toys are just wonderful for providing young kids with lots of really beneficial physical activity.

It’s important for children of all ages to exercise and it is especially so for toddlers. For children aged between two and four years climbing activity really helps develop their flexibility and improves their dexterity and balance. Using their gross motor skills helps toddlers’ muscle and skeletal development.

What are the benefits

 of indoor climbing toddler toys?

With these attractive and challenging indoor climbing toddler toys exercise becomes an appealing activity for young children.

A good kids indoor climbing frame and slide is challenging but not daunting to two and three year old children. Their confidence and self esteem grows as their ability to use the gym or climbing toy improves.

A big plus..

A big plus for  indoor climbing toddler toys and gyms is that they allow your kids the opportunity for physical play throughout the year. An indoor kids climber and slide lets them burn off some of that surplus energy – no matter what the weather or time of day

 

Play Idea

And when they were only half way up…

I think it’s so interesting that so many nursery rhymes refer to climbing and indeed falling. The Grand Old Duke of York, Jack and Jill and Humpty Dumpty come to mind immediately.

Singing or reciting rhymes whilst they climb and slide is such great fun for toddlers. They can even act out the stories with their playmates or with their favorite plush toys.

A neighbours’ three year old daughter loves playing with her soft toys on her climber slide. She enjoys acting out Jack and Jill so much that she has rechristened her teddy bear and he’s now called “Jack”.

The big brown bear is helped to climb up the steps of the slide. Jack now even carries with him a small plastic bucket, which was used for making sand castles on vacation. To fetch a pail of water.

Mom has kindly made a crown for the bear from yellow card. Of course, this has to be continually repaired as, if it doesn’t break when Jack falls down – it usually will when Jill comes tumbling after.

Incorporating plush toys into climbing play for toddlers can be useful as well as great fun. By showing their teddy bear or soft toy monkey how to use a slide or climbing frame, youngsters can be shown what to do – and what not to do!

If the giraffe can do it then maybe I can too. A child helping a plush toy to climb up a slide can be the first step in their learning how to interact with their playmates.

You will see that many of the toys we have selected can be used both outdoors and indoors. Having allowed your child to enjoy the fresh air and space of outside play in the summer months these kids climbers and slides can be brought indoors during the winter.

It’s particularly important at this age that climbing play is supervised by a grown up. A major benefit of indoor climbing toddler toys is that they allow parents to continue with “in house” tasks and still supervise their youngsters’ exercise.

for toddlers with a yearning

Toys specifically designed for climbing and sliding can provide a valuable alternative and/or distraction for those toddlers with a yearning to climb where they shouldn’t. We bought our first child’s slide after our eldest son decided to help me paint the house and climbed up the ladder after me.

These toys stimulate kids’ imaginations– and how!. You’ll be surprised how quickly a plastic indoor slide can become a mountain, a crane or a fire engine.

Most indoor climbing toys and gyms can be played with by more than one child at a time. They are really great for encouraging cooperative play. Taking turns is an essential part of climbing play.

inspired to help

It’s wonderful to see toddlers helping each other overcome the “obstacles” these slides and  toy climbing frames present. Older kids are inspired to help their younger and less capable playmates.
.

indoor climbing toddler toys picture

Here are the Indoor Climbing Toddler toys we have reviewed…

What makes a great Indoor Climbing Toddler toy?

What to look for

 and required features.

    • With slides and climbing toys for toddlers, safety is of paramount importance. It’s essential to pick toys from reputable manufacturers who use appropriate materials and construction methods and who comply with national safety standards.
  • Picking an indoor climbing toddler toy that is too advanced for a younger child can be dangerous. The purchase of these toys can represent quite an investment so look for toys that are suitable for a wide age range.These offer years of play activity and can often be used by toddlers and their older siblings together.

is there room?

  • Not everyone has a lot of room indoors to accommodate some of the larger slides and indoor climbing toys. Check the space available before choosing your gym or childs climbing toy. Ensure you will have enough room around the climber to allow safe play.

Safety Warning

Clear the landing zone!

  • Remember that toddler climbing toys should only be used when there is a grown up around to supervise.
  • Although many of these toys take up a great deal of space it is also important that you leave a sufficiently sized clear area around the toy. This is needed for both landing and for running back to start again.
  • The landing zone should be a soft surface. You may want to bolster this with some safety mats and cushions.
  • Ensure all climbing equipment is on a level surface and stable.
  • Make sure ladders on slides and play sets cannot be used to climb onto unsafe or prohibited areas. Toddlers can be very inventive in how they use these toys.
  • When older children are also playing on this equipment check that they do not encourage their younger siblings tot ake on activity which is beyond their years.
  • Some climbing frames and slides can be relatively difficult to assemble. It’s imperative that these toys are properly put together if they are to be safe. Follow the suppliers’ instructions carefully and watch out for small components that could pose a hazard to toddlers whilst you are building the climber.

is it portable?

    • If space is limited you may want to pick a portable indoor climbing toy. Look for climbers or slides that can be folded away and are light enough for you to carry easily.
    • If you intend to use a slide or climbing frame outdoors check that the materials it is made from are suitable for such use. Most of the plastics used in the toys we have included can withstand inclement weather and will not fade in bright sunlight.

Easy as ABS

Included in the toys we have reviewed are several climbers and gyms manufactured by Chicco Toys of Italy.

These Chicco climbing slides and gyms are made from ABS plastic. But what is ABS plastic? And why use it in these indoor climbing toddler toys and slides?

Well, as your toddler could probably tell you, ABS is a particular class of plastics based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers. Your youngster  will already be very familiar with ABS.

ABS plastic is the plastic used to make Lego bricks. Lego chose this plastic because it’s non-toxic, less prone to discoloration and warping, and is also more resistant to heat, acids, salt, and other chemicals.

I have dug up Lego bricks that have been buried for years in our garden. Besides bringing back many happy memories of our sons I have noticed that the bricks have kept their color and shape. They can still be used today.

ABS has a high impact resistance. It doesn’t chip or scratch easily and so it’s also used to make baseball helmets and car hub caps.

It’s really a great material for making toys that are both colorful and rugged.

 

    • All indoor climbing toys for toddlers will be worked hard and need to be sturdy and durable.
    • Plastic climbing toys offer the advantages of being easy to clean (always important for toys used by toddlers) and of not having splinters or rough surfaces.

long lasting favorites

    • Look for indoor climbing toddler toys and slides that are brightly colored and attractive to toddlers. Climbing toys and slides that offer a range of activities will provide continuing appeal. Such toys will prove to be long lasting favorites that are played with time and time again.
    • A good kids gym or climber toy should promote varied physical activity and also different types of play. We have picked out toys that encourage imaginative play by offering exciting play spaces and features that provoke a toddler’s spirit of adventure.

Is there an alternative to Indoor Climbing Toddler toys?

You’ll find some interesting alternatives to indoor climbing toddler toys in our review of Indoor Child toys or you may return to the Indoor Toys section.

See  All the Indoor Climbing Toddler toys  we’ve reviewed