monkey bars

Many of us have fond memories of hanging from monkey bars and playing with them back in childhood. But children nowadays hardly seem to like going to the park, let alone hanging from monkey bars.

This gradual reduction in exercise and outdoor activities can lead to many problems for young ones today. In fact, less than 24% of children aged 6-17 years exercise for an hour every day, according to the CDC.

But if you want your child to stay strong and healthy, here are some great reasons why monkey bars can be beneficial!

1. Improves social skills

While this may not be a direct advantage of hanging from monkey bars, it is nevertheless essential.

Since children are often advised not to swing from the bars at once, they often have to wait for their turn, which can cultivate patience.

On the contrary, if the child is being impatient and pushy, they will observe that other kids don’t wish to play with them, which again teaches an important lesson- nobody likes an impatient person.

You can even notice a child encouraging another one to safely cross the monkey bars, which can help them understand the power of positive support and empathy.

2. Develops muscles and strength

Now, this is a direct benefit your child can earn when playing on good-quality monkey bars, such as those from Lifespan Kids, Australia. This is because it requires the child’s entire weight to be balanced while griping the bars with their hands.

In turn, this develops their arm muscles. While your child is swinging their arms while jumping from one bar to the other, they learn flexibility and agility. Kids playing on monkey bars often tuck their legs up without even realizing it!

This helps develop their abdominal muscles and strengthens their core while protecting their spinal cord. For kids aged 7 and younger, practicing on monkey bars can be a great way to exercise.

3. Boosts confidence

Children from a young age need to be taught the importance of self-confidence. And while they can’t acquire this knowledge from books, simple things like monkey bars can teach them that!

It’s quite simple- most children cannot jump from one end of the monkey bar set to the other in one go.

So when they fall, they might feel disheartened for a while, but you’ll notice almost every kid getting back on their feet and trying it again. Through these small activities, your child can learn the importance of perseverance and overcoming setbacks.

Gradually, your kid will learn to be more confident as they improve swinging from the bars!

4. Helps to keep the mind healthy

So monkey bars help to improve your child’s physical health, but what about their mental health? Don’t worry, because these small bars will do that too!

The more your kids play outside, the better they will feel. And after interacting with their playmates and helping each other to climb the bars, every kid is bound to feel happy and rejuvenated.

It’s important for any child to understand the significance of mental health and how to keep oneself as mentally healthy as possible.

The feeling of accomplishment after successfully moving from one end of the bar set to the other, coupled with the adrenaline rush, can greatly contribute to keeping children happy.

5. Enhances imagination skills

This might sound strange- monkey bars and imagination skills – but it’s true! The unique playground landscape and a set of bars can be an entirely different world for many kids.

For example, you can tell your little one that this is a jungle adventure, and your kid needs to quickly swing from the monkey bars to escape the wrath of a hungry lion! Or perhaps the bars are an obstacle test meant for a worthy child to find a treasure-filled chest.

In different ways, your child’s imagination skills take flight, and the entire playground becomes an enchanted world filled with adventure and fun.

Over to you…

Monkey bars can effortlessly make playtime fun. So if your little one is hooked on TV or a phone, take them outside and make them swing from these bars – they are bound to fall in love with the outdoors!