5 ways to keep your children safe on monkey bars

Are you considering adding monkey bars to your garden but unsure how to keep your children safe on them? You aren’t alone! We are frequently asked about the best ways to keep children safe on monkey bars, reducing the chance of injuries and ensuring they enjoy endless afternoons of fun on them. The best way to keep your children safe is to supervise them and ensure they understand how to swing properly. To help you ensure your children remain safe, we have detailed the five ways you can keep your children safe on monkey bars. 

1. Teach your children how to swing safely

Your children need to learn how to swing safely when playing on monkey bars to reduce the chance of injury and keep them safe. Whether they have played with monkey bars at the local park before or not, we recommend using the following guidance to teach them how to swing safely: 

• Swinging foundation

Start by teaching your children the foundations of swinging. Show them how to hang from the bars first before attempting to swing. You need upper arm strength and the right technique to hang from monkey bars, with thumbs wrapped around the bars. You will want to incorporate climbing, crawling, or push-ups to help increase upper body strength and make it easier for your children to hang.

• Swinging and landing techniques 

Once they have mastered hanging, it’s time to teach them swinging and landing techniques to reduce injuries and keep them safe. We recommend starting with a steady, slow swing, ensuring your child is in control. As your child swings, encourage them to bend their knees, which will absorb shock if they fall or let go of the bars. 

• Age-appropriate fun 

You should also ensure that your child is playing appropriately for their age. Young children and toddlers should begin with low bars and be supported when hanging and swinging. Older children can practice swinging independently, but at a safe height and under constant supervision. As your children grow and they become more confident, you can increase the height of the bars and teach them advanced moves, like skipping bars. 

2. Supervise your children at all times 

Supervising your children while they play on the monkey bars is essential to keeping them safe. An accident can happen in a split second, so you must be watching your children and ready to intervene instantly. While supervising your children, we recommend setting ground rules that your children and any others using the bars know the rules.

The ground rules you set will vary depending on your children, but you might include: 

• No crowding other children 
• No standing on top of the bars
• No reckless jumping

When the monkey bars are first introduced, you might need to spend some time teaching your children to share the monkey bars with others. You might want to add time limits to ensure everyone can enjoy the monkey bars without exceeding the weight capacity. 

3. Inspect the monkey bars regularly 

The monkey bars need to be inspected regularly, allowing you to spot any issues and address them before they pose a safety risk to your children. Damaged bars or loose screws can be very dangerous, especially if they cause the monkey bars to break mid-use! Check every bar, bolt, and connection to the monkey bars as part of your inspections. You want them to be tight and assembled correctly. DOn’t be afraid to tighten the bolts regularly to ensure the monkey bars are safe and functional. 

Metal monkey bars must be wiped down after wet weather to prevent rust and ensure they aren’t too slippery for your children. Rust treatments can also be applied for extra protection. You will want to treat wooden sets regularly to prevent rot. 

4. Choose the right monkey bars 

You must choose the right monkey bars for your children to keep them safe. Ideally, you want bars with an adjustable height that allows you to grow them with your children, without them ever being too high that it would be dangerous. The monkey bars should be made from a durable material, like treated wood or solid steel, ensuring they will withstand any climate for years. When purchasing your monkey bars, check that they come with an anchoring system. This helps secure them to the ground, stopping them from moving over or toppling while your child plays. 

5. Choose the perfect place for your monkey bars 

You also need to consider where the monkey bars are placed to ensure they are safe for your children. The monkey bars need a clearance of 2 meters from every side. This prevents your child from falling or swinging into a hard object. You don’t want the monkey bars to be placed near any fences, walls, furniture, or other hard objects.

You should pay attention to the ground under your monkey bars too. Ideally, they should be placed over sand, rubber mats, grass, or mulch. These provide a softer landing zone, absorbing impact from a fall and reducing the chance of injuries. Make sure that your monkey bars are also placed on level ground and are flush to the ground. 

Find your monkey bar set today 

Using these five tips you can keep your children safe while they enjoy the monkey bars. Make sure that you are supervising them and everyone is aware of the rules for safe fun that lasts for years! When choosing your monkey bars, we recommend using Vuly, who have a huge range of monkey bars and playsets to suit every budget. Head to Vuly to see what monkey bars you can add to your garden today.

//SPONSORED CONTENT