Spring is on its way!

February 25th, 2013


Daffodils Spring Lamb


It seems like forever ago that we last saw the sun, with snow, cold weather and more snow we’ve all had enough. Leaving the house in subzero temperatures need to be a thing of the past! Fortunately we’re on the last legs of Winter and Spring is around the corner. This means sun, something we’re all missing, warmer weather (it won’t be beach weather, mind.) and the inclination to spend more time outdoors without woolly hats and layer upon layer of clothing.

So, the question is – is your garden ready for when your children want to go out and play in the ‘warmer’ weather?

Children are so adventurous and many of them will try and climb anything they can which is great as they will learn a lot from exploring as well as improving on balance, upper body strength and coordination. This type of curiosity can cause many parents to worry, especially when they’re climbing things that aren’t necessarily child friendly. While you can’t prevent your children from being curious and being adventurous every so often, you can make sure that what they’re climbing is safe and designed for children in mind, so why not get them a beautiful wooden climbing frame?

We have a wide selection of wooden climbing frames to fit a variety of garden sizes and budgets, we’re confident that you will find something that you’ll like, and that your children will love.

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The advantages of a balanced diet for children

February 21st, 2013

The importance of a balanced diet is becoming heavily featured in today’s press with reports on statistics about childhood obesity and obesity related illnesses on the uprise; so it is evermore important for children to be given a head start by eating healthy foods which will be beneficial to them throughout their life.

A balanced diet among children is especially important because they are constantly growing and their bodies and brains are still developing.

A combination of a healthy balanced diet with exercise will help a child stay at what medical professionals call a ‘healthy’ weight. As a general rule, children who have a healthy body weight have plenty of fruit and veg, wholegrain foods and lean proteins in their diets rather than sugary items as well as exercising regularly.

It is thought that children who eat a balanced diet whilst growing up have a decreased risk of being overweight as an adult as the healthy eating habits are more likely to stick with them for life.

Making sure that children consume a sufficient amount of calcium and vitamin D will decrease the risk of bone related issues at a later point in life.

It is also important to think of your child’s immune system. A strong immune system is vital so that the body can fight off illness and infection which is very important for a child as it means less time spent ill form school and important lessons. This will even have a positive effect on concentration at school as well!

Fruit and Vegetables

What are the health risks that can be associated with having a poor diet?

One of the biggest worries that doctors have today is childhood obesity, which is regularly linked with type 2 diabetes, problems with joints and a higher risk of heart complications later in life. Children who have fewer fruit and vegetables in their diet and consume a high amount of junk and processed foot have an increased risk of childhood obesity. Up until a few years ago type 2 diabetes was associated with older people (40+) but now this form of diabetes is beginning to present in young children as well. Diabetes itself puts people at increased health risks such as kidney conditions.

Vitamins and minerals are, as well all know, very important for our bodies. A child who has an iron deficiency can become tired and lethargic as well as suffering from poor concentration. Vitamin B 12 is also beneficial for brain health and aids concentration.

Despite already touching on calcium and vitamin D, what are the actual health risks from having a deficiency? Vitamin D deficiency can cause a disease found in children called rickets, which has popped back into the press this past year due to cases of the disease creeping back up. The risks of rickets include skeletal malformations and stunted growth.

How can we prevent it?

Naturally, this doesn’t mean that your children will necessarily be affected by childhood obesity as these are pure facts.

There are multiple things to help your children to avoid these types of health related problems and the majority of you will be doing all of them already!

The most important meal of the day is of course breakfast, despite many adults getting into a bad habit of skipping breakfast due to busy schedules, it is incredibly important that children go to school on a full stomach. If not they may find that they start to feel very hungry during the morning which affects their concentration levels.

One good way for your children to eat healthily is to lead by example, children will (usually) be far more open to trying new foods if they see their parents eating them. By making healthy food choices, children will feel fuller for longer and aren’t as likely to want junk food after their meal, which won’t fill the void for long. Eating junk food causes your blood sugar level to increase temporarily but then it will crash back down which will have an affect on mood and concentration.

Promoting an active lifestyle is also incredibly important, which we realise can be difficult with an increasing culture of video games and sitting watching television programmes. One of the best ways to motivate your children to get off the couch and outdoors is to buy them a wooden climbing frame. Here at Climbing Frames Ireland we are firm believers that outdoor play is very important for children, and a climbing frame is a perfect way for them to be outdoors but enjoy it without realising that in actual fact it counts as exercise!

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We’ve heard of musical chairs, but now there’s musical swings!

February 19th, 2013

Yes, you have read that correctly – musical swings!

In Montreal, 21 interactive swings have been installed in the Quartier des Spectacles. Each swing produces unique notes and then some melodies can only be produced when people cooperate with one another by swinging in harmony. This installation aims to give people a new perspective on cooperation and that more can be achieved as a group than as an individual. The 21 Swings installation is by a design house called Daily Tous Les Jours who are well known for many public installations.


Musical Swings in Montreal Musical Swings in Montreal

Different instruments have been programmed so swings will emit notes from pianos and xylophones to name a couple and there is even a “secret mode” for when all 21 swings are in use in one go. We really love the idea of these swings bringing strangers together by making music together!

They say that listening to music can be very relaxing and therefore reduce stress, aid health problems and encourage physical performance – so taking time out in a bustling city to play music whilst swinging is a fantastic idea.

Currently this is only in Montreal but they are looking into bringing a travelling installation that could come to various cities across the world! Wouldn’t that be cool? If you’re as intrigued as we were when we heard about these amazing swings, check out the video below!

We don’t sell musical swings, unfortunately (wouldn’t it be amazing if we did?) but we do sell beautiful wooden climbing frames complete with swings that would look great in your garden ready for this summer!

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Amazing slides from around the world

February 15th, 2013

One of the fundamental elements of our wooden climbing frames at Climbing Frames IE is the slide and we wanted to share with you some of the worlds most impressive slides (well, in our opinion at least). Some of them look like you’d really need to be a daredevil to try them out!

1. The Staircase Slide – UK


London architect Alex Michaelis designed this impressive slide/stair combo for his children at their request.

It is a very original design and will certainly add some fun to their eco-friendly home. You can see one of the children going down head first, something that’s bound to wake you up a bit on a school morning! According to Mr Michaelis even the adults of the house are fans of the new slide! According to him even after dinner parties with friends they use the slide.

Stair Slide England
Concrete Slide Indonesia

2. The Concrete Slide – Indonesia

This impressive slide made from concrete is part of a family home in Indonesia and was designed and built by Aboday Architects.

We’re sure the children absolutely having a slide directly from their bedroom down to the kitchen – midnight snack anyone? This house dubbed “Play House” designed by Aboday Architects in Indonesia is open plan with white washed walls and ceilings made from concrete as well.

3. Giant Indoor Tube Slide – Technical University of Munich, Germany


At the Technical University (TU) of Munich in Germany, the students are lucky enough to be able to skip using the stairs or running to the lift before the doors close – they can use one of the giant tube slides inside their university to take them down to the ground floor of their building.

Here at Climbing Frames HQ we’re beginning to wish we had a slide in the office!

Slide in Germany
House Slide UK

4. The Yellow House Slide – UK

What better way to enter your home of an evening after a long day at work than sitting down and sliding inside! EM2N, an architectural firm has managed to build a yellow slide to take visitors and the home owners straight to the front door of Haus Gross in a very exciting way.

5. The Elephant Slide – Japan

This is one of our favourite slides, situated in Akagi Children’s Park this slide resembles an elephant’s trunk.

This is such an original idea and will most definitely leave you remembering where you saw it.

Slide in Japan
Slide in Singapore

6. The Airport Slide – Singapore

Bet you never thought you’d see slides in an airport! In Singapore’s Changi Airport, however, they have a 40ft high slide as part of their design to provide family entertainment while waiting for flights.

Travellers receive tokens valid for two rides on the slide for every $22 spent in the airport. For those not confident enough to try the 40ft high slide with a descent of 19ft per second there is a smaller slide which is free to use.

7. The Slide in a Gallery – Tate Modern, London


The Tate Modern has sparked a lot of interest with their two slides which are at different levels of the gallery. And what’s best? They are free to use!

If you’d like to check out more information and photos of the slide, visit their website, here.

Tate Gallery Slide
US Slide

8. The Water Slide – Disneyworld, USA


This slide is called the Slush Gusher and can be found at Blizzard Beach Water Park at Disneyworld in the US, it is 90ft tall and an extremely high speed water slide. It’s ideal for big kids, teens and adults with two big hills to overcome this is one ride that will give you an adrenaline rush!

To access the Slush Gusher, daredevils can either access it by a chairlift to the top of Mount Gushmore or alternatively take a stairway path following the signs to the Green Slope section of the mountain. Height restrictions apply.

9. The Insano – Brazil

The Insano slide in Fortaleza, Brazil is the highest slide in the world. It even holds a world record in the Guinness Book of World Records with a height equivalent of a 14 storey building. Measuring 41m high (134.5ft) it has an estimated drop time of 4-5 seconds.

According to the Insano website, those who try the slide can reach speeds of up to 105km/h which equates to 65.2mph.

Insano Slide Brazil
Leap of Faith Slide

10. The Leap of Faith Waterslide – Dubai

The Leap of Faith water slide is a truly impressive slide, though some may say scary. It measures 27.5m tall and the whole descent is 61m in length. From the top, riders will be catapulted into a transparent tunnel which runs through a lagoon filled with guitar sharks, bow mouth sharks, black tip, white tip and grey reef sharks!!! Perhaps not one for those scared of sharks!

Naturally, the majority of these slides wouldn’t fit in our back gardens so for something a little tamer, check out our range of wooden climbing frames!

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A History of Climbing Frames

February 12th, 2013

It is very surprising to discover that the original climbing frame or swing dates far back to the 5th Century BC, which is quite something! There are vases from Ancient Greece that show images of women and their children playing on a swing. The Climbing Frames that we know today, however, date back to the beginning of the 20th Century in the United States.

Ancient Greek Vase

In urban areas the minimum age that children could work was on the rise and therefore many children suddenly had plenty of spare time on their hands but nowhere to play. Designated play areas were created for them and play equipment was brought in for them to play on.

Swing in New York

The jungle gym was patented by Sebastian Hinton in the 1920s and the first playground safety regulations were issued. These playgrounds that were funded by the American government were immensely popular during the Great Depression, but this was short lived unfortunately due to World War II. During the war there was a large decrease in playground goods being manufactured and this lead to many existing play areas being neglected.

Young Girls and Glider

After the war, playgrounds were revamped to contend with all the children from the Baby Boom during the 1950s. In the 1960s many imaginative designs came about as well as the idea of an “Adventure Playground”. These designs were for steel swingsets and as a result injuries radically increased. The Consumer Product Safety Commission introduced additional safety standards during the 1980s and 1990s. Wood was becoming an increasingly popular material for climbing frames (like cedar) and that is how they started to resemble the climbing frames that we know today.

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A Natural Climbing Frame

February 4th, 2013

Here at Climbing Frames IE, we are no strangers to alternative designs for climbing frames! We absolutely love what we’ve seen here – an old tree trunk that will turn into a natural climbing frame!

Tree trunks are shipped to the Sunderland Carers Centre in the UK with the intention of turning them into a natural climbing frame. It will include a climbing net which will also serve as a hammock, a seat carved by hand and climbing grips and rocks to add a splash of colour to the climbing frame.

Natural climbing frame

This has been built at the Sunderland Carers Centre which allows young people who act as carers to family members with an illness or disability to still enjoy their childhood.

We think this is a brilliant idea! If you would like to check out our range of climbing frames made from cedar wood, click here!

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One climbing frame – three slides

January 30th, 2013

Here at Climbing Frames Ireland we currently have five ranges of wooden climbing frames for sale, one of which is called the Infinity Series which is comprised of the Roseberry, Roseberry Deluxe, Clevedon, Clevedon Deluxe, Sandpoint and Sandpoint Deluxe climbing frames. All of these climbing frames consist of the same wooden base climbing frame but have different slides to suit different preferences and garden sizes.

Slides are the icing on the cake for our climbing frames as all slides are popular among children, and keep them entertained for extended periods. They are the perfect get away exit and make for a quick and safe descent back down to the ground. Our infinity range feature an open curved slight, a straight slide and an enclosed tube slide. These slides all vary in size and are only suitable for the infinity range as they have a 1.5m deck height.

All the slides are made from durable plastic and they are high sided to add an extra safety element during your childs descent.

Straight Slide

Roseberry Climbing Frame Roseberry Deluxe Climbing Frame

The straight slide we offer on our Roseberry and Roseberry Deluxe climbing frames is called a Super Speedy Slide and is 3m in length. This slide is sure to provide an exciting descent down to the ground. It has waves along the length of the slide which adds to the excitement of zooming down the slide. Featuring high rails on either side this ensures that they are safe and gives them something to hold onto when getting up after landing. The super speedy slide is reinforced to make sure it is extra hard wearing and is made from durable green plastic.

Curved Slide

Clevedon Climbing Frame Clevedon Deluxe Climbing Frame

The curved slide on the Clevedon and Clevedon Deluxe climbing frames is slightly longer than it’s straight counterpart. This is down to the way the curved slide is designed with the fixed bend in the middle meaning that it curves round to the front of the climbing frame. This gives children a marginly longer ride and also looks great on the climbing frame itself. Like our straight slide counterpart the curved slide has high rails to ensure safety. It is made from durable injection moulded HDPE. This slide is 3.65m in length and is supported by wooden uprights to make sure it stays in place and offers maximum support.

Tube Slide

Sandpoint Climbing Frame Sandpoint Deluxe Climbing Frame

The Sandpoint and Sandpoint Deluxe climbing frames feature the extremely popular enclosed tube slide. It offers an enclosed descent from the 1.5m deck and has a really modern twist to the climbing frame. Not only is the tube slide extremely popular with children, it is beneficial for those who are slightly limited in space as this is the most compact slide of the three we offer in our Infinity range. The slide turns in on itself in a spiral and flattens at the bottom so that your children will land on their feet and not their bottom. The tube slide offers a 3.65m slide in length and is made from injection moulded HPDE to ensure it’s strength.

The Infinity range is a truly impressive range of climbing frames, and with 6 different variations you may feel a little overwhelmed with so much choice. Should you have any questions about any of our climbing frames our customer service team is available Monday – Friday 9am – 5:30pm to help!

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Cedar climbing frames at Climbing Frames Ireland

January 29th, 2013

Here at Climbing Frames Ireland all of our climbing frames are made from a top quality wood called “Chinese Cedar”.

Why do we sell Climbing Frames made from Chinese Cedar?

Chinese cedar wood has multiple characteristics that make it an ideal wood to be used, especially outside. The wood itself contains natural oils called “thujaplicins” which cause the beautiful cedar scent that is attractive to humans, but this scent acts as a repellent to insects, moths and other such pests. Cedar wood is a brilliant natural alternative to chemically treated wood that is found in the majority of furniture and equipment for outdoor use.

Clevedon Climbing Frame

The Clevedon climbing frame is a beautiful example of one of our many cedar climbing frames.

Weather Resistant Properties

Chinese cedar wood is well esteemed all over the globe for it’s unique weather resistant properties. Cedar wood is lightweight and dimensionally stable which means that it lies flat and stays straight. This is important as it resists the tendency of other wood types to crack and split.

This type of wood is also thermal co-efficient which means even during our hot summer months, it remains cool to the touch so can be sat on and played on. This maximises the amount of time our climbing frames can be played on.

All of these reasons coupled together with the bacterial and fungal resistant properties of chinese cedar make this one of the most desirable woods to be used in outdoor furniture, equipment and wooden climbing frames.

Why is Chinese Cedar rot resistant?

Chinese cedar contains natural oils that act as preservatives in the wood to help it resist rot and decay which is a particular benefit for those living in humid or moist environments. Aside from wooden climbing frames, this wood is also popular in fencing, fencing posts and roofs thanks to these properties.

Advantages of using Chinese Cedar wood

  • Chinese cedar wood will not sag or bow over extended periods of time from being outside. Your cedar climbing frame will not become dull or sun scorched but will maintain it’s beautiful look for many years.
  • Chinese cedar is a safer and healthier choice for outdoor furniture than other wood species that need to be treated with chemical preservatives. The lovely scent of the wood that is so appealing to humans, is a repellent to insects.
  • The natural resistance to bacterial and fungal invasion enhaces the overall strength and durability of the wood which makes it the most coveted wood used in outdoor play equipment.

Don’t forget to check out our wide range of wooden climbing frames made from chinese cedar wood to suit all garden sizes.

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Childrens new years resolutions for 2013

January 16th, 2013

At the start of a new year, people typically make new years resolutions for the coming months. The majority of resolutions for adults are health and financially motivated, for example many will join a gym in January, quit smoking, reduce debt and many will resolve on saving more of their money.

For children however, they generally don’t have new years resolutions similar to us. This raises the question, what are common new years resolutions for children?

New Years Resolutions

  1. I will do my homework on time.
    Homework is something we always have and always will hate, no matter our age. Quite frankly, most of us are relieved when we don’t have to do it anymore. We all remember at the beginning of the school year aiming to do homework on the night it was set, rather than the night before but as the year goes on becoming quite relaxed. Children went back to school recently, so they shouldn’t be too snowed under at the start of a new term.

  2. I will tidy away my toys
    Even as adults some of us struggle to keep things tidy, but we were all told as children to tidy away our toys once we finished with them. By tidying them away, it reduces the risk of something being trodden on and breaking or hurting somebody.

  3. I will limit the time spend watching TV and playing video games
    The amount of time children are spending in front of a screen nowadays is increasing and can become quite unhealthy. In fact, we’ve even written about it, here. Children are spending less and less time outside in favour of TV and video games. A good way to get them off the couch and into the garden is one of our beautiful wooden climbing frames.

  4. I won’t go to bed too late
    Sleep is important for all of us, but especially important for growing children. Not many of us are morning people, but getting up of a morning is far less painful when we’ve had enough sleep the night before. Not getting enough sleep will affect a childs concentration at school, so it is important that they aren’t tired for the whole day.

  5. I will try more foods
    Children can be notoriously picky eaters, so perhaps try introducing different foods to their meals will encourage them to be more open minded to trying new things when they come across them. It can be easy to develop a fear of trying new foods and simply dismissing them with “I don’t like it”, but by encouraging them from a young age they may be more prone to try that different vegetable on their plate.

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What can I do to reduce the time of building my climbing frame?

December 7th, 2012

The prospect of building climbing frame can be a daunting task, especially if you’ve only build flat pack furniture such as bookcases before. Whenever customers ask us whether it is difficult to build one of our products, we advise that it isn’t so much a question of difficulty, but a question of time. Depending on the size of the climbing frame you are looking to purchase or have purchased from us, you will receive a good number of pieces of wood and all the fixings to go with it. It is key not to get overwhelmed when you receive everything.

On the day of delivery check that you have received the correct boxes – if you aren’t planning to build your product for a couple of weeks and then come to find the boxes are incorrect it will cause delays to assembly and be an inconvenience.

Instruction Manual

When you are ready to start assembly there are some important things you can do to immediately reduce construction time:

  1. Identify all parts and hardware according to the instruction manual and take inventory to ensure that you are not missing anything. To identify the pieces, you can use the placement of holes and length of each piece to aid you using a guide at the front of the manual.
    We do not label or stamp our wood as by the time it reaches our customers from our factory labels have fallen off and stamps worn away. By identifying all the pieces prior to installation and grouping them together, you will know exactly which reference each piece corresponds to in the manual and will save the need to rummage through boxes at the start of each step.

  2. The old saying goes ‘more hands make lighter work’ is especially true for building a climbing frame. The more hands that you can have available to help you will benefit you enormously, having one person prepare everything you need for the following step will help reduce time, while another pair of hands can also get started on other steps along the way which will reduce the build time as well.

  3. Make sure you have the required tools for assembly. You won’t need anything out of the ordinary to build one of our sets, we recommend that you have the following:

    • An electric drill
    • A measuring tape
    • A hammer
    • A spirit level
    • A screwdriver
    • A ratchet

    The instruction manual that is supplied with your climbing frame will also tell you which tools you will need for the job ahead!

The instructions themselves are fully illustrated with plenty of text explaining each step in detail so that you are certain of what you need to do. Despite the task seeming daunting at the start, it is worth it and you will certainly be glad you bought one of our climbing frames when you see how excited your children are to play on it.


Good luck!

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