When did your kid master the monkey bars?

[Anonymous]

First kid around 5 or 6, learned on the playground in K.

Second kid could get across just before 3.5. I remember because we were on vacation when he did it. He is light, strong and coordinated. He also learned to ride a bike a few weeks before turning 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How are kids breaking arms and wrists? Falling?

I'm not concerned about this-- maybe I should be (I'm OP). My kid has literally never been injured on the playground-- she always catches herself mid-fall, if that.

I'm kind of wondering if the reason this is a top injury-causer is because there's almost no other way to injure yourself on the playground anymore-- no merry-go-rounds, no trees to climb, etc. I mean, I assume bicycles cause a lot of injuries, too, but... *shrug emoji*

Could it also be that kids are doing them before they're ready? I see a LOT of parents putting their kids on this sort of equipment and "helping" them cross by holding them up. I wonder if that gives them a false sense of confidence? I know another surprising source of injuries is kids getting legs broken while their parents go down the slides with them. Hm.

I'd hate it if she weren't allowed on the monkey bars at school. That seems... Wow.

not sure about breaking arms and wrists, but elbow fractures from monkey bars are pretty common. My cousin did it when she was a kid. It happens when you land with your arm completely straight. The impact pushed the bones together and something has to give.

[Anonymous]

3.3 years old. She traversed the all 8 rungs. Twice!

[Anonymous]

DD just mastered it at 5 and a half. I never learned how to do it as a child!

[Anonymous]

My kid never did— pretty cautious

[Anonymous]

I work at an Elementary school. Most kids learn between PK and 1st

[Anonymous]

Mine just turned 5 and is working on it. They don't have monkey bars at her preschool, but she starts K in the fall and they do have some on her school playground, so I suspect that will help.

[Anonymous]

I teach preschool, most kids can hang and do 1 or 2 bars by 3.5 years. Only a couple of children can go across by 4.

[Anonymous]

I think there is some truth to the fact that monkey bars are the last remotely dangerous piece of equipment at the playground. That said, I personally know 4 kids that broke their arm/elbow from falling off the monkey bars. One I saw with my own eyes: he was reaching for the next bar, hanging on with one hand, then that hand slipped and he fell on his side, with the other arm under him. He broke both bones in the forearm and was in a huge cast for 8 weeks.

I still let my daughter play on the monkey bars, it's her favorite thing. But I always remind her to go slowly and don't try to reach for a bar too quickly or too far away, just do a controlled drop to the ground.

[Anonymous]

Kids come in all different abilities, which seems obvious to me just from observation. My good friend's daughter was a monkey on the playground at a very very young age. She could do monkey bars at 3 and was doing things my son still probably can't do now at 6. He still can't do monkey bars and I suspect he will outgrow them as something kids do before he is able to.

OP almost 4 is early but not unreasonably so. That said, she may have gymnastic talent, you never know!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I'd hate it if she weren't allowed on the monkey bars at school. That seems... Wow.

This was a great source of frustration for 5yo DD, who learned to do the monkey bars in 10 minutes at the playground before her school's open house, but then wasn't allowed to use them throughout kindergarten. Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'd hate it if she weren't allowed on the monkey bars at school. That seems... Wow.

This was a great source of frustration for 5yo DD, who learned to do the monkey bars in 10 minutes at the playground before her school's open house, but then wasn't allowed to use them throughout kindergarten. Fairfax.

Yes, we had this experience, too, in MoCo... kind of. My DD got all of DH's athletic genes and mastered monkey bars at about 3.5 or so. Her school didn't allow Kindergarteners on the more advanced monkey bars (they're kind of like rings). I know accidents happen, but I'm of the general belief that kids won't get themselves on equipment they can't generally handle. I think the problem with that is it's kind of a Platonic ideal... a lot of kids have been put on or "helped" with equipment that they can't handle, their whole lives. I do think that's the cause of a lot of issues. So, I guess I get it.

[Anonymous]

Why is it a problem if they never do?

I always hated them. I’m perfectly fine.

[Anonymous]

My DD can get far up a rope but can’t do the monkey bars. She can’t reach.

[Anonymous]

^ She’s 5