Sports corner for children in the apartment, house

When children have barely learned to walk, they are always trying to climb higher – on the stairs to the second floor, on the closet, bookshelves, or, in extreme cases, on a chair or table. They can climb up, but getting down without help is a problem. To avoid putting them at risk, it is better to buy or build a children’s sports corner right in the apartment or in the house. Space under it need a little – a couple of squares, who have a very tight with the area, adapt the shells simply in the doorway or on the walls.

Equipment

Children’s sports complex most often consists of a Swedish wall, a bar, a rope for climbing and rings. This is the minimum of equipment that can be placed on an area of 1 square meter.

If the area allows and requires the development of “sports base” add a few more shells:

• rope ladder;
• handrail;
• climbing wall
• rope wall.

There can also be a separate board with hooks – for the press. Also useful thing, but more for parents.

In models for kids there can be a slide and swings. The slide can be attached to save space – it can be attached and removed. This is convenient in the panel to save space, but since in such versions in front of the slide is usually no platform, it is difficult to ride on it. At least for kids. If desired, you can find a children’s sports corner with a slide and a platform, and the slide can also be removable.

There can also be children’s counters and a slate board. These are already sets with developing elements. To them, too, there may be increased interest, and the counters besides the direct purpose are also used as a ladder with a massage effect.

All these elements are combined in different combinations and variations, the model range is very wide, so if you want to find everything you want.

Design

There are two versions of children’s sports corners – freestanding (with a platform or without) and those that are attached to the wall. Usually freestanding are sports complexes for kids – they have a small height, hollow walls, ladders. So it is easier for small children to master sports equipment.

For older children, the projectiles are made under the ceiling: they already have enough strength to climb up there. In this case, it is important to ensure quality fastening.

For small rooms there are folding models. With a slight movement of the hand, they are sliding-sliding. When choosing such a sports corner, pay attention to the reliability of fixation of movable or assembled nodes. Loads can be considerable and the margin of safety should be appropriate.

Another option is stationary, but saving space – the main sports equipment – a Swedish ladder and a rope wall or a mini climbing wall, are located on the adjacent walls of the corner. At the top, they are connected by a small handrail, which can also be used as a tourniquet.

Such a design is convenient – occupies the most difficult to design the area – the corner. And you can allocate a corner behind the door, where you can definitely not put anything.

How to make a playhouse for children in the apartment read here.

From what age

Pediatricians advise to buy a sports corner for children by the end of the second year of life. But those families in which the shells were bought for the older often note that the younger ones learn to climb stairs earlier than to walk. So it’s a matter of preference.

An example is on the video. The sports corner was installed when the girl was only 1.2 years old. The shooting was made a month later. The mom notes that the child has become more coordinated and agile. For a month there was not a single serious fall (a few times successfully caught, but it does not count). During the day approaches a lot – every time after sleep, and in between when it gets boring. Conclusion – sports corner for children in the apartment – a thing not mandatory, but desirable.

If you are very worried that the child at a fall will hit hard, you can under the sports corner and next to it to lay a sports mat or soft floor for children of great thickness (at least 10 mm). Soft floor is preferable – it is designed specifically for children and with a relatively small thickness has good shock-absorbing ability.

Children’s sports corner with their own hands

Independently make a sports corner in the apartment can anyone who at least a couple of times held in his hands a saw, hammer and drill. The work is very simple and filigree precision is not required. What you need to pay attention to is the reliability of fastening. In this regard, it is better to reinsure and make with a large margin of safety.

If you plan to make a sports corner of wood, use dry wood (with a humidity of no more than 16%). Also pay attention to the grade: there should be no through knots on the posts and supports. With the loads that may occur, they are dangerous. Here, perhaps, all the basic requirements.

On the basis of a Swedish wall

If desired, a children’s sports corner can be made with their own hands. Some special tools are not needed. A saw or electric jigsaw, a drill with attachments like “crown”, it is very good to have a manual router and grinder. If you do not have them, you will have to do a lot by hand. You also need a level, more convenient – laser, but you can do without a construction level, preferably paired with a plumb line – to check the verticality of the posts.

In addition to boards 150*45 mm will need cuttings for brooms (they are thinner than for shovels, and more convenient for children). You will also need ropes, a piece of rope, self-tapping screws, bolts, pins, corners, in general, everything you need to fix the structure to the wall and ceiling.

The board is cut to size (taking the distance from the floor to the ceiling, subtracted 10 cm), sanded. Two obtained posts fasten with clamps, put marks under the steps. In these places drill holes of the required depth (half the thickness of the board). To be able to control the depth of the hole, a strip of duct tape or colored tape is glued on the crown. The orientation is on the lower edge of the strip.

Two short parts with holes in the photo – this is a mini-handicap for several slats, at the same time can be used as a tourniquet. In the long posts on the side facing the wall, in the lower part saw off a piece under the baseboard.

Now connect the posts and the upper part. On the quality of execution of this connection depends on whether the children’s sports corner will be strong. We use strong studs, under the caps of screws and nuts put wide washers, instead of a bunch of washers you can make metal plates. Under the studs pre-drill a hole, it should be strictly perpendicular to the plane – so that the mount is not broken.

In the finished sidewalls on the glue install the rungs-steps. For reliability we fasten them with confirmats (furniture ties). Drill holes in the end, install the confirmate, sinking the head into the wood. The holes can then be closed with wood putty or furniture plugs in the color of wood.

Having put to the wall, mark the places where you need to install the fasteners, drill holes there and install dowels.

As tests have shown, such fasteners are not enough for reliable fixation: if you hang on the end rung and pull up, over time the fasteners will pull out of the wall from vibration. Therefore, it was decided to make an additional attachment to the ceiling. In it installed collets (anchors), in which screwed long metal bars with rings at the end.

The construction of a playground at the dacha or near the house is described here.

As a temporary option in the installed fastener is threaded rope, then the mount will be modernized. To avoid complications it is necessary to install anchors in the ceiling so that the rings are closely adjacent to the boards. Then they can be fixed with bolts with washers. You will get a rigid fastening. In this case, the load will be distributed between the fasteners in the wall and in the ceiling, which greatly increases the reliability of the entire structure.

The basis of the children’s sports corner is ready. Proceed to the assembly of additional projectiles. Let’s start with a rope ladder. From a bar 35*25 mm cut rungs 300 mm long. The edges are cut with a router to a rounded shape (do not leave sharp corners) and well sanded. In them at a distance of 50 mm from the edge drilled holes, the diameter of which is slightly larger than the cord. The holes should be drilled at the same distance: the more precise, the easier it is to assemble the ladder.

We take the cord and on it we make a marking every 30 cm. This will be the distance between the steps. Two cords are marked identically – with the coincidence of millimeter in millimeter. Put on the first step, tie a knot at the bottom. In the place of marking tie a second knot, put on the next step and so on.

Additional projectiles hang on the screwed hooks, making loops of the same rope, or fixing the ends of the carabiners, and carabiners clinging to the hooks or bars – it seems more convenient and reliable.

This is how a homemade corner for children’s sports activities looks like. It takes up very little space in the apartment.

How to make a loft bed with your own hands is described here, and in this article you can read about the choice of ready-made options.

Sports complex for home

In this design, everything is so simple that there is nothing to explain. The main complexity is in the manufacture of a Swedish ladder, and it is described in the first photo report. It was decided to make a large children’s sports corner in the corridor – the area there allows. So that it was possible to turn it into a ship and a house. It turned out to be such a design.

We started with making a climbing wall. The board was bought in advance, it was dry, and after the winter spent in the apartment became even less wet. Board thickness – 50 mm, width – 100-150 mm. It is used to assemble the frame. Joints are made strictly under 90 ° (we use clamps). Before installing long self-tapping screws under them drill holes (drill diameter is 1-2 mm less than the diameter of the self-tapping screw). Drill holes in the assembled frame in 10-15 cm increments. Stretch the cord.

I’ll tell you right away that we made mistakes when installing the ropes:

• we started pulling from top to bottom;
• did not make knots in the intersection.

As a result, climbing is very uncomfortable – the rope slides down. We will have to redo it. We should do it the other way around. First of all, pull the rope across, and then – from top to bottom (or from bottom to top), tying a knot at each intersection. Then the rope wall will be movable, but it will be possible to climb it.

On the assembled frame fix the corners, install to the wall, mark out the holes for fasteners and, after installing dowels, finally fasten.

Further everything is also simple. We take two boards of equal length. In them we drill holes for the installation of rungs (from cuttings), to which the shells will be attached *we also plan swings and rope ladder.

How to make a playhouse for the apartment read here, and in this article step-by-step description of the construction of the house at the cottage or near the house.

Next, collect the rest of the frame. One prepared board is attached to the wall adjacent to the already installed rope construction. On one side it rests on the frame, and with the second attach another support, so that the board was strictly horizontal (check with a construction level).

Build a ladder, put it in the same plane with two already installed posts. Fix everything. To the floor for reliability, too, you can attach to the corners and dowels.

Having checked everything for strength, we hang the projectiles and put them into operation.

Another variant of a homemade sports corner for children see in video format