This year, our family has been forced to spend more time indoors with our kids, and I know for a fact that we are not alone.
Sometimes there just is not enough time to go on a grand outdoor adventure with the kids because a project is due or zoom meetings are happening.
Balancing work and play while the kids are stuck at home has been a challenge.
Well, I really value our outdoor time (if you haven’t noticed) and keeping the kids active is super important to me. I also know that the kids are happier when they have a chance to be active. It is even better if they can be active outside. But, if we can’t get outside then I want to have activities for them to be active indoors.
After spending some time in quarantine at home after the sickness went through day care, and then school, we decided that we needed to invest in an indoor playground for kids at home.
I thought about building a playground or climbing structure for inside our house ourselves but we needed something quick and easy. We were already balancing the kids and work. Adding in another “thing to do” just was not going to be possible.
Full Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links. All views in this post are my own. We purchased this ladder for our kids for Christmas and are not working with the company. However, if you choose to buy through our links we do make a few cents that helps our family pizza night!
Indoor Playground for Kids at Home
Well, we finally caved and bought kid’s climbing structure to keep the kids active when they are stuck inside whether it is for sickness or those -50C days!
We bought a Swedish Ladder for older kids! The kid’s climber is easy to build and comes with all the parts that you need for a fun indoor playground at home.
An added bonus is that the ladder also doubles as a work out station for adults (Yes… that is me showing off the Swedish Ladder lol).
If you just needed my recommendation to purchase the Swedish Ladder and want to skip all the reading, find the links below. If you want to learn a little bit Swedish Ladder then read on!
Note: We bought this same ladder with all the attachments that are shown below except ours did not come with the monkey bars in the middle of the ladder and the ab bench that looks like (and can be used as) a slide.
Purchase the Swedish Ladder here.
I also wanted to share another play structure that is by the same company. This is a great option if you have smaller kids is the Indoor Playground Toddler Climber that comes with a slide. The toddler playground has great reviews and is worth checking out if you have kids under 4 years old!
Purchase the Indoor Playground Toddler Climber Slide here.
Swedish Ladder Set
The Swedish Ladder by Wedanta uses natural wood and is painted with environmentally friendly finishing. The reinforced bar means that the structure can hold up to 286lbs. This means that adults can also use the the structure to work out on as well!
The play structure for indoor play has been perfect for our five and seven year old. It can easily hold both of the girls and all the various ways they swing and play on the structure. They absolutely love climbing the different ladders and swinging on the rings, rope, and bar! Another favourite “move” is the swing from the top monkey bar onto the mattress we have set up on the floor.
Time Needed to Build the Swedish Ladder
The whole kit to build the Swedish Ladder comes with almost everything you need. You will also need a drill to secure the ladder into your wall.
I should add here that my husband and I are not “builders” at all and have little wood working experience. Building the Indoor Playground only took us a total of four hours to build on our own.
We built the indoor jungle gym at home in two evenings so that the girls could receive it in time for Christmas! It probably would have taken us a little less time if we didn’t make a few mistakes. (More information on that below).
The Instructions for Building the Swedish Ladder
The instructions for building the Swedish Ladder are clear but only include pictures. There are no words. We managed to figure out the instructions based on the pictures but a few words would have been helpful.
I should add here that it is important to measure your basement height. The minimum height of the Swedish Ladder is 7 foot 3 inches.
Our basement is quite low because we have extra soundproofing on our ceiling. We had to cut off 2 inches from the bottom to fit the indoor kid’s playground in our basement. We knew this before we bought the ladder and cut down the 2×4’s before we started building the ladder.
Building the Swedish Ladder
The first step is building the ladder. This is fairly straightforward but remember to to check the measurements of your ceiling to the 2×4’s. As I mentioned previously, we had to cut ours down to fit in our basement.
After the ladder is built, it is mounted onto the wall. Instructions (and parts) for mounting the Ladder onto the drywall or the studs are included.
If you are mounting the structure on the studs in your home then you need need to have a stud detector which is not included. This is how we mounted the Swedish Ladder.
At first we tried attaching the ladder to our wall using the drywall method, but the screws were too long for our dry wall (at least that is what we think is what happened). Again, we are not builders at all. Since we did not have smaller screws, we switched to attaching it to the studs.
After mounting the ladder onto the wall, the top bars are added to the structure.
Pay attention to which bars goes on top and which bars goes on the bottom. Also note that the bars need to go on the correct side depending on where the bar is inserted. We did not pay attention and had to remove the bars multiple times to put them in the correct spot. These bars will hold all the fun equipment like the ladder rope, rope, rings, and the swinging bar.
Once you have completed the top bars you are almost done!
After the ladder and top bars are completed, it is time to add all the fun additions that will keep the kids busy.
Included with the ladder I linked below is a pull up bar, set of rings, rope ladder, rope, bar swing, monkey bars, and abs bench (that also could double as a small slide).
Ready to make the kids more active when they are stuck indoors?
Just like I mentioned before, we did not get the extra monkey bar edition or the slide but I really want those additions now!
I love that there is so much variety to this ladder and that the kids can swing and climb in a variety of different ways!
Purchase the Swedish Ladder here.
Purchase the Indoor Playground Toddler Climber Slide here.
Bored kids at home? Check out one of these fun activities!
Try one of these Indoor and Outdoor Scavenger Hunts, an Activity Calendar, or create an Activity Jar !
