How to Teach a Child to Climb a Ladder

Ladders are one of the more challenging playground obstacles for little ones and parents. When you’re four or five, standing at the bottom of a ladder and looking up can bring on a lot of anxiety and intimidation. Parents may feel the same anxiety as they watch a child start their first climb, but there are steps you can take to teach your child to climb a ladder safely.

Some children are naturally athletic and have a great interest in climbing ladders as soon as they see the big kids doing it on the playground. Other children may experience more anxiety or fear when approaching even small ladders. Finally, there are children who simply prefer to play with their feet firmly on the ground.

Understanding which type of child you have when it comes to climbing is the first step to teaching this skill. Even if your child shows little to no interest in ladders or climbing in general, you can’t let your guard down. You never know when a developing child is going to feel courageous and go for something challenging. That’s especially true when something desirable like a slide is at the top of that ladder.

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When Can a Child Climb a Ladder?

In general, your child is ready to climb a ladder when they have the strength, coordination, and balance to do it safely. Think about some of the movements that are required to make it to the top of even a short ladder:

• Grip Strength – Grabbing the bars or holding onto the sides while moving the lower body up each level of the ladder.
• Pull Strength – Pulling yourself up to get securely to the next level of the ladder.
• Coordination – Your arms and legs must coordinate together.  Hand-eye coordination is essential as well.
• Balance – holding the body upright at just the right angle to ensure you don’t topple backwards or fall from the side.
• Leg Strength – Stepping up each level of the ladder and then pushing up with the thighs, calves, and knees.

There’s also some problem-solving involved in climbing a ladder. Determining which hand to put up first, which leg to start the climb with, and how to climb onto the top platform once you reach the top. If there are other children climbing at the same time, it becomes even more challenging.

To better understand when your child may safely start to climb ladders, it’s important to look at the child development milestones involved.

When Do Babies Learn to Climb?

The inclination to climb often starts around the first birthday, if not a few months earlier. When more than 730 parents reported information about their children’s mastery of stair climbing, researchers found that the mean age of stair-climbing mastery was close to 11 months.

Most parents reported their children trying to climb stairs for the first time several months after beginning to crawl. More than 90% of children were able to make it to the top of the stairs and turn around to go back down on their first attempt.

Babies typically climb stairs on their hands and knees, so they aren’t ready to climb a ladder just yet. By age 2 or 3, most toddlers will have the skills to climb up on furniture safely. By 4 or 5, many will have the physical capability to climb playground ladders. By 6 or 7, the majority of children have climbed a ladder or two and are gaining confidence with their climbing skills.

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How to Teach a Child to Climb a Ladder

How to teach a child to climb a ladder isn’t something they teach you in parenting classes!

Every child is different, so there is no set age at which you should start teaching your child to climb ladders. The following process will walk you through it one step at a time. Use your personal knowledge of your child’s development and personality to determine when you should take each step.

It’s okay to take some introductory steps to teaching climbing skills and then hold off if you don’t feel your child is quite ready. Your child may give you some solid cues by showing interest in climbing ladders or other apparatus. Use that interest to take small steps toward mastering ladder climbing.  

Start Role Modeling Early

Like most things, children can learn how to climb by watching others. If you’ve ever seen the video of a baby copying a dog to learn how to climb up on a couch, you get the point. If you don’t have a dog willing to demonstrate, you can allow older children to do the honors or take it upon yourself.

The goal here is to show your baby the basic motions of climbing. Head out to the playground and say, “Watch mommy!” before climbing up the ladder yourself. Turn around and climb back down as well because descending is just as important as ascending.

Your child may also see older children climbing ladders at the playground. Close supervision is essential because younger children sometimes try to follow their older peers before they’re physically capable of completing the task. The more they’re able to watch, the less fear they may have when it’s their turn to give it a try.

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Provide Safe Climbing Opportunities Indoors

Climbing skills aren’t developed on ladders alone. Start by allowing your child to experiment with climbing on safe surfaces indoors. You may invest in a plastic indoor slide that has a two- or three-step ladder on the backside (like this one from Amazon).

These ladders are often short and soft, so they’re safe for exploration when placed on carpeting or another soft surface. Just make sure you place this indoor play equipment away from coffee tables, furniture, and other items that may cause an injury if your baby tumbles sideways or backwards when trying to climb.

Allowing children to learn climbing maneuvers on your furniture is a bit controversial. Some parents believe it’s unsafe while others consider making your way up to the couch an important milestone. Your baby can start to develop arm and leg strength by climbing furniture, but there are a few things you should do before allowing this:

• Move coffee tables, toys, and other potential dangers away from the area your child is allowed to furniture climb. You don’t want them to topple over and hit their head or endure another injury.
• Carefully supervise your child when in any area they may find temptation to climb. If you allow them to attempt a climb one day, they’re likely to try again every chance they get.
• Teach your child to turn around and back down off the couch as well. When they get up, they have to come down at some point. Safe descents are critical.
• Set boundaries on tables and other pieces of furniture that aren’t as soft as a couch. Your child should understand what is potentially dangerous and what is acceptable for climbing. In general, babies old enough to climb can understand what furniture is made for sitting and what is not.

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Teach the Basic Upright Climbing Motion

As your little one masters climbing up and down on hands and knees, you can start teaching them to pull their bodies upright and step. One simple approach is to hold your baby’s hands over their heads and encourage them to step up or march. If you have a small step in your home, you might do this as a game.

You can also cut straight to two-step ladders on soft plastic indoor play equipment. Your little one may start by climbing up on her knees, but she will start to push up with her feet eventually. It’s the idea of bending one leg to the step and pushing with the other that you want to master now.

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Assisted Upright Climbing

When your child is finally ready to approach ladders at the playground, provide assistance from the ground. If possible, identify ladders that are safe for early climbers, including:

• Playground stairs that are wide, flat, and low to the ground
• Short ladders that your child can master with fewer steps up
• Sloped ladders that go more at a gentle angle than straight up and down

How do you assist your child as they start to climb? Start by standing at the bottom of the ladder and holding your child lightly by the waist. That provides some physical support and reassurance of safety for you both. Ask someone you trust to wait at the top of the ladder to help your child pull up to the landing if you can’t reach it from the ground.

With time, you can start relaxing your hands or holding them behind your child without touching their sides or back. Some children will go from climbing with assistance to confidently and safely climbing independently rather quickly. Others need assistance or just a display of support for a longer period of time.

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Final Tips for Teaching a Child to Climb a Ladder

• Teach your toddler what is and isn’t safe to climb. Ambitious new climbers may try to take on the kitchen table or a high couch positioned next to a coffee table with sharp corners. Those corner cushions are more important than ever with a little climber in the house, but setting boundaries is important as well.  
• Don’t expect your child to climb a full ladder at the beginning. Take it one step at a time and allow them to stop whenever they decide they’ve had enough. Some children will excitedly go up the full ladder without problem while others may take just one step or two and get scared or tired. With time, you can build from taking that first step. If you push too hard, you may frustrate your child, which could lead to hesitation to climb in the future.
• If your child starts climbing on a backyard playground ladder, consider placing a foam mat or other soft surface under the ladder. Some children feel more secure leaving the ground when they know a soft surface is below. You can bring mats to the public playground as well but consider picking it up after your child climbs. Other children may not know the mat is there and may trip when running.

When your child makes it up that first ladder at the playground, make it a celebration! Your little one has just mastered an impressive skill. If the first attempt didn’t go so well, encourage your child to try again immediately after. The faster they get back up and try again, the less likely they are to develop a fear of climbing ladders.

The best piece of advice you will ever hear for how to teach a child to climb a ladder is to take it at your child’s pace. Every child is different, and climbing is potentially dangerous if your child isn’t ready to learn. If you’re concerned that your child isn’t mastering ladder climbing at an appropriate age, talk to your pediatrician or a family doctor familiar with your child’s medical history.

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