How To Teach a Toddler to Go Down the Slide

Are you ready to learn how to teach a toddler to go down the slide? It’s not something many parents put much thought into, but there’s more to it than you may think.

When my children were toddlers, there were some things guaranteed to grab their interest. My son would point out a tractor or fire truck even if it passed by the window in a blur. My daughter had an eye for squirrels, deer, stray cats, and bunnies. If there was anything that got them both excited, it was a playground with a slide.

A swimming pool with a kiddie slide? Oh, that was enough to pull them out of a temper tantrum or wake them up from a car nap.

I have so many fun memories of sliding with my children on my lap. I have endless pictures of them sliding on their own as toddlers and older children. Can you imagine my shock when I realized that there are some people who believe that it’s unsafe for parents to slide with their children? What about those that question the safety of slides in general?

I don’t believe this arises to another parental war on what is right or wrong, but it’s a topic worth discussing. How should you teach your toddler to slide, and when should you start? I have some insight that may help you make these decisions for each of your children.

Should You Go Down the Slide with Your Child?

I already admitted that I spent a lot of time going down slides with my children when they were young. Judging by the number of other parents that I witnessed doing the same thing with their young children in those days, I know I’m not alone. In fact, I still spend quite a bit of time in parks and still see parents and sometimes even grandparents going down slides with babies and toddlers on their laps.

I always thought that was how you teach children to slide. You go down with them until they’re brave enough to do it alone. That’s when you start helping them up the steps and running to the end of the slide to catch them, right?

I have never heard about a child sustaining an injury while sliding with an adult, but I recently discovered a shocking statistic. From 2002 to 2015, more than 352,000 children under the age of 6 were injured on slides. Children between 12 and 23 months were the most likely to sustain injuries.

The most common injury was a fractured lower leg, which was often caused by a foot catching the edge of the slide as the child rode on an adult’s lap. Catching on the slide can pull the leg backwards as the adult’s weight propels the child down the slide.  

Does that make you rethink how to teach a toddler to go down the slide? The thought of a little one’s leg bending and fracturing is enough to make me do things differently with my grandchildren when they come along. If you’re second guessing the duo slide as well, what other options do you have?

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Teaching a Toddler to Slide Safely – Step by Step

You may still want to slide with your baby or toddler. It is a great way to give young children their first slide experiences, helping them overcome any fear they may otherwise experience. Just make sure to center those little legs on top of yours and protect them from moving to the sides as you go.

You can also teach children to slide by allowing them to copycat their peers. Take your child to a busy park and allow them to watch other children in action. If you have a slide at home, bring over the cousins or have a play date to give your child the same opportunity to watch others.

When your child is ready to try it themselves, you can help them up the steps or ladder to reach the slide. If you start with a low, straight slide, try to hold your child’s hand from the top to bottom. That may give them some confidence the first few times. You can take your place at the end as catcher once they no longer need your hand.

If you invest in a small slide like the Little Tikes First Slide, you can even hold your child as they go down the slide. Hold them lightly around the waist. That allows you to control the speed of the slide, bringing them to a gentle stop at the end. The small ladder will also give your child some confidence climbing.

Once your little one is happily sliding on low, straight slides, how and when do you graduate to taller slides or even tunnel slides? We have some tips to guide you through that process.

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What Age Should a Baby Go Down a Slide?

The first step to learning how to teach a toddler to go down the slide is determining the right age to present the slide. That decision is different for every child and comes down to development. Start by purchasing a small slide designed for children, purchasing a home playground set with a slide, or checking out the slide at your local playground.

Ask yourself the following questions to determine your child’s current suitability for using the slides you have available right now:

• Can your child safely climb the ladder or steps to reach the slide on their own?
• If not, can your child safely reach the slide with your help? For instance, can you hold your child from the back while they climb or carry your child up the steps without risk of either of you falling?
• Can your child sit at the top of the slide, push themselves down, and hold their body stable as they go down? You can base this on your child’s everyday body movements and balance while walking, running, and playing with toys.
• Can you hold your child’s hand or hold them around the waist as they go down the slide?
• When your child sees the slide, are they interested in going down it?
• Do you notice any signs of fear when you ask your child if they want to slide?

If your toddler is interested in the slide, isn’t frightened, and has the physical ability to safely reach the top of the slide and push themselves down, perhaps you’re at the right age to give it a try. If any of these questions make you uneasy, then perhaps you need to wait a bit longer.

Age Requirements for Toddler Slides

To give you some perspective on the safest age to get a child started on the slide, we checked the recommended age limits for five leading toddler slides for sale right now. All of these slides were under 30 inches from the ground and featured simple two or three-step ladders.

What was the youngest recommend age for these slides? 18 months.

The great thing about these little plastic slides is you can choose where you put them, indoors or outdoors. That allows you to ensure the landing is soft if your child does come to a fast landing at the end. The slides are so short that most reach the bottom safely even when under the age of two.

The Right Age for Small Slides

What about teaching your toddler to go down a small slide on a swing set or at a playground? Go through all the questions listed above to determine your child’s personal suitability to the size of slide available.

You shouldn’t allow a child under 18 months to go down a slide on their own, regardless of size. In most cases, young babies don’t have the head and body control to safely go down even a small slide. In general, many children are ready to master low slides between the ages of 2 and 4.

The Right Age for Taller Slides

Taller slides come with taller ladders, more steps, or maybe even a rope ladder. Your child needs to have the body control to go up a more complicated climbing apparatus with a low risk of falling. You should help your child go up the first few times, even if you just go behind them and keep your arms open to catch or lift them up if needed.

It’s a good idea to graduate to taller slides slowly. You don’t have to jump from a 3-foot backyard or indoor slide to 10-foot slide at the park.

Instead, you may go from a toddler-sized slide inside the house to a slightly taller slide on the backyard swing set. Finally, you can start exploring mid-sized slides at local parks. Save the 15-foot and up slides for later childhood.

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The Right Age for Tunnel Slides

Tunnel slides are much the same as regular slides when it comes to the body skills needed to use them safely. Some are much higher than others, and the amount of climbing needed to reach the top of the slide varies.

What you need to keep in mind here is your child’s comfort level. Long tunnel slides often scare young children more than open slides. Who doesn’t think twice before launching their body into a dark hole and hoping someone will catch them at the end?

Young children may not fully understand where they will come out of the tunnel at the end. They may see the end while standing on the ground, but it gets confusing when looking down the tunnel from the top. Some children need time to build up enough bravado and a strong sense of security before going into the tunnel.

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How Does a Slide Help a Child’s Development?

I’ve mentioned making sure your child is developed enough to handle the physical skills required for sliding. It’s time to turn the focus a little and discuss the developmental goals that sliding may help your child achieve. To your little one, it’s all fun and games, but to you, it’s about health and safety as well as fun.

Here are some of the developmental skills  your child may develop while sliding plus some health benefits of sliding:

• Body coordination
• Upper body strength
• Improved blood flow
• Stretching
• Improved flexibility
• Building upper body strength
• Building leg strength
• Strong grip development
• Tendon, muscle, and joint development

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Are Slides Bad for Toddlers?

Maybe there is a potential risk for injury when an adult slides with a young child on their lap. I never thought of that when I was sliding with my little ones, and I know it’s something that doesn’t cross the minds of most parents and grandparents. Now that you know, you can make healthier decisions when deciding how to teach a toddler to go down the slide.

Slides aren’t bad for toddlers as long as you gradually introduce them to the taller slides and do everything possible to prevent falls. There are many good things about sliding. In for example, sliding increases your child’s daily activity level and encourages them to lead active lifestyles while taking care of their bodies with exercise.

Going down the slide can also get your children out of the house and into the sunshine. They’ll benefit from natural vitamin D while learning to move their bodies in new ways. Whether you put them on your lap as I did many years ago or you teach your child to slide alone, you’re encouraging a healthy lifestyle that sets them up for a healthy body and a healthy future.

Playtime is one of the best recreational activities kids can do. You may also want to read about when to let your kids try swings.

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