A gen or two ago, when there was hardly ANY video games and many of the things considered “kids entertainment” today just simply hadn’t been invented yet, good old-fashioned backyard fun and games came in the form of a jungle gym.
As we try to balance our time with YouTube, Netflix and gaming, it’d be great to expose the current generation of kids to traditional – physical fun!
Enter the jungle gym!
In this article we will walk you through how to DIY a jungle gym right in your own backyard. Let’s go!
What is a jungle gym?
To visualize a jungle gym, picture a monkey in the jungle traversing branches, that is what kids get to do on these structures.
A jungle gym consists of vertical beams and horizontal bars, and has various component parts with different attachments so that several kids can enjoy it at the same time.
Instead of a standing climbing structure or swing set, it contains a variety of fun options all in one structure.
Help with making a DIY Jungle Gym
There are many designs and it would be impossible to share them all in one place.
Your own creativity is the only limitation in a DIY jungle gym you can design.
Here are some considerations to keep in mind.
Tip #1: Be creative
As long as you have a little creativity, you’ll be able to come up with something unique.
What you are buying as a jungle gym , was all started by an idea that someone had sitting at a table with pen and paper.
Tip #2: Think about what your kids like
Please keep in mind that all children are special; they all have their preferences.
For instance, if they like pirates, you could at least customize something targeted with pirates.
If they like monkey bars, how could you not put a set on their own jungle gym!
You should also consider their friends and the amount that might use it and then how quickly they may grow out of it.
And don’t forget – ask your children what they want. Just be ready to be surprised by what they might want!
Tip #3: Think about how much space you’ve got
The size of your project space will largely dictate your choice of design.
If you’re going for a slide, keep in mind that you’ll need landing space, and therefore the footprint of your design will need to be much smaller than the project space.
Tip #4: Think about your budget
It’s great if you have a big, complicated, jungle gym design, but if you run out of cash halfway through, it will be useless.
You need to budget carefully – it’s also best to buy all of your materials up front.
Things you can include in your design
If you’re not at the designing stage and don’t know what to incorporate into the structure, here are some ideas to get you started.
A swing
Swings are one of those activities that you never truly outgrow.
I’ve seen many adults go to one of their friends am a backyard and have some fun time in a swing!
In addition to being fun, swinging provides a workout for your core and abdominal muscles.
Having good core strength is important because it helps you support yourself when you are walking, balancing, running and playing sports.
Swinging also helps with coordination!
Once you stop having someone push you and learn to propel yourself in the swing, you are doing a lot of work!
In summary – Swinging can provide a full body workout for kids!
Monkey bars
Monky bars are a classic piece of equipment found in jungle gyms, and kids seem to enjoy them.
Monkey bars are excellent not only for developing upper body strength but also core strength.
So many possibilities.
Kids love to see if they can swing all the way around, skip a rung, or hang upside down!
Monkey bars are versatile – and even adults can enjoy them!
A climbing slope or wall
The fantastic thing with climbing walls in jungle gyms is that you can change it up when your kids become more comfortable with it.
If your kids are younger you can include lots of holds, but as they get older, you can change them around and reduce the number.
Climbing walls are great for developing core strength, leg strength, and finger strength.
A fireman pole
A fireman pole makes a terrific part of any jungle gym and helps provide kids with an opportunity to face the fear of stepping off.
Because they are so much fun, kids will want to use them over and over, providing opportunities for lots of climbing.
Even Better – Older kids often like to see how high they can climb up the pole too, which is awesome for whole-body strength.
Rope ladders
Rope ladders give an opportunity to climb up onto the jungle gym while developing children’s core strength and balance.
The rope ladder is also unstable which makes it so much fun as children try to maintain balance and control all the way to the top.
Slide
The slides are valued as an essential part of the jungle gym.
They are one of the pivotal pieces of equipment (with the fireman pole) that often provided the impetus for climbing in the first place.
It’s phenomenal the number of times a child will climb the jungle gym for the slide!
Older kids will sometimes attempt to climb on the slide too, which makes it a more flexible piece of play.
How to make your own jungle gym step-by-step
If you have a better idea of what jungle gyms are and what you are looking for, here are some more obvious steps that you will have to step through before it is finished.
Keep in mind, since all your designs will be different, this is a general step by step process.
So, let’s get started!
1: Measure your space
The devices and features we have spoken about above will only work if you have space to include them in your design!
First, mark-out the constructed area of the jungle gym.
Plenty of people suggest that you could leave three feet around the entire sides of the frame so the kids can run around it and access the structure easier.
However, if your space doesn’t allow for a lot of lateral room, consider building the jungle gym bigger vertically so you can still include lots of fun things in your jungle gym with a smaller footprint.
2: Choose your components and design
With the space measured, try to come up with a design that will fit.
Browse designs of a similar size online.
Here are a few points to consider.
Shelter
Have a hideaway in your jungle gym where your children can escape the sun’s rays, the pouring rain or the howling winds, while still having fun.
The hideaway could be three-sided and have a roof or simply be a place to go under the main structure, perhaps even with a little bench for kids to sit on.
The hideaway could also be on top of the slide.
Or alternatively – the hideaway could just be on the ground surface and have a sandpit.
Use appropriate materials
If you are spending a lot of money making your own jungle gym, you want to make sure it is built to last.
Using things that are weatherproof like treated wood, galvanized rivets, outdoor fabric and PVC will help make it unusable for several years.
Add in extra elements where you can
In addition to all of your design work on the overall structure, consider also where you could add in:
- a swing
- a net
- a rope ladder
- some hoops
- or monkey bars
Many of these could often be incorporated on the sides or underneath parts of a structure.
Consider elements that stimulate the mind
Is it possible to have a chalkboard surface for a mark-making wall?
Or a game of tic-tac-toe?
In fact, it would be very easy to add in things that spin or make sounds or music.
3: Materials and construction
For most types of DIY jungle gym, you’ll need:
- Deck boards
- Pressure-treated lumber
- Galvanized wood screws
- Galvanized metal wood brackets
- Galvanized swing frame brackets
- Saws (hand or table saw)
- Power drill
- A slide
- A swing seat
- Posts
- Concrete
The first thing that we will do when constructing the jungle gym is setting the posts.
You want to set the posts at least 3 ft into the ground.
If your DIY jungle gym is made of wood, you will want to put the wooden posts into metal posts before casting concrete around it.
This will help to ensure, the wood will last longer and will not rot.
Concrete will have to cure for 24 hours.
From this point, the rest of the construction will depend on the design you choose.
When Building – it’s always a good rule of thumb to keep looking back to your plans and don’t just start throwing things together (this will more than likely cause issues).
With your frame now constructed final touches to the structure will be things like adding the rope ladder or swing or the holds for your climbing wall.
If you used treated lumber, you shouldn’t have to paint it unless you want to.
How to make a DIY jungle gym in your backyard – FAQs
Who created the first jungle gym?
The original jungle gym (a.k.a. monkey bars) was first marketed in 1920 in Chicago, by a lawyer named Sebastian Hinton.
It gained patent and trademark under the name JunglegymTM.
Hinton’s second jungle gym was at Crow Island School in Winnetka. That jungle gym was used at the school until 2010, before it was officially retired.
Today, that jungle gym sits in the backyard of the Winnetka Historical Museum.
Where was the first-ever children’s playground built?
It is thought that the first purpose-built children’s playground appeared in a park in Manchester, England in 1859.
In the U.S., President Theodore Roosevelt officially introduced the concept in 1907.
However, there had already some already existed before it was officially introduced.
What muscle groups do monkey bars help to build?
Monkey bars are a great way to increase upper body strength.
They target both the deltoid (shoulder) muscles, the “lats” (latissimus dorsi) muscles, the obliques, the abdominal muscles and the biceps.
They are also fantastic for building grip strength as they strengthen your hand muscles as you grab the bars.
What are the most popular things to include on a DIY jungle gym?
Here are some things that kids most enjoy on jungle gyms:
- Slides (whether they’re a regular, a spiral or a tunnel slide—they’re everyone’s favourite!)
- Swings (even adults would probably confess that they still love swings, they’re universal!)
- Roundabouts or merry-go-rounds (they’re harder to add to your DIY jungle gyms!)
- See-saws or teeter-totters (read this article to understand the difference between the two!)
- Things to climb (rope ladders, climbing walls, ladders)
- Fireman pole
What are the alternatives if you don’t have space for a jungle gym?
If your backyard is small, and you don’t have the room for a massive jungle gym structure, there is now way that you cannot separate a lot of the elements of a jungle gym in your backyard instead.
If you have a wall or a sturdy fence, a climbing wall could be added, a rope swing could be hung from a tree branch, and a stand-alone slide could fit in a tiny area.
The possibilities are limitless.
If you want even more inspiration, check out natural backyard playgrounds, as these rarely have massive DIY jungle gym structures, but are just as imaginative and exciting for your little ones to explore.
Final thoughts on making a DIY jungle gym in your backyard
Creating a jungle gym as a DIY project can be an exciting venture.
As with any major DIY project, there is probably going to be a time when you begin to feel overwhelmed and wonder what you’ve got yourself into!
This is a good area to get others involved when you get here, ask for their help and advice.
Nothing is better than seeing your children enjoying the final outcome of your hard work! Good luck!