Easy Ways of Making Rope Ladders for Children

A rope ladder is perhaps a safer way of climbing than the other methods likely to be adopted by the adventurous boy. For one thing you can keep it short enough to be safe if he falls off and you can chose where to put it over soft ground or some cushions. An old mattress might be ideal.

The conventional ladder can be made of short poles using two lengths of rope with clove hitches at regular intervals to hold the rungs. In fact we used one length of rope to provide a loop at the top to hook over a support.

We found various alternative ways of making a ladder. One method we used was to tie loops into a single piece of rope for hand and foot holds. A simple loop is not too comfortable since it tightens around your hand but a short length of water pipe can provide a convenient hand and foot holds. One inch plastic pipe proved adequate especially when reinforced with a piece of hose pipe around the rope. Copper water pipe could also be used but we were wary of the ends chafing the rope. It is easier to climb if the bottom of the ladder is pinned to the ground with a stake. This helps to keep the ladder vertical rather than having feet pushing out horizontally. Alternatively they might use the technique I saw in a circus. The trapeze artist used his toes and heels alternately on each side of the ladder, and this kept the ladder under control.

We realised that the old car tyres we had used as fenders for the boat could also be made into a ladder. They needed a good clean of course and it is difficult to get all the mud and water that congregates in the well of the tyre. Once done then it is simple to tie a succession of tyres to hang from a tree branch. The clove hitch proved an adequate knot for holding them since the friction from the tyre prevented them slipping. This arrangement can be quite difficult for a child to climb - depending on the width of the tyres. An alternative arrangement was to tie each successive tyre at right angles to the one above. I thought this would be easier to tackle but apparently not since the foothold is lower than before.

We kept the tyre ladder out in all weathers since one advantage of a tyre is that it does not deteriorate. The only problem was the tendency for water and wet leaves to settle in the bottom of the well. The solution was to drill a hoe in the bottom to drain the water away. Then we only had to remove dry dead leaves.

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