Children are concerned their parents are working too much, with a new study of 10- and 11-year-olds showing 35 per cent think their father works too much, while 27 per cent said the same about their mothers.

Research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies has concluded that parents were also feeling the pressure, with 23 per cent of mothers saying work made family time less enjoyable and more pressured.

Australian Institute of Family Studies director Professor Alan Hayes said the study showed children were affected by their parents’ work-related worries spilling into family time.

“When mothers said work made family time less fun, the children tended to agree with them,” he said. Roughly a third of children also said their mother worked too much. Similarly, when fathers said work made family time less fun, 43 per cent of children also said their father worked too much.

“Finding a way of meeting the demands of paid work, as well as taking care of children, is difficult for many parents and underlines the need for workplaces to continue to adopt more flexible approaches to allow their employees to manage their family responsibilities.”

South Melbourne mother Tania Slotboom enjoys quality time with children Audrey, Morris and Harper. Picture: Stuart McEvoy Source: The Australian

Around 4000 children participated in the study, which looks at how children are experiencing life in increasingly busy households.

Professor Hayes said getting the balance right was crucial, as children relied on their parents for advice and support.

“Mothers were most often consulted when their children had problems. For boys, fathers were the next most common source of help when they had difficulties, while girls were more likely to go to their friends next, ahead of their fathers,” he said.

The research comes from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children as part of 2012 National Families Week.

Tania Slotboom has four children between one and 10 years old, but both she and her husband work, which makes family time precious — and pressured. She works part-time during school hours and her husband works in finance, which can mean long hours away from their children.

“Sometimes it’s really busy and we might go days without seeing him,” Ms Slotboom said. “I think the kids are used to it, I don’t think they like it, but they’re used to it. I think they understand it’s the norm for most families.”

AIFS researcher Jennifer Baxter said despite the tensions in families over paid work and long hours, families also reported benefits from working.

“Apart from the financial rewards, paid employment can have a range of benefits for parents, including experiencing social interaction and feeling satisfied doing meaningful or interesting work, and these benefits flow through to their children,” she said. “Our research found that among employed parents of children aged 10 to 11 years, 67 per cent of both mothers and fathers said that work had a positive effect on their children.”

Dr Baxter said most of the pressure on families occurred when the children were young and as they grew older, parents were increasingly likely to say work had a positive effect on their children.

The study also showed by the time children were aged 10 to 11, 53 per cent were helping around the house, with only 11 per cent seldom or never helping.

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Article taken from: The Australian

We understand for most families buying a Climbing Frame is a big purchase and you want to make sure you select the right product for your children and garden. We have found some customers prefer to speak to a customer service representative face to face to discuss which playset is most suitable for their family. This is one of the reasons why our showroom has become so effective.

Last year we opened our very first showroom in Sydney Marrickville – just 10kms from the city. Our showroom not only provides our customers with an opportunity to view our products and to see the quality in person but also gives them a chance to speak with us one on one. Upon appointment you will be greeted by one of our highly trained and experienced sales staff members to help you find the perfect product for your family. Also if you are uncertain whether your child/s will be capable of using a climbing frame this will give them a chance to have a play and test their capabilities to set to rest any hesitations you may have.

If you are unsure which product is for you, please call us and make an appointment. Our staff will spend time with you talking you through the various products and will answer any questions you may have.

(Showroom Opening Hours Mon – Fri 9 – 6pm)

A big thank you to all those who shared our Discovery Playset Cubby House Competition and a huge congratulations to the very lucky winner!

We are happy to announce the winner is… Nicole Reed!

Nicole can you please private message us via our Facebook page with your delivery address and contact details.

Congratulations on your win!

The Prize - A Discovery Playset Cubby House

Environmental preservation is very important to us at Climbing Frames Australia.

We ensure all our manufacturers participate in Sustainable Forest programs (FSC or SFI) which mean that several saplings are planted for each single tree removed to make our sets. We also use a water-based treatment on our wood as we prepare it for boxing. The treatment looks great, is environmentally friendly and is non-toxic.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), a registered charitable organisation, was born in the 1990’s amongst huge concern for the mindless depletion of the world’s forests. As certified members of the SFI we can guarantee that our products are responsibly sourced and we are working hard to promote sustainable forestry.

We can be sure that the SFI are doing all they can thanks to their rigorous third party audits. Qualified, accredited and independent certification bodies regularly review internal records as well as ground staff to ensure all necessary protocol is met.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests. As all our climbing frames are made from cedar wood and  our outdoor toys are fir, we believe it is vital to act responsibly and ensure that no unnecessary or irreparable damage is done to the world’s forests.

As members of the FSC we can ensure customers that wood used in our Climbing Frames and outdoor play equipment is sourced from well-managed forests. The FSC is an international, non-governmental organisation that strives to reduce the negative effects of irresponsible deforestation. Sixty million indigenous people as well as a huge percentage of plant life and animal species are wholly reliant on the world’s forests. The depletion of forests each year means a negative economic, social and environmental impact.

We feel it is important for us to manufacture and sell with a clear conscience and for our customers to be able to buy and use our products entirely guilt-free.

Climbing Frames Australia offers a fantastic, cost effective home delivery service on our large range of outdoor wooden play equipment including  Climbing Frames, Swingsets, Play Centres, Cubbies, Sandpits, Trampolines and accessories.

We have worked extensively with many carriers in Australia to get the best delivery rates possible and we pass on the savings of large volume transportation to you.

The couriers we use offer security, tracking and fast delivery time frames.

We offer a national home delivery service to most areas in Australia and you can check the cost of home delivery by using our delivery price checker on our home page.

Once you order has been received by us, our warehouse will pick and pack your order ready for our delivery team, who will collect and ship the goods out to your local depot. 

Our Climbing Frames Australia dispatch team will notify you via email once the goods have left our warehouse. We will send you through all the details relating to your dispatch, including the consignment number & courier website which will allow you to track the progress of your delivery.

You will need to allow 3 – 14 days for delivery (14 days applying to remote areas).

Once the goods reach your local depot  you will then be contacted by the courier either via sms or phone call and a suitable delivery day will be arranged. The courier will deliver between 9 – 5pm, Monday – Friday.

Our delivery service is classified as a “curbside” delivery which means that the driver is only required to leave the goods outside your house and not to carry the goods around to the back of the house. You will need to be present for the delivery and will have to move the goods to a suitable area yourself.

We also require that you check the goods once they have arrived and sign the POD (Proof of Delivery) notice that will be presented to you by the driver.

If, on the rare occasion, there are any shortages or damages this must be noted on the POD and you must inform us within 24 hrs of the delivery.

Many of our playsets will be accompanied by a slide and often these are packaged in clear plastic. It is imperative that you open the plastic cover and check the slide for any damage before the courier leaves your premises.

Our home delivery service is cost effective and hassle free but should you wish to collect your order yourself, please select “Courier Collection Only” at the checkout stage.

Customers may then either collect themselves or organise their own courier to collect from our warehouse in Minto NSW.

A flat fee of $49.00 applies to all of our playsets for collection.

To try and make your buying experience that much simpler we have supplied climbing frames that cater for various garden dimensions.

A small garden doesn’t at all mean a Climbing Frame is impossible to fit. We completely understand that not everyone has acres and acres of land to fill with our play equipment. It was important for us that we considered those with smaller gardens and because of that we have a range of climbing frames which are ideal for smaller spaces. The Meadowvale Playset and Discovery Cubby House are a fantastic option for our customers who are looking for a playset that includes everything but have limited space. These playsets are attractive and versatile, aimed for those with younger children. But that’s not all! We shouldn’t dare to forget to mention, these playsets are also perfectly priced to suit most budgets!

Discovery Cubby House

Meadowvale Playset

Medium sized gardens make a great home for a fabulous climbing frame. We have a fantastic playset – The Bloomingdale that is ideal for those with a medium sized garden. Climbing Frames truly believe you don’t need a huge outdoor space to get a playset full of exciting features. This playset incorporates everything you will ever need or want in a climbing frame and fits perfectly in a medium size garden.

Bloomingdale Playset

Now for those lucky families with large gardens, you will be able to make the most of our super-duper larger climbing frames. Although all our playsets have a wonderful range of play features, it makes sense that the bigger playsets can accommodate even more features such as the monkey bars. Large gardens are also able to make the most of our wide variety of accessories and additional extras like picnic tables, wooden playhouses or sand tables. The Summerville Climbing Frame, the Highlander Climbing Frame and the Skyfort Playcentre with Cubby House all fall under this category.

Summerville Climbing Frame

Highlander Climbing Frame

Skyfort Playcentre with Cubby House

Once you have determined which playset is most suitable for your garden size, we also recommend that the Cubby House is positioned where it is visible from the main house or kitchen window, enabling the child to be supervised even if you are working indoors. Most children like to play in the middle of the garden or close to the house, so avoid positioning the Cubby House in a dark corner, away from the rest of the garden. You should also allow space to get behind the Cubby House for maintenance or wood treatments.

We hope this information helps you decide which playset is most suitable for your garden size. If you need some further advise, our helpful sales representative are only a call away to help with any enquires you may have!

At Climbing Frames Australia, we think one of the best things about having a cubby house when we were kids was the fact that we had our very own special place. A place where we could spend time with our friends, share secrets, tell jokes, play, write, eat, read, play shops and have tea parties. We loved getting lost in our imaginary worlds and had the time of our lives – these are some of the strongest and happiest memories from our childhood.

Our Bayberry cubby house has been our most popular seller yet but you need to hurry as we only have 2 available.

The Bayberry cubby house comes with a 10 year warranty and many features to keep the little ones entertained:

• Cupola & working weather vane with N, E, S, W symbols

• Windows and working shutters

• White picket fence

• Roof vents – ensuring good air circulation and no damp inside

• Flower boxes with drainage holes (flowers not included) – your budding gardeners can start their very own herb garden

• Wooden shingle roof

• Large opening at rear which can be used as a shop window or serving counter

• Door height: 1.2M

• Internal playhouse height: 1.64M

• Made from cedar wood

• Flat packed with all fixings and hardware included and pre-drilled wood

The unique design of our Bayberry cubby house will provide your children with that very special place of their own, where they can spend time with friends, role play and get lost in their imaginary worlds. It will blend beautifully into your backyard and is guaranteed to be a hit at your next birthday party or family gathering.

It’s always a great pleasure to hear how much joy our climbing frames bring to our users. Just recently we received a delightful post from one of our customers and Facebook friend Tamara Van Gaalen.

“Totally recommend getting one of your climbing frames! My 1&2yr olds are driving me mad by 7am and if the weather is fine they are outside playing from 7.30am till lunch (if we don’t go for a walk) then a 2hr nap then outside again….. And unfortunately since I have to supervise, I spend most of my day in our hammock under our big sprawling mango tree watching the kids and reading. It’s a hard life lol.”

It’s lovely to hear your kids are making the most out of their Climbing Frame and sounds like you are too! Thank you for taking the time to write us a post!

Facebook is a fantastic tool for our company not only to help develop us as a retailer but also provides us with the ability to engage directly with past and present customers. It enables customers to post images of their installed climbing frame, post enquirers regarding our products and share comments regarding their experience with us and their climbing frame!

So what are you waiting for? If you haven’t already please “Like” us on Facebook, don’t be shy we love hearing from you! It honestly makes our day hearing about your experience with us and with your climbing frame! So come on – share the love!

We all look forward to hearing from you!

Climbing Frames Australia has an exciting new competition for you!

You can WIN our Discovery Playset – to enter, simply click the share button and share the image on the Climbing Frames Australia Facebook page.

Once we reach 2000 shares we will announce the winner.

The Discovery Playset is an attractive and versatile cedar playcentre. It has a 1.2m high play deck that is accessed by a combination rockwall/ladder. The playdeck measures 80cm x 80cm and is covered by a yellow and green tarp. This colour scheme flows through to the 2.2M super speedy wave slide with high side rails for maximum safety.

Beneath the Discovery fort is an area that can be used as a sandpit – all you need to do is add a weed suppressant membrane and some bags of play sand and you’ll have a fantastic sand pit for your children to play in or if you prefer, it could be used as a ball pit. When they need a little relax and some time out there is a picnic table to the side of the playset that comfortably seats 2 children.

The 3 position swing beam is attached to the main fort and has colour coded accessories including 2 belt swings and a trapeze/acrobatic bar.

This fantastic prize could be won simply by sharing on Facebook. Make sure you get sharing with friends, family and everyone else in between.

Curtin University research claims that in just one generation, outdoor play has decreased from 73% to just 13% of total play time.

The vast majority of children today indulge in more than the recommended two hours of screen use by watching TV/DVDs, playing electronic games and using computers.

Research suggests that contact with nature increases physical and social development in children, which is great news for growing childhood obesity figures.

At Climbing Frames Australia we can help you choose from our large selection of wooden outdoor play equipment to get the kids outdoors. We have a great selection of wooden climbing frames, cubbies, sandpits, trampolines and a fun selection of accessories and picnic tables.

Spending too much time cooped up indoors playing electronic games, watching TV or using the computer is disadvantageous to many aspects of the child’s wellbeing according to the study Electronic Overload: The Impact of Excessive Screen Use on Child and Adolescent Health and Wellbeing published by the University of Western Australia.

Unstructured play is an important part of childhood according to Dr Bronwyn Harman from Perth’s Edith Cowan University. She told the West Australian that unstructured play boosts “children’s cognitive, emotional and social development” while helping them learn about sharing and decision making.

Such activities also encourage children to develop better physical and motor skills while fuelling their imagination and providing an outlet for stress, according to a Planet Ark study conducted in March 2011.

Our climbing frames have many features to enable your kids to develop these skills. Features such as rockwalls, monkey bars, rope ladders and swings will all help your kids to develop their upper body strength and co-ordination. With our raised cubbies and stand-alone cubby houses, your kids can create their own special private space and have their own home away from home which will allow them to initiate and create activities and stories in the world around them.