Planning these playdates for review has proven to be a bit more challenging. While we love an easy afternoon at the splash pad or hanging out at our homes, this is an OT-forward blog and we love new experiences.

I was especially hyped for this playdate at Treetop Quest in Gwinnett, GA.

As always, here is the criteria:
1) Playdates need to be a something new that the kids have never done before.
2)The activity should be more involved and child-led, more than the standard meet-up-at-the-park.
3) The outing should have some sort of sensory/development function.

Treetop Quest is an aerial adventure park. It has eight different ropes courses, ranging from levels 1-5. In addition, it has a special Chick Pea Course (the reason for our visit) geared toward ages 4-6. We’re talking harnesses, safety clips, helmets and gloves, all of it.

The Chick Pea course took about one hour for our three kids to complete. Then we got an extra ticket to Spider Quest, a separate one-hour harness-free obstacle course above a giant safety net. This was the reason we chose the Gwinnett location, instead of the other Metro Atlanta locations. Don’t let the website photo fool you. This giant safety-netted playground is about 20-40 feet in the air.

An Elevated Experience

A ropes course can look daunting, or it could look like your normal wooden playground, except higher. This aerial experience provides the opportunity to challenge your kid physically and mentally. For example:

• Because each obstacle only allows for one person to complete at a time, each kid must wait their turn. That works on their patience and social skills, especially when they become restless (rather than saying “Ugh, what’s taking so long?!”, they may say “Are you okay? You got this! I believe in you!”).
• Like any good obstacle course, it activates your child’s sensory systems and encourages body awareness, motor planning, coordination, balance, and strength.
• Although the kid-friendly course has ground supervision, a parent can’t really be on the course with them. That means your child ultimately has to self-regulate and figure out how to get from Point A to Point B by themselves. With each success, they build resilience, self-confidence, and the skills to handle future tricky situations.

This was also the first playdate we introduced that has an element of fear. Both Mary and I showed the Treetop Quest website and videos to our kids the week before the playdate. While my girls were excited seeing other people swinging around in the trees, Mary’s son’s reaction was anything but. In fact, it was the absolute opposite. He was freaked out. Why do I need a helmet? What’s a harness? Wait, how high off the ground is it? Am I gonna get really hurt?

After several discussions and watching a bunch of YouTube videos on the topic, he felt more comfortable knowing what to expect and was excited to experience it with friends.

We’ve made a few TikTok videos on benefits of risky play, but the gist is that we need to allow risky play first in a controlled environment. Yes, all of the kids had slip ups, moments of imbalance, and had a fall or two on the course before figuring things out on their own.

It’s rhetorical, but how else can get our kids out of their comfort zone?

You’re On Your Own, Kid

The experience started with a quick safety and equipment review. Ang showed the kids how their leading clip worked and how to fit the “mouth” of the clip through all of the course fixtures (fine motor skills).

We did not have a guide for this course, so it was just Mary and me walking and talking the kids through each obstacle from the ground.

The two-part course started gradually and was easy for us to follow. We got some nervous steps on some shakier apparatuses at the beginning, but you could really see all three kids gain confidence as they progressed.

By the second part of the course, they were on higher platforms. At one junction, Z couldn’t get her clip through a connector and she was about 15 feet above us. We couldn’t help her with her gear, but her sister and friend could. So the three of them were able to work together and continue to the end.

There were rope bridges, tunnels, walking on wires, and rope swings. These all tested their balance, grip, body control, and self-regulation. It was so exciting as a parent to see your kids problem-solve and tackle these obstacles with gusto.

The Chick Pea course was the perfect introduction to Spider Quest. While Spider Quest had all of the same climbing elements, Mary and I did not see the full scope of the playground until we were at the bottom of the hill with our kids walking in the air above us.

I might even say I was a bit jealous. The whole setup looked like the most fun, Lost Boys-style treetop canopy ever. The kids could run across the net, climb up the walls, test out all the bridges and the giant slide, or just hang out like they were in a hammock.

Back on Earth

Speaking of independence, Mary found that one of her great fears is hearing her child scream for help and having no way to get to him.

For Spider Quest, observers don’t have a clear line of sight from the ground to certain parts of the course. So on the off chance that your child becomes paralyzed with fear when crossing a cargo net that’s a good 25-40 feet above you, you feel a bit helpless when you hear their cries. All she could do was hope that he could hear or see her down below and trust that he had the tools to overcome.

Eventually, a staff member and his friends were able to calm him down and he could navigate the rest of the area. Once he conquered that part and realized that the net was safe (peer pressure helps here), he had a blast and didn’t want to leave.

This also speaks to letting your kid work things out on their own, and not just shutting down an activity because first impressions aren’t as smooth or as easy as you anticipated.

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Verdict: Recommended.

I didn’t go on my first ropes course until I was in high school. So to be able to introduce the kids to an obstacle course like this at their age (almost 5 and 6) is awesome. They already love playgrounds and The Floor is Lava and their gymnastics classes. This is a progression from all of those skills and it gets them outside in nature.

When we visited, there was a kid birthday party on-site as well. So we saw kids of all ages attacking these courses and having a great time.

Check out more photos and video from our Treetop Quest field trip on IG and TikTok.