Hi Sarah. Really nice illustration so far. I love the mood and color palette you've established. To address the points you were wondering about, here are my thoughts:
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I do think they are reading as kids in the age range you were going for.
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You have a good start on texture but i'd consider bringing it in other areas to unify the piece. Maybe simplify the way you've rendered the floorboards and put in a texture similar to the tree. Maybe put some texture on the sleeping bag and the girls clothes in the foreground.
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You could probably just put hints of texture to the ropes, maybe in the areas that are closest to the viewer. I also don't think you need to render that main rope as heavily as you have. I'd focus more on contrast so the rope stands out more. So far the all over rendering of that rope has pushed back it's emphasis and the other ropes are standing out more. You want it to stand out because it helps lead the eye between the focal points.
Other things I see that may improve the illustration:
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Stronger cast and occlusion shadows where the branches meet the floor boards and where the ropes wrap around the branches. Lower the horizontal cast shadow behind the girl in the tree a bit.
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Stronger occlusion shadows on the girls in the foreground. I would make them a little more contrasted overall and I might carry some green from the tree and som red into their clothing.
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Soften the edges of the tree a tad.
I did a paintover, hope you don't mind. It's pretty subtle because I think your illustration is pretty strong, but I try to show some of the suggestions I've made. 