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Rock-climbing kids: A parent's perspective |
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Written by Julie Chapman
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Monday, 21 July 2008 |
We recently took our two oldest, 5 and 8 years old, climbing for the first time at Momentum, an indoor rock climbing gym in Sandy, Utah. An indoor gym like Momentum (also check out The Quarry in Provo or Rockreation in Salt Lake City), with a fantastic, experienced staff, gives parents the opportunity to learn enough to help their kids, even if they themselves have never climbed before — after all, we don’t all have to be soccer stars to help our kids enjoy playing on one of the community soccer teams, and similarly you don’t have to know a thing about rock climbing to help your kids start.
My husband climbed a few times with a friend about 10 years ago, but I never have. For us novices, the gym was a great place to start. One element that I found especially great for kids was that, unlike an outdoor experience, the holds on these walls are bold colors and shapes, which makes them easier for little people to recognize. If it is bolted onto the flat background wall, whether it is shaped like a cowboy hat or an octopus, it must be meant to grab or step onto.
Once we were all geared up in harnesses and climbing shoes (with pinched toes, so it goes, just part of the fun), and thanks to the instruction we all received from Dawn Young, assistant manager and director of all the children’s programs, the kids were making their way in a traverse or horizontal climb of the kids’ bouldering wall in no time.
While they were occupied, she taught us adults how to tie the climber’s knot, a double figure-eight knot, to secure our bundles of joy to the rope and us, and how to work the belay device and rope for top-rope climbing. Once we knew what we were doing, the kids joined us and Dawn coached them on how to move up the wall.
Our oldest made it to the top on her second try, and a number of times afterwards, trying her hand at several different routes. Our 5-year-old, terrified of heights in general, never got higher than about 6 feet off the ground, usually asking to be lowered at about 2-2.5 feet up, but he loved every minute of it and kept coming back for more.
When they wanted a break my husband and I even took turns going up the wall. For my first experience with rock climbing I tried to be brave for my kids, but I’ll be honest, the higher I went the faster my heart rate and breathing became. As I tapped the bar at the top of the wall for the first time I struggled to steady my voice as I called down, “Take” (i.e. “take up the slack in the rope”), and “Lower.” However, despite my nervousness, I also can understand my son’s desire to keep coming back, the moment I was off the rope I couldn’t wait to try another route — I knew that I had found a new love.
Yes, we all had fun and pushed ourselves a touch beyond our individual comfort zones. Two of us made it to the top a few times, and that was exciting. But at the end of the day, climbing doesn’t need to be about how hard the route or how high the wall. For us it was all about experiencing something new and exciting, and sharing that excitement with our kids as they each enjoyed it at a level that was fun and comfortable for them. I was just as proud of my vertigo-man as I was of my daughter as she tapped the bar at the top of the wall with a flourish and a flush of pride.
For about the same price as movie tickets and popcorn for a family of four, do what we did, go to the climbing gym for a day instead. Don’t be worried about being new at this, even the experts fall — that’s why there’s a rope. You’ll be gleefully hanging off of walls before you know it, and your kids will love it too. Now that we’re back home, my kids aren’t the only ones staring at the calendar, wondering when we can arrange to go back to the gym.
You can check out the kids' perspective on this experience, and some additional information on gear for kids.
For more information about great kid-friendly gyms in our area and their youth programs check out www.momentumclimbing.com and www.quarryclimbing.com . |
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