As the weather cools off and the kids come indoors my house begins to shrink. When this happens I basically have three goals, get the kids out of the house, burn some energy, and find other kids to play with. If you find yourself in a similar situation it might be time to find an indoor rock climbing gym near you.
Growing up in Southern California I loved outdoor sports but unfortunately, I was never properly introduced to climbing. It wasn’t until my early 30’s when I moved to the Pacific Northwest that I discovered the joy of climbing and now I’m excited to pass that knowledge on to my kids and share it with others. Indoor climbing gyms offer a level of safety that allows you to introduce children to the sport at a very young age.
If you can find one, educational programs put on by climbing gyms in your area can take the guesswork out of learning to climb and can provide a solid foundation to grow from. For example, our local indoor climbing gym offers The Nurture Program which is an eight-week program for children 2-5 years old. But even if your local gym doesn’t have a program like this, you can still have a great time learning and climbing along with your kids. Having said that, not all climbing gyms cater to children so it’s a good idea to call ahead.
The benefits of climbing are endless–below I highlight a few of my favorites.
Climbing Gyms are great for kids, here is why.
- It’s Fun – Kids love to climb! It doesn’t matter if they’re climbing on the couch, on the countertop, up a tree, or on a climbing wall. My kids are no exception.
- Climbing builds strength and balance – Teaching your kids how to use their legs and keep their center of gravity close to the wall is a key part of climbing, and with time, your child will inevitably build balance and strength.
- Climbing Develops Coordination – To successfully climb, all four limbs need to be engaged and work in unison with your child’s core. This helps them learn the timing and coordination of their movements.
- Climbing Improves Flexibility and Endurance – Getting through the crux of a problem often requires some flexibility because making the right move can require your child to reach and stretch for holds in unorthodox ways. Endurance plays a huge role because the longer your child can stay on the wall, the longer routes they can accomplish.
- Climbing Promotes Problem-Solving Skills – Climbing new routes is not always as straightforward as you might think. Figuring out how to grab the holds and position your body is different on every route so your child will constantly have to piece together the right moves at the right time like a puzzle.
What to know before you go
To climb at an indoor climbing gym your kids will need climbing shoes, a kid’s chock bag, and properly fitting clothing that allows them to move but doesn’t have extra material that will get hung up on the climbing holds. You can usually rent a chock bag and climbing shoes but it is worth making sure they carry your child’s size before you head down.
Some lingo: Generally speaking, indoor gyms will have bouldering walls and top roping walls that are often also set up with auto belays. What are these words, you ask? I’ll get you up to speed on the lingo below.
Bouldering with kids
Depending on age, kids usually start on the bouldering wall. Bouldering is the art of climbing shorter walls without a rope using a crashpad and a spotter (that’s you or another adult) for safety. Bouldering walls have color-coordinated routes that are rated at different difficulty levels using the V scale. V0 is the easiest, and as the numbers go up, so does the difficulty of the routes with the highest being a V17. Of course, children tend to have the most fun on the easy routes until they are capable of more.
In fact, my kids are completely oblivious to which routes they are supposed to be taking. Especially for my 2-year-old, it’s just too much to ask. They really just see a climbing wall and run toward it with little regard as to what they are ‘supposed’ to be doing. And that’s okay for now. Remember, the goals- get out of the house, burn energy, and maybe get to play with some other kids.
However, there is some important etiquette to know and teach your littles while bouldering. It is important to give people space, take turns, and always watch out for other climbers falling from above.
Top Roping with kids
As your child progresses they are likely going to want to move over to the top roping wall. The key difference between bouldering and top roping is the size of the fact that you’re connected to a rope. I’ve seen some gyms suggest waiting until the age of 5 before top roping. What it really comes down to is your child’s size, strength, and ability. Top roping also requires some additional knowledge and equipment.
Let’s first talk about your child’s size related to top rope safety. It is critical to have a properly fitting harness because toddlers and very young children have the potential to slip out of the traditional half-body harnesses. Children’s harnesses come in a couple of different varieties, a full-body harness and a half-body harness. The latter is suggested for kids 5-13 years old.
Top roping also requires your child to have enough core strength to balance on the wall, make moves, and flip over if they fall and are hanging upside down. They should be mentally ready for this, too. Take some time to try bouldering or some smaller walls on a top rope so they can build a foundation of skills and enough confidence that they won’t freak out on the wall. Climbing is about slow and steady progress and finding ways to relax and concentrate. There is no relaxation or concentration happening in the middle of a panic attack, so as parents, we need to be conscious of not pushing them too far before they’re ready.
Ability and knowledge of the climbing lingo is the final prerequisite before putting your child on the top roping wall. There are some terms that they need to understand because top roping requires constant communication between the climber and the person on the belay (the guy or gal on the ground holding the rope).
Here is an example:
“Belay?” The climber is asking if the belayer is ready and on belay.
“Belay on!” The belayer is telling the climber that they are ready to belay.
This is the dialog you will hear at the top roping wall and it is all about safety. Here is a full list of climbing commands if you want to learn more. Along with learning these terms, your child will also eventually need to be able to tie a figure-eight knot.
Once your child is mentally and physically ready to top rope they are going to need someone to belay them. This is where you can step in as a parent. Most gyms want you to get belay certified before belaying your child.
In The Ultimate Guide to Belaying, belaying is described as “the act of exerting tension on a climbing rope to counterbalance the climber when they fall. The person holding the belay rope, or the belayer, pulls the rope through a belay device as the climber goes up.”
To belay your child you will need a harness, carabiner, and a belay device or GRIGRI. Your local climbing gym may rent this equipment but you may want to purchase your own so you can get comfortable using it.
Top rope climbing classifications in gyms usually use the class five climbing scale. 5.0 being easy, 5.2 being harder, working all the way to 6.0 which is considered unclimbable without aid. If you’d like to learn more REI has a great webpage on the rating system.
When the walls are closing in, go climb one
Like I said in the beginning when you feel like you need to get the kids out of the house to burn some energy and hang out with other kids you can’t go wrong with an indoor climbing gym. Rain or shine, climbing gyms offer a fun, challenging physical activity that engages the mind and body. No matter what level you or your child are starting at, there is something to do and something to learn. They’ll enjoy it, you’ll enjoy it, and it’s a win, win.
PRO TIP: If you can, get there early to avoid the crowds.
If you want some ideas about how to get outdoors with your kids please also read Why You Should Hit the Skatepark with Your Kids and The Truth about Hiking with Kids in 3 Minutes.
I hope you found some useful tips here. I’d love to hear from you about ways that you experience life with your little ones.
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