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A few days ago, Andrew and I took Mason rock climbing at our rec center. He was so crazy excited. After letting him watch last weeks video, he was totally pumped to get going! We’ve taken him climbing a few times before, but this was the first time that it really caught on. Andrew’s a fantastic climber, and I’m more of…well…ummm….a huge whimp. It’s true. Climbing scares me, mostly because I’m really bad at it and think I’m gonna fall every second (so lame). Anyway, back to Mason. Andrew really wanted him to start off on the right foot. That meant starting with correct safety and terminology. Here are a few tips for climbing safety.
1. Always have someone else double check your harness
2. Always tie a safety knot and have someone double check your knots
3. Use correct terminology Belay On, On Belay, Climbing, Climb On, etc.
4. Let them set the pace
5. Know what you’re doing before you take your kids (most climbing gyms offer instruction)
For most of us, rock climbing is really far out of the realm of our everyday activities, so let your kids decide what they can do. We’re all about helpful encouragement, but if they want to stop or are scared, let them stop. Climbing should be fun, not scary (I should keep telling myself that one). CLIMB ON!
You guys are an inspiration, cant wait to take my kids climbing. hope it was fun!
We may be onto a trend, i.e. weekly climing night. We took him again and he did ten times better and loved the “flying” aspect of coming down the wall or just jumping off randomly like a firework going off. He can fly forever on a rope. Enjoying the fun.
This is great! We’ve just started taking our daughter to the climbing gym. We go with no expectations at all. We just want her to get used to being there and wearing a harness. She’s been excited about trying to climb, and has actually done pretty well, getting better each time. This past weekend she went higher than we could reach to help guide her feet. She was really excited. It’s so much fun! We need to find a better full-body harness than what they offer at the gym though (full-body, CAMP USA – it’s too big I think). Is that a Trango that Mason is wearing?
Mason is wearing a trango. We were pretty lucky to score it for $5 brand new at a yard sale!