5 year old playing with climbing rope- AIBU

[HotGlueGun]

Can you tell me whether I’m BU as I really don’t know in this situation! My in-laws bought my now 5 year old a 20ft length of climbing rope for Christmas when he was 3. They also bought him a climbing harness but he’s never really taken to indoor climbing walls and prefers to climb furniture etc. But he LOVES to play with this rope. It make me massively anxious, however as I worry about accidental strangulation. I suffer with anxiety and am massively risk-averse by nature so in my view, this was an entirely inappropriate gift for a small child and I hate him playing with it. My husband, however, is way more chilled than I am and is a natural risk-taker (ie re: his hobbies etc) and doesn’t perceive risk in the same way that I do.... so he will let DS play with this rope. It is always with supervision but if my husband supervises he is a lot less vigilant than I am. Oh wise people of MN, can you tell me if my concerns are reasonable or if my anxiety is making me excessively paranoid? Yes = I am BU; No = totally fine to play with rope.

I think you need to post an example picture. If it’s like the climbing ropes used in schools I don’t see how there could be a strangulation risk as the rope is too thick to bend/knot, especially for a small child.

I think YAB a bit U. I wouldn’t be happy with my 5-year-old playing unsupervised with a rope, but I can’t really see the risk if your husband’s with him.

What @Actual said. My kids do a lot of climbing and I can't imagine a rope that could be a strangulation risk for a child. But until I have more idea as to the sort of rope you mean, I'll reserve judgement.

Climbing ropes are those thick ones, right? I don't see the issue if someone is in the room with him. My 1yo DD was playing with one the other day!

I get your anxiety

but teach dc rope safety (never round neck, never climb so high you can't get down on your own)
let dh take dc to a forest to build swings/climb under supervision.

my dc have a length of rope each & carabiner hooks and like to build shelters with that and a piece of tarp.

and tying up grandpa to a tree is the best fun ever

Assuming he is supervised I don't see a problem.

Modern climbing ropes are not that thick, no. But unless your child is fashioning a noose (and it is very elastic) for fun I think unlikely to manage to exert a pull force on the rope sufficient to strangle.

Would you be worried about a 5 year old having a skipping rope?

Children have always played with ropes and as others have pointed out the risk from a climbing rope is miniscule.

Supervise by all means but you are worrying unnecessarily.

Supervised it will be fine and YABU.

weird present to buy a 5 year old. Climbing ropes are used for outdoor climbing usually. There's either no ropes for indoor climbing (bouldering) or they provide them. A 5 year old could go outdoor climbing but usually with a group who would provide ropes or with adults who would have their own. Outdoor climbing ropes need to be stored properly, cleaned and checked so they remain safe. The adults in the child's life would need to know to do this (and how) if a child owned their own rope. Bizarre especially if neither you or your husband climb.

'My in-laws bought my now 5 year old a 20ft length of climbing rope for Christmas when he was 3'

Why?

Rock climbing rope is nothing like rope kids climb up in school halls. It’s much much thinner and easily knotted/twisted. No way would I let a small child play with it unsupervised or under shoddy supervision.

Stupid present to buy a small child. A few climbing sessions would have been far more sensible

Having climbed for 30+ years i wouldn't hesitate to let a kid play, under supervision, with a rope, though I'd probably encourage them learning knots into the play

I don't think it's entirely without risk unsupervised and it would depend alot on the child

There's either no ropes for indoor climbing (bouldering) or they provide them.

Lots of indoor places let you bring your own rope. They provide fixed ropes for top roping and if you lead then you bring your own

Climbing equipment is not a toy so I wouldn't be happy with it being played with. Surely your DC has actual toys? This is the kind of really odd gift that I would have put away out of reach. The problem with allowing things that are not toys to be played with under supervision is that you are effectively teaching the child that they are toys and then run the risk of injury because the kid will see it is something to play with anytime.

I can’t post a picture for some reason. It’s a thin rope. My husband used to climb and has started to do a bit more again but mostly indoor bouldering at the moment with no ropes. At the time, when my son was 3, we would take him to indoor climbing walls as he does have a natural aptitude for climbing... but he simply wasn’t interested in that type of climbing. He does like bouldering but again without ropes. My in-laws, whilst lovely, are bizarre.... hence some very bizarre and inappropriate gifts/ actions over the years. They are well-meaning but don’t consult us before buying random things like this. We expect that he will climb both indoor and outdoor in the future but for now all he’s interested in doing is tying it to furniture/ the bannister/ the washing line and making webs etc with it. Fine if supervised but if it’s my husband, he’ll have one eye on him but will be doing something else. I insist on it being kept in the garage out of reach and it’s mostly forgotten about but then he does have a spate of wanting to play with it. In my view, it’s not for playing with... its to be used for climbing where appropriate (I don’t climb and so have no idea on how/ where you would use this). My FIL uses these ropes for climbing trees in the back garden to prune them.... their garden resembles an orangutan enclosure!

Climbing ropes are much thicker than skipping ropes ..or do you find them too dangerous Also?
As well as strangulation, they could trip over them. Or get tangled up and be stuck when the house goes on fire,

Bet you do things that are far more dangerous, like drive ?

Aged 3 I'd be cautious. Aged 5, with an adult in the room, I think it's fine.

You mean like a rock climbing/mountaineering rope?

Feet..... it isn’t much thicker than a skipping rope. I’m not talking about the old school climbing ropes you’d have in school gymnasiums. I’m more than willing to accept that I might be BU... that’s why I posted because my anxiety sometimes skews my perspective. And yes, of course I drive but the difference is that I’m aware of the risks that driving entails but a 5 year old is not aware of the risk that playing with a length of rope might entail.

This type of rope?

BikeRunSky.... yes, exactly that

Fairly split vote so far.... looks like I do need to chill out a bit!

A child I went to school with was playing on a rope swing in the woods. It got caught round his neck and he accidentally hung himself. He was 11.

Yanbu and as for giving it to a 3 year old as a gift. Ridiculous.