talk to me please about taking young children climbing (proprtly, with ropes etc)

[fillyjonk]

i don't know anything about it

apparently ds shows talent . a friend who is a good climber said so but he is not local so doesn't know the facilites

more importantly, he loves it.

he is 3.5

i have no interest in being a pushing parent but i think it would suit him. it is physical but not, i hope, competative, and pretty individual, i am guessing?

what do i need to know?

oooh!

if nowt else they may be able to give me more info

ta

the trees thing is mad

my boys climb at the Bristol climbing centre. You have to be 10 to do their course. I have never seen a 3 year old there. trees, climbing frames etc will suffice for now.

hi fillyjonk, I used to do a lot of climbing and understand your frustration, my DS is 4 and I think he would love to get going. Most indoor walls have insurance cover which prohibits children under 7 and some of this is because it's difficult to get climbing harnesses which are small enough!

I sometimes take DS bouldering - ie: find a rocky area where he can climb at a very low level and do some traversing (climbing sideways). One option would be to ring the BMC for advice, they are really helpful; or to book a one to one session with an independent, registered guide - but this is expensive. I will see if I can find some numbers for you.

There is some lovely climbing in Pembrokeshire - we used to go every Easter. Climbing is a great sport and tends to bring you lots of good friends, camping trips and so on so I think it's fantastic for boys. Sorry for rambling on, will look up some numbers.

Hi fj,

The BMC (British Mountaineering Council) number is 0161 445 6111 and website is www.thebmc.co.uk

British Mountain Guides website is www.bmg.co.uk

And the South Wales club seem to have a youth section

Good luck!

filly- dh has taken ds since he was 3. Ds has tons of experience and has teaching qualifications in climbing so knows what he is doing. Ds wears full body harness and until recently when the crotch split, his spiderman suit! He is the proverbial rat up a drain pipe .
All you need is someone who knows what they are doing. since this friend has kicked this all off get him to take him to your nearest wall- there's plenty of them and see if he likes it. you can hire a harness there for ds.
go for it!

Just a note about harnesses, kid's can have full harnesses that go over their shoulders as well rather than just hip harnesses.

If he shows an aptitude then go for it, being on a climbing wall with crash mats and all the equip is a better environment than outside on trees and scrambling where ever he likes. You have far more control in the purpose built environment. Might be worth finding your local climbing club and seeing what the parents there do?

You're not the only parent who would like to get their kids climbing. Good luck finding something suitable

He's not too young! I'm in France and 3-4 yo are regularly taken climbing. You need someone who can belay him (you can learn how to do that in a day) and then you can take him somewhere where there is top roping (if not you need someone who can lead climb up and secure the rope at the top, and someone who can belay that person while they do it). I do think it has to be top roping for a lo, that way they basically can't fall any distance at all. Oh, and you do need a full harness.

ds isn't even sitting up yet but as soon as he can walk he's coming climbing....

A friend said that the first time he took his 3yo dd climbing she looked at the crag and said 'daddy why is this playground full of grown-ups?'

I'm an ex-rock climber. We've taken dd out a couple of times on proper rocks rather than in a gym. Think she was 4 when she first went.

I know that they do say that kids shouldn't get "seriously" into it until age 8 due to the risks of injury to knees, shoulders which aren't properly developed. There was a good article in Cimber magaine a few years ago about this, written by some sports physio climber and he said it was a no-no for young kids. But I can't really remember how he defined "seriously".

DD loves it as well and is quite good.

oh fabulous

right off to research...