UKC

My nephews almost 4 and he,s always climbing the furniture so im thinking of taking him to the climbing wall tomorrow.Is 4 too young??

In reply to cheek to the rock:

I don't know for sure but I guess it depends what they do at the climbing wall. I'd probably wait a bit more but even then one thing I do know is that you need to be super careful with their tendons and bones. In particular the fingers can be problematic and might end up with problems later on in life.

In reply to cheek to the rock:

depending on the wall's youngest age policy I'd take him along, but mentally prepare yourself for two eventualities:
1)he gets 7 feet off the floor, screams the place down and refuses to move
2)you get bored before he does.

you'll probably find that he goes some of the way up and then wants to come down, that's pretty normal. When he gets bored, leave. Full body harness is a must.

In reply to cheek to the rock:

If you can get to Sheffield there is bouldering.for toddlers
other bouldering focused walls may have similar. He can enjoy the movement without the faff.

You can hire full.body harnesses at most walls. He ,ll probably love it. He won't have the attention.span to over train.

In reply to cheek to the rock:

Not too young to have a go but don't set your aims too high; he'll be bored & need supervising after 10 mins or so. Fine if you're with AN Other but painful & expensive if just you & you thought you'd get a good work out.

In reply to alasdair19:

Im taking him to warrington north face tomorrow they have a kiddy session from 10.30 and if his kitchen unit climbing is anything to go by,i think he will pish a 5a.

In reply to cheek to the rock:
It's possibly worth buying the Petzl book One Move Too Many with the fingers of young people who are still growing in mind.

I doubt a 4 year old will be crimping, but there's some valuable stuff in there which could be relevant for when he's older.

Hope he has fun, climbing when you're little can be great.

In reply to cheek to the rock:
My daughter did some stuff from 3 12 and regularly from four so not too young just go and have fun. If he doesn't enjoy it then their is always par kour...

In reply to Timmd:

I dont want to wrap him in cotton wool and have him living with his mum till he's 30 lol

In reply to cheek to the rock:

He got up this morning and its all change...I dont want to go climbing i want to go swimming.Gutted :{

In reply to cheek to the rock:

Take him another day, just make sure you use a full body harness. They are naturals at that age, with an amazing strength to weigh ratio. Niece started at 3.

In reply to cheek to the rock:


bit of DWS?

In reply to cheek to the rock:

My personal view is that it is better to take little ones on the climbing frame type stuff in the park, scramble over logs in the woods etc. Let them play in a more unstructured way....and without direct adult direction. I often see adults hauling kids of about 4 up climbing walls. The kids are not benefitting but maybe the parents egos are boosted.

In reply to earlsdonwhu:

My niece enjoys climbing, don't see what ego has to do with it.

In reply to earlsdonwhu:

I think that's good advice. I tried some roped stuff with my two but bouldering suits them much better. More freedom and more instant to get climbing if they boulder. Mine started dabbling from age 5 and 3. I only really take them now and then for a treat to keep it interesting and they ask to go rather than moan about being taken yet again.

In reply to cheek to the rock:


This 11 year old started when she could walk, she seems ok.
youtube.com/watch?v=5P5akoQ_eNI&

In reply to cheek to the rock: I think it fits in with music lessons, Kumon maths classes, swimming practice etc. Just let kids play more!

In reply to cheek to the rock:

Our wee lad has been climbing since 3. Got scared, which surprised me because I didn't think height would bother him especially given the number of falls he takes climbing furniture, but we just encouraged him, and stayed patient. As a result he has wanted to do more and more.

In reply to cheek to the rock:

if i take my young fella outdoors and top rope him he has no problem with climbing back up and topping out (with a great big smile and pumped little arms)but take him to the wall and bottom rope him he gets about 8 ft up and just wants to hang there or come down saying he is at his limit which i know is a fib because he easily climbs 10-12m mods and diffs , think its just the atmosphere at the wall what makes him get bored easily

In reply to earlsdonwhu:


You mean giving them a gift they can appreciate for the rest of their lives?

In reply to cheek to the rock:

I know of examples (now in their 20s) that were climbing a lot when young as their parents were climbers and now have issues with their fingers - I know what you are saying about wrapping them in cotton wool etc but on the other hand putting a bit of time in understanding what they can and cannot do only make sense. If you decided already that it's all fine why ask here anyway?

Ps I have a young son too so was wondering the same but to my surprise i did get mixed responses when I asked at the wall. Interestingly enough the ones that were advising caution where the ones that got their kids into climbing from really young.

I doubt the odd session here and there will cause harm on tendons etc, I actually think that it's more dangerous when they're a bit older and can climb a bit more seriously and regularly.

Let us know how you get on if you do take him.

In reply to cheek to the rock:
My daughter started climbing at 3. The only issue we had was finding a harnss that would fit her, plus a wall that would let her in - several have a lower age limit, although this can be hard to work out as their lower limits are often different for instructed courses compared with taking your own family.

We only took her because she asked to go, and it is always on her terms. I definitely don't get any climbing done when I take her, just spotting and belaying. I thought her attention span would be short, but she often doesn't want to leave for several hours (with snack breaks). It helps that our local walls have quite a number of low grade routes and a dedicated kids' bouldering area.

It is definitely better to go at quiet times as young kids are not as aware of other climbers as they might be.

In reply to cheek to the rock:


Such is life sometimes with getting kids to do new things. You just have to be ready to pounce when the moment comes.

I've been taking my eldest out (not that often, but often enough for him to see improvement) since he was about 3, but only outside. Apart from not having any decent walls nearby I always felt that they could be a bit steep for little arms and hands. He's great when we go now (he's 8) but it's just something we do for fun - ie he's not (and I hope I'm not) ambitious about it. He loves just messing about on rock though and playing with grip etc. I think I'd love him to be able to second me up some nice mountainy VDs in a few years time.

First time climbing: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jon_b/2939392764/

In reply to cheek to the rock:

TCA in Glasgow are magic, kids under 5 are free (with a paying adult) i take my 2 year old there and he loves it. Santa is providing him shoes and chalk bag for crimbo (so hopefully that will be my excuse to get to the wall a lot more).

Just let them have fun.