UKC

My daughter 7th this week and I'm considering buying her some rock shoes to help motivate her. Any ideas on that, what with her feet growing so fast and her not knowing about a good climbing fit yet. I'm wondering if there are any extra adjustable shoes for kids, or is she still too young? Will only be top roping her to get her feeling it and so technically she doesn't need them, but I'm sure would make all the difference in her mind.
Also, I know it sounds nuts, but I'm thinking about allowing her to belay me, if I anchor her down (system suggestions welcomed. I'd only go up things well within my capability, but just so she can get the feeling of feeding the rope and the buzz of doing it for real. Is this irresponsible or damn right stupid of me, or is it the norm? Any ideas on how to go about this, how did you go about it?

Thanks for advice, as usual.

In reply to Dominicandave:

Decathlon have cheap kids shoes. I wouldn't suggest having her belay you, but that's just my opinion.

In reply to Dominicandave:

Rathe than expensive rock shoes she will grow out of try simple plimsolls like we used to have for PE at school. Close fitting cheap and sticky rubber.

No reason not to teach a 7yr old to belay but very unlikely that they should be belaying you. At that age they can certainly master the technique but they are also easily distracted amd rarely mature enough to be safe belaying without someone backing them up to prevent careless mistakes.

Also belaying someone a lot heavier isn't easy or comfortable (even if tied to a ground anchor) so I would stick to other kids. IME most kids are in their teens before they can comfortably cope with belaying adult weights. Lastly think of the emotional harm should she drop Daddy and be left knowing that she was responsible for hurting him.

In reply to Dominicandave:

Good idea to get her proper shoes. Helps develop confidence and good foot technique. My two lads had real climbing shoes from about age 5 onwards. I used to buy them second hand on ebay. Lots available and rubber is usually very little worn as kids so light. When they grew out of them I then just sold them on ebay again to fund the next pair.

Bad idea to let her belay you, for reasons others have stated above. My lad didn't belay me until he was 14 and close to my weight. Let her belay other kids her own weight to learn the technique with you or another experienced belayer backing her up by holding the brake rope behind her.

In reply to Dominicandave:

We used Evolv Venga kids climbing shoes. A lot of walls appreciate that kids grow out of their shoes quickly so some do a trade in policy (Ours did). These shoes have velcro straps at the heel to give a bit more stretch when they start to get smaller. Luckily my daughter likes to climb in socks and there is no need to make kids shoes mega tight. We got great wear out of them.

My daughters only 9 now and already on scarpa vapour v's. Drew the line at Booster s

In reply to Dominicandave:

Another one for Decathlon as a starter shoe. I put my daughter in shoes quite quickly as she always tried and either she trusted her feet or swung on her arms - it didn't take much to spot which one was better!

Also another one for not belaying unless an adult is the one taking the responsibility (ie NICAS supervision).

In reply to Dominicandave:

Another vote for Ebay or UKC For Sale/Wanted.

I also did a roaring trade with other families in my climbing club as we passed around kit that had really had very little wear.

I guess it depends how wealthy you are and how many kids/what sports. I had two and they did every blinkin sport under the sun requiring a huge spread of footwear over the growing years!!

In reply to Dominicandave:


Boreal Ninja's


Thats because it is.

Depending on your local wall they may let her start Nicas or have a pre nicas club she can climb with and learn to belay people her own size

In reply to Dominicandave: if you do go ahead with the belaying thing you had be very certain you don't fall off because she won't be able to hold you and may well get hurt/injured if she try's. If it was a 20 foot super easy slab you CAN'T fall off, ok, might be interesting for her, but it's not that interesting for kids

In reply to Howardw1968:

I have no intention of taking her climbing indoors, never done it myself either, defeats the object as far as I'm concerned.

Yeh, I thought it was nuts to think of her belaying me, but you never know with the development of gear these days what they'll come up with. I wasn't going to climb anything where I could possibly fall, just wanted to give her the responsibility. But as someone said earlier, if I did have a slip and did fall, it could mess her up mentally and so no belaying daddy for now.

In reply to wbo:


Yeh, along the lines of what I was initially thinking, but I had reservations and peoples opinions on here have clarified that for me, but thanks for the input.

In reply to Dominicandave:

I do totally understand why you don't want to climb inside, but it can be a great way for her to meet and climb with other kids.

In reply to marsbar:

Yeh, I know but the long game will be counter productive. If she meets people who spend time down the wall then she will always want to go 'down the wall' rather than fancy the 2 hour drive away for a weekend to climb a few small crags. She's quite full on and smothering like that and so I will start as I mean to go on. If she meets friends outdoors then she will always want to be outdoors, I'd be happier with that, and is also the reason for my thread a while back about getting the kids out, which hasn't gone anywhere but................................. early days for her.

In reply to Dominicandave:

I think if you wanted her to belay you should use a left locking device (e.g. GriGri 2) and have her strapped to the ground. The problem is that she would not be able to lower you safely and in any case you should have someone as a backup who can do the lower off (watch the climbing centers run birthday parties).

In reply to Dominicandave:

Why not take her and a similar-aged friend out? Teach them to belay each other (top rope!) ...with you holding the tail of the rope as back up. Or, she could belsy "bellringing" style, again with you holding the rope end as backup. You've got her outside, and her friend.

I love the idea that she'd first climb outside, posdibly an unusual way to start these days, so she'll always remember it ifshe gets into climbing. But perhaps don't be too hard on her if she in time fancies a mix of indoors and out...isn't that way better than her not wanting to climb at all?

Let us know how it goes, and take a nice picnic and a stove for hot chocolate!

In reply to marsbar:


Totally agree, indoors we do the set routes, but just let them loose bouldering, they create their own challenges that suit their height and reach. As you also say us adults can be dull, often more fun with other kids.

In reply to summo:


I can get that, possibly in the winter when it's freezing, wet and dark, then I get it. But it seems ridiculous to me to take my daughter to do an outdoor activity, indoors in the middle of the summer. Completely defeats the purpose for us. Yes finding others for her to bounce off is the main issue, but it's the summer holidays, if we can't find others in these weeks then we never will.

Always notice that climbing abroad there seems much more kids at crags than in the UK, but then it's a different atmosphere usually too, shame that...

In reply to Dominicandave:



While you're at it teach her to drive, then she can drive you home from the pub.

In reply to Dominicandave:

Dominicandave it might just depend on your daughter. I have made a few attempts to get my daughter interested in climbing outdoors including weekends away in wales camping etc. She just finds it incredibly dull, slow and boring.

Get her to an indoors climbing wall and she lights up and is a bundle of energy. Which would you rather do? Bored daughter or full of energy daughter?

I used to be into mountain biking and took my son all over on a tag along bike and then his own bike as a youngster. Eventually i realised he was doing it to be with me while i enjoyed biking. Please keep this in mind when saying YOU wont consider indoors

In reply to Thelittlesthobo:

My daughter (10) prefers outdoor climbing but it is hard to find routes easy enough for a beginner. She can climb 6a indoors and still struggles with 4+/5's outdoors.

In reply to springfall2008:

Its not that with my daughter. She can climb 7a's indoors if they are set without long stretches. She just hates the faff of walking in, carrying all the gear, setting things up, climbing slowly etc etc etc. Her enthusiasm drops through the floor and she would struggle to climb a ladder outdoors.

Just pointing out that what daddy finds cool and interesting, daughter might find slow and boring.

In reply to Dominicandave:

I wonder what you'd think watching my 8 yr old wander up the bottom of a crag where a group are busy climbing, picking which routes she fancies trying once the leaders are done, or being taught how to place a nut, or proudly seconding and carefully retrieving gear. She gains from god only knows how many decades of accumulated experience, from instructors who teach her for the pleasure of it, 60+ ex mountain rescue MIA's, 74yr old real mountain men, inspiring women breaking new ground before they retire, 17yr old's doing their first leads and me, her Mum, still being coaxed onto rock because it's where she's going and I'm her Mum.

I don't know if that sounds like it would tick your outside box? What I do know is that I wouldn't be writing it if it wasn't for the wall, for the indoor meeting place where people get to see you can belay and that the kid is a climber not hoisted up. My daughter doesn't have a shed load of outdoor climbing friends her own age - there just aren't that many but she keeps adopting new big brothers and sisters who love her, are passionate about climbing and aren't her Mum. I'm meant to be something but not everything, I'm there for wood ant bites and scary inverted falls! I think if I was everything in anything my daughter did it would be shortlived because even at 8 her journey to independence is well underway and she is very much her own person.

Walls are a meeting place for shed loads of climbers, in my daughter's climbing life they've become the community raising a little climber and our ticket outside.

In reply to Dominicandave:



That's probably because all aspects of life in general is more family oriented, not just climbing.

I appreciate the using the weather to get out, I prefer trad over bolts, indoors or bouldering... Our kids first proper climbing was non tidal sea cliffs, but whilst young I'm keener to just do what is fun, varied and enjoyable, they can decide on which sports they prefer and how much they commit when older. Any climbing is better than Xbox etc.. or hunting pocamen.

In reply to flopsicle:


Brilliant, I love to see kids out climbing. It's quite common around here at some of the popular crags.

In reply to flopsicle:

That's lovely.