Why we climb.

Each week, I try to provide our children with opportunities to be physically active: swimming, football, sailing, climbing, running… Last week we went swimming and so today I took them to a local Climbing and bouldering centre.

I first took my son climbing when he was 3 or 4. We were just coming out of lockdown from Covid and on a day whilst our daughter was in nursery I took Isaac to one of those clip and climb centres. He enjoyed it but I think those centres, with fixed walls and obstacles, offer limited challenge. Basically if the children can climb the wall then they can always climb it and if they can’t there is limited scope for them to progress within a session. So I scouted out our local climbing walls and bouldering hangouts.

I found a lovely centre on an industrial estate with a friendly owner and a lot of options in terms of climbing. There is a bouldering wall as well as climbing walls with auto belay and ropes to manually belay. We have been visiting this venue over the past three years purchasing 10 passes at a time. The children borrow harnesses and are usually offered shoes but they prefer to climb in their own barefoot shoes. I generally ask to borrow a harness each visit so that, although I don’t intend climbing, I can belay them on the top roped walls if they want. It also gives me somewhere to hook our chalk bag.

I prefer this kind of set up for our kids as it always offers differentiation and a challenge when they want it. We are not limited to a timed slot, like at clip and climb venues and have the freedom to move around and be creative with the activities. The staff are great and happy to support.

I feel that climbing is an important form of exercise for us as it works our upper body in ways which are hard to achieve day to day.

In the interests of my past work with children who show additional and alternative needs, I have researched occupational therapy, retained neonatal reflexes and physical fitness. Links to some useful books and websites follow for registered subscribers. From my readings and research, I have a strong will to help my children to be as active as possible, moving with as wide a range of movements as humanly possible and healthy.

Using our legs comes as standard in our modern society, we have to walk to some extent, although vehicles and the popular dispersion of resources (by this I refer to retails parks and other resources spread out rather than in a high street or within walking distance) make it all too easy to avoid this. All the same I encourage our children to walk greater distances and to run. Each day we walk our dog, generally between 2 and 6 miles, in the countryside mostly but at least once a week in a national park. They both also like join Parkrun covering 2km at a junior event or sometimes with me racking up 5km.

Swimming is an activity that we have provided for our children since attending Turtle Tots with them as babies and growing toddlers. Attending swimming lessons in the pool with our babies was one of the most magical and enjoyable activities we did and I highly recommend this to all new parents.

And to climbing:

Beyond the presented physical benefits and the knock on from this, I would like to discuss the cognitive exercise too. Problem solving, perseverance and stick ability.