So you want to take the kids with climbing with you and your not sure where to start. First of all don't discuss it with their Grandmother who was afraid for you to go climbing. Next thing you need to do is lower your expectations. The kids are going to have fun being along with you on a climb. They may not climb, and if they do they will probably have atrocious form. The main thing to remember about taking kids climbing, is that if its not fun, they will not want to do it. Kids don't do things because they are seeking accomplishment or because they want to get into top physical shape. They do things because they enjoy it.
I would suggest that you make the first climbing trip a trek to the nearest climbing gym. Gyms offer you the advantage of rental shoes, one size fits all harnesses, rated routes, consistent indoor weather, soft landing zones and snack machines. If you do not live near enough to a gym, then watch the local mall and see if they ever set up a porta wall. When you take your children climbing be realistic about what they are going to do. Kids love to climb and they will be all over the wall as soon as you give them a chance. Do not expect kids under the age of ten to go to the top. My son (age 4 at the time) went to the gym three days a week with my daughter and me for a period of several months. Not one time did he manage to climb above the bouldering line. No matter how hard I tried to coax him, he still did not want to get more than 8 feet off the ground. Then one day shortly after his fifth birthday, he got to the boulder line and kept going. During the last year he has gone from 8 feet to managing to climb a three pitch climb. The point I am trying to make is that you need to be prepared for kids to get used to the idea of climbing. I can't start to count the number of times that I have seen some dad standing there going "Come on you can do it, your not trying.. Stand up with your feet before you reach.. Come on don't be a wimp.. You can do this.." All the while his poor child is struggling trying to climb in a pair of basket ball shoes that have no grip and a poor fit. Kids need good gear for climbing. Fortunately you can get kids harnesses and shoes at most climbing gear shops and several places on the web. Where ever you go, your kids first climbing experiences need to be done on top rope only.
The biggest problem most parents have with buying climbing gear for their kids is that they hate spending money on something that the child will outgrow in less than a year. Expect to invest about $150 on gear for your kid by the time they have shoes harness and a chalk bag. You can sell the gear used for about $75 when they outgrow it.
This is not as bad of a deal as the shoes are. A kid will probably be able to use their first harness for a couple of years if you shop carefully. If your child is under the age of five or weighs under fifty pounds, I would strongly consider getting a full body harness. There are a couple of real nice seat harnesses available for larger kids. My personal preference is to get a kids harness rather than a "One Size Fits All" harness. Part of the thing is the coolness factor, and the other is the fact that most of the One size fits all harnesses will leave the strap tags hanging down so far, that they become trip hazards on kids. See my harness rant for more information about harnesses.
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kids harness.
Most kids shoes on the market now days are the velcro slipper variety. My daughter claims the La Sportivas are the best and my son claims the Bufos are the best. Neither of them liked the Boreals. I fitted the shoes to the kids with them wearing socks, and then as they grew, they were able to switch to wearing no socks. This allows for some slight expansion room. Once the child's foot hits about a size three they can move into several different adult shoes. I tend to look for very symmetrical shoes for kids. I have nothing to base this on, but I don't feel good about cramming a developing foot into a very aggressive bouldering shoe. See my shoe rant for more tips on shoes.
This is one of those pieces of equipment that will trigger all kinds of debate. If you are climbing outdoors, I think everyone should use one. I make my kids wear helmets most of the time. My son has no problem keeping his helmet on, but his sister is always "forgetting" to put hers on. I try to set a good example for the kids and I always climb with a helmet when we are outdoors. I know that a helmet ruins the sex appeal of sport climbers by making them look like a trad ape, but a rock the size of a golf ball falling from the top of a route can do a lot of damage. I personally think people who top rope with out a helmet are only asking for head injuries.
Kids love to chalk-up and there are some cool options available for chalk bags. My son uses a bag I got at Shoreline with a bear puppet slipped over it. I would highly suggest using a chalk ball with kids or they will look like ghosts in no time at all.
I also let my kids carry all of their own gear to the climbing site. I have gotten them both REI Half dome packs. Depending on the age and size of your child, there are a lot of packs available on the market now days.
You will also need couple of locking carabineers and a couple of twenty- four inch sewn slings if you are going to be doing multi pitch climbs. I also use a forty-eight inch sling to rappel with my son. I basically rappel with him the same as you would a backpack, and I hang him off the bottom of my belay loop on my harness.
Water and snacks are also a good idea, even if you are just going to the gym. You will be amazed at how much energy kids will go through while they are climbing. Kids will also want their hands taped up if you are doing lots of crack climbing. My son has never done a crack jam, but he will insist on a set of crack gloves just like dad's.
After you have gotten all of the equipment, and you are ready to head out the local crag, what do you look for in a good climb. First of all kids have some strengthh and weaknesses. I have seen my son match both hands and pull up off of a nub that I have to use as a pinch grip on just to steady myself. I think my daughter could do any kind of slab that you put her on, no matter how small the grips. Neither of my kids can do much overhead work nor can they do fist jams in cracks. A lot of times they can reach far enough down into cracks that they can find holds or they can do arm bars.
Give up getting to the craig at the crack of dawn. You may have to wait in line to get on the climbs that you want to do, but you are going to have very tired kids by the end of the day, why bother further stressing them by getting them up way before they are ready. Make sure that you prepare your climbing partner for the experience also. This is easier to do if your climbing partner has kids also. (One of mine does, and the other one doesn't but he knows my kids real well.)
Plan on an afternoon nap for the kids and feed them a fairly good lunch. I have found that a canteen full of Koolaid is a big moral booster at lunch. My kids will nibble at Beerf jerky at home, but won't have anything to do with it while we are out on a climb. REMEMBER!!! Sticky is bad. I would avoid fruit cups, candy, jello and pudding cans. Dried fruit, and nuts seem to work well with my gang. They also like cheese sticks, peperoni, peanut butter and Tortillas. I would also suggest some baby wipes, it will save you from having to clean goo off of a rope.
Expect a lot of whining about how the rock hurts their hands if your kids are gym rats. Lotion will help at the end of the day and Solarcain will help during the day. The whining will go way up if you screw up and let the kids get burned. I would suggest some SPF 20 sun block on all of their exposed skin.
I would suggest doing all top rope routes the first few times you take your kids out. My daughter started cleaning sport routes on top rope when she was eight and has since graduated to easy sport leads. As a general guideline, I would wait till a child is nine before they start doing any leading and fourteen or better before they start setting trad. I have also started allowing my daughter to do a supervized belay off of an anchor for her brother. (She out weighs him by twenty pounds.) I try to take them up to the top and let them help me set anchors if it is safe enough at the top of the climb. I explain why I do everything to them and I hope that as they get older they will be able to remember enough to be safe climbers.
Doing Multi-pitch with kids involves a bit of a change from normal. With my son, we usally will lead up with one rope, and drag the second one. My son will then top rope up to the belay station and I will clip him in. The second will then top rope up to the belay station and take the loose end of Mathew's rope and tie it on like a haul rope. He will then lead on to the second belay station. When he gets there, and gets a Belay set up, I will un clip Matthew and he will top rope to the next station where he can be clipped in. Matthew carries no Aid equipment nor does he jug the rope. If he gets stuck we can haul him past the tough spots because he only weighs 45 pounds. When he gets to the second station we clip him in and then I will climb up and repeat the process.
Kids love to play with all of the climbing equipment. I alow them to because I figure it helps familarize them with the gear. I have started having to do a complete gear check before we leave a site because they scatter the gear all over the place.
If its not fun, they won't want to do it. I know that I have really learned to enjoy the time we spend together even if we don't crank out 5.12 climbs.
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