Once the weather gets cold we love to visit the climbing gym. We are lucky to live not too far from a great kid friendly place. We don't usually go much in summer as it gets pretty hot in there, so it has been awhile since the boys have climbed.
They were both *so* excited to go today, and clipped in immediately. Everything seemed to be going fine - I had G, Brice had A...and then I realized G was sobbing a few feet over my head. I let out his line to bring him down to see what was wrong - he was scared of how high he was going!
So, we sat on the side and just watched. We saw kids climbing. We saw adults on reverse angle walls losing grip and swinging out into open air way up at the ceiling. We saw people standing against the wall way up there with hands off for a minute to re-grip. We watched A climb a few times.
G realized that he wouldn't fall and said he wanted to try again. He climbed up just to my head level a few times "for practice" and then zooooom, he was off!
He was the first to hit the top - he climbed down, changed lines and climbed up to a spot with a ledge. He and A switched back and forth on their favorite line for a while, and then zoomed around trying out new spots. He was quick and confident. Wow! After almost 2 hours we had to go.
Both boys happily took off their harnesses and said he wanted to come back...tomorrow!
My little guy went through a range of emotions tonight...from fear and anxiety to determination to the major rush of sitting all the way at the top. I loved seeing that even though he was afraid he faced it, thought it through, and challenged himself to try again. Sweet boy.
Fear cannot take what you do not give it.
~Christopher Coan
.
~Christopher Coan
.
14 comments:
Awesome! We've been wanting to try the climbing wall in town. Looks like great family fun!
What a great activity for the boys! My husband went climbing during the summer (too hot!) but enjoyed it so much. Great for confidence and fitness.
my littlest one is like that too, but little by little, each climb he goes a bit higher. it's all about small victories, isn't it?
Aren't climbing walls so cool, my kids love them!!!
Oh, that looks so much fun. We'll have to try that.
How great that G was able to take the time, work through his fear and totally conquer it. I bet he felt wonderful when he was finished :-)
We go to a rock gym in the winter as well. It is fun to watch how much confidence the boys gain each year. Now, I am often the one at the bottom feeling scared, as they try more and more challenging things way up there! Thanks for sharing!
Way to go guys! I love watching them work through things like that, what a treat! I think Ella is too little for our gym but I should take Nic, it's been a long time.
Absolutely enthralled by your boys! I love how curious and courageous they are. Reading their adventures makes me even more excited for my own son to explore his world, make discoveries, and share his enthusiasm with us.
I am so jealous as we do not have a wall near us. We took our 8 and 6 year olds to a local crag for the first time. I thought my daughter would soar up fearlessly, but the thing that freaked her out the most was getting lowered. Still, she had a lot of fun. My 6 year old was the fearless one. I thought I knew my kids, and I was surprised by the outcome!
Awww,good for him. They do get pretty high, I'd be a bit scared too!
I love hearing that so many kids go climbing! It is great fun, and seems to be wonderful for coordination and mind/body. Love it! :)
brianna - A started climbing when he was 4. He really liked it - G didn't really want to until last winter (at 5).
This looks amazing. I use to love to climb when I was younger. Saw on their website they do under 6 years old, wonder if they could get a two year old to climb!?
We're hoping to make this a regular activity this fall/winter, too. We have age restrictions here, sadly(!!). So, my youngest at 5, has to wait it out while older brother has the fun. I'm looking at the many in our area to see if anyone can take them younger.
Fingers crossed!!!
Looks like your two have a blast, and great that the younger one took his time to sort it out inside of himself and then try again. So awesome when our boys work through things like this with our (valuable) support!!!
~Erin
Post a Comment