Climbing
Climbing is as much about daring as about strength, and halfway up the next hold can feel very far away. The pictures below show children on a climbing wall and on wall bars, with hands and feet in place.
♂Climbing the wall bars
A happy boy in red shorts climbs up a set of wooden wall bars.
♂Climbing the wall
A boy in a blue top and orange shorts climbs a climbing wall with colourful holds.
♂Boy on the climbing wall
A happy boy with curly hair climbs barefoot on a grey climbing wall with colourful holds.
About this visual support
You can see it in the shoulders when a child stands at the foot of a climbing wall. The body wants to go up, but the head is already working out how high it is and what happens if a foot slips. Climbing trains grip, strength and balance in a way few other activities do, and that is exactly why it can feel overwhelming the first few times. The uncertainty rarely sits in the arms. It sits in not knowing what the next move is.
The pictures show a boy making his way up wooden wall bars and two children on climbing walls with colourful holds, one in shoes and one barefoot. Show them before you head to the climbing centre or the gym, and talk about what the hands do and what the feet do. The visual support becomes a way to go through the movement in advance, so the first climb is not also the first time your child thinks about it.
A practical tip is to agree on a goal on the wall before your child starts, for example the yellow hold, and celebrate when it is reached however high it is. Next time the goal can move one hold up. In Routined you can add climbing to the weekly schedule with a picture, and the app can be tried for 14 days at no cost.
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In Routined you build schedules from these pictures, add timers and voice instructions, and your child follows the day on their own.
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