Raising Young Crushers: How Our Youth Programs Build Strength and Confidence

Rock climbing is a popular activity for people of all ages, especially children! Do you remember back when you had no fear and were made of rubber, like your kids? Wouldn’t it have been great to be part of a program where you could swing around on climbing holds and hang out with your friends? Why not give your kid(s) that experience?

Kids' climbing classes are designed for children to learn how to climb, of course, but they’re much more beneficial than just teaching your kid how to flag or use an undercling. By enrolling your child in a youth program, you set them up to build strength and confidence that will be seen far from the climbing wall.

So, how does climbing help your child blossom into the best version of themselves? And how do you become the coolest climber parents? Check it out!

What is a Youth Climbing Program?

A kids' climbing class can be multiple things: summer camp, a weekly program, or even part of a team. What happens at each will differ slightly, but the gist is that your child will climb with an instructor and other kids!

A summer camp will focus on playing games, fostering friendships, and learning how to climb. A weekly program may be designed to teach your child how to climb and help them improve throughout the course. A climbing team will focus on developing and enhancing your child’s climbing strength for their own joy, or even to compete at competitions!

Whichever your child is interested in, they will surely enjoy the expansive options of walls and fun we have to offer!

Sparking an Active Lifestyle

Many people lead a semi-sedentary life, one in which they only move as much as necessary to do their daily tasks. Living a sedentary lifestyle can have adverse effects on your health, increasing your chances of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and even certain cancers.

While many people don't get the exercise they need to stay at a healthy weight, many don’t know how. By encouraging your child to have healthy, active habits, such as climbing, they learn that if they want to do activities, they will need to stay active and healthy.

An active lifestyle can take you many places this world has to offer. Whether you’re interested in exploring rugged backcountry terrain or walking all day through a new city, checking out cultural and historical sites, having an active background will allow you to do these things with relative ease.

Building Internal and External Strength

You don’t need to be a child to reap the benefits of a full-body workout in the climbing gym. Climbing is an excellent way to build strength at any age! Constantly pulling and pushing your way up a wall meant to be challenging will leave you sweating at the top. All without realizing you were raising your heart rate so much, because all you could think about was the next move!

Building strength can be seen in different forms: mentally and physically. Yes, rock climbing can help your child become mentally stronger! What happens in their little brains when they try something and fail the first time? They can either give up or try again. If they decide to try again, they may look at the climb differently to figure out how to do it more easily, in a way that works for them! This encourages them to flex their critical thinking skills, adding to their creativity.

Or, if they know the way they’re trying is correct for them, they may try even harder to get up the wall. By simply climbing, they’re developing their muscles and becoming stronger little bodies. It takes a lot of strength to climb up a wall. Now imagine being a child and wanting to climb every wall… Yeah, they’re getting a good workout in!

Climbing Builds Confidence

Confidence is a learned skill that can be developed through rock climbing! At any kids’ climbing class, you’ll find the ones who are nervous about climbing a certain height, while others are scaling to the tops of walls with ease. Through practice and patience, your child can learn how to climb with confidence. It takes repeatedly putting themselves in situations where they may not be entirely confident to show them they can be, which builds them up slowly but surely.

Confidence is seen far from the climbing wall, too. Once a child understands how confidence is developed through trial and error, they begin to realize that this is how confidence is acquired in any aspect of life. If you’re scared to do something, you must start somewhere, like at the bottom of the climbing wall. You can then climb higher and higher each time you try until you’ve reached the top.

Ready to Get Climbing?

Climbing is more than scaling cliffs or colorful indoor walls. Rock climbing includes learning about yourself, overcoming obstacles —whether mental or physical —and being present and aware of yourself in each movement.

Climbing can be a fantastic way to connect with your children, build friendships, explore new places, and live a healthy, active lifestyle. Has your child shown interest in learning how to climb or improving on the skills they already have? Are they ready to get climbing? We look forward to seeing your child become the best version of themselves!