Spring is here, summer is around the corner, and kids are ready to get active and have some socially distant fun! At Brooklyn Boulders, you can introduce your kids to climbing and our incredible community. Aside from having a blast, we’ve listed out our top 8 reasons why rock climbing is a great activity for kids and teens.
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1. Keeps kids active + healthy
Rock climbing is a full-body exercise involving every part of the body including the legs, arms, core, and even the muscles in your hands. Your kids and teens will be strengthening their muscles, developing flexibility, and increasing their endurance. Climbing is a great indoor activity to keep your kids healthy and active as we head into the spring and summer.
2. Develops hand-eye coordination + body awareness
Climbing is a strategic sport that involves active awareness of body positioning and strategic placement of the hands and toes to move from one hold to another. This kind of body awareness training builds fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
These kinds of skills are especially important for younger children to develop. As kids grow and adapt to their ever-changing bodies, this is beneficial not only for rock climbing but activities in everyday life that need body awareness and coordination.
3. Increases problem solving + decision-making skills
Rock climbing teaches kids how to solve problems and builds confidence in their decision-making. Kids will learn how to strategically solve the problem of “where do I go next?” on and off the wall.
With practice, they will fine-tune their decision-making skills and make better-informed and quicker decisions. These are great life skills for your kids to learn. As a parent, you can start to see how these skills will translate to everyday decisions and problems.
4. Builds confidence and self-esteem
Finally making it to the top of the wall is an amazing feeling, no matter your age. Every climb and every problem solved is an opportunity to build confidence and self-esteem.
Overcoming a challenge, such as a fear of heights, is a major confidence and self-esteem booster. It signals to kids that they are capable of overcoming difficulties both on and off the wall. With rock climbing, your kids have the opportunity to see the result of their hard work and survey the difficulties they overcame to get there.
5. Increases concentration, focus, + patience
We think it’s fair to say that most parents wish their child had more focus, concentration, and patience. With rock climbing, kids and teens can hone these skills through time on the wall.
As your child is making decisions with every foothold and climb, they are forced to be patient with themselves as they make mistakes. They also learn that the more they focus and concentrate on the task ahead, the greater chance they have for success.
6. Reduces stress
You might look up at that wall and wonder how anyone could feel less stressed while climbing. Yet, the focus required on the wall is, for many, a way to remove themselves from the stressors of everyday life and just focus on the task in front of them.
For many kids and teens, the past year in quarantine has added more pressure and stress to everyday life. Some stressors include home-schooling, virtual classrooms, less time with friends, restrictions limiting social interactions, or feeling pent up or lonely at home. This is a stressful time for everyone, including our kids and teens. Climbing can be a great outlet to reduce some of that stress.
7. Develops communication + listening skills
Whether they are communicating with their instructor, their belayer, or their fellow climber, a lot of communication happens on the wall. To climb, a child needs to listen and understand instructions and apply what they are learning to the task ahead. Your kids will build valuable listening and communication skills by encouraging their peers, listening to their teachers, and following instructions.
8. Meet new friends + build a community
While remaining socially distant and safe, there are still ways your kids can interact with, socialize, and build friendships in our Kids and Teen Academy programs. At BKB our kids and teens can engage with peers in small, socially distant pods while reaching new heights!
Sign your kids and teens up today for our BKB Youth Programs
Help your kids develop these amazing skills while having fun and staying safe by enrolling them today in one of our Kids or Teen Academy Programs. Learn more about our Youth Programming and get your kids signed up for this spring!
A Quick Note on BKB Community Health Guidelines
On the top of everyone’s minds right now is safety. Keeping you and your kids healthy during COVID-19 is BKB’s top priority. Our teams have put in place Community Health Standards to ensure that we are keeping our locations as clean and as safe as we can.
Some of our safety measures include:
- Traffic flow to ensure 6-feet distance
- Mandatory masks worn by all (both kids and staff)
- Temperature checks upon arrival
- Liquid chalk consisting of 60% alcohol for disinfecting
- Smaller instructor to climber ratio numbers for our Kids and Teen Academy Programs
- And many more safety measures that you can read about here.
Climbing safety
Speaking of safety, many parents understandably get concerned about the risks of having their children climb on the wall. If you’re concerned, know that BKB takes these concerns seriously. Our staff are all trained Climbing Wall Instructors and we have taken measures to reduce the risks associated with climbing at BKB and provide a fun experience for your children.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to our team if you have any questions before enrolling your kids or teens in one of our programs.
