A climbing wall is a surface with a slope or a cliff made artificially with grips of hands and feet usually used for indoor climbing. Indoor climbing walls were originally built to enable climbers to train and continue climbing through the wet and cold winter months or even on regular days.
Nowadays, indoor climbing walls have a lot of purposes and it’s easy to have one since there are climbing wall kits ready to use. Aside from training adult climbers, this kind of thing is also a great element to keep your children busy while enhancing their stamina and endurance. Kids love to climb anything from chain link fences to kitchen drawers, even your bed, and many embrace rock climbing as they grow up. Indoor wall climbing is one of the numerous activities you can introduce to them.
Rock Climbing for Kids
Aside from being an exciting activity, rock climbing is also the safest sport around when compared to traditional sports such as rugby and hockey. Statistically, its popularity increased in recent years especially when indoor climbing walls were introduced. Having started as a recreational activity enjoyed on the weekends and holidays, indoor rock climbing is now an elite sport.
The Benefits of Having an Indoor Climbing Wall for Your Kids
Unleashing a kid on an indoor climbing wall enables great physical rewards. Aside from that, it also boosts their self-confidence as well as mental training. Here are some more of the benefits of having an indoor climbing wall for your kids.
Increase Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility
This is probably the most obvious advantage of indoor wall climbing for kids — the physical aspect of the sport. Rock or wall climbing is one of the best total body workouts available indoors, as the motion of climbing works on every part of the body, even your fingers. The practice of wall climbing will strengthen your kid’s arms, legs and core. In addition, it also helps them to develop strong, lean muscles and be physically fit. As your kid progresses through each level, they will lead up to building up their overall strength, endurance and flexibility.
Develops Hand, Feet, and Eye Coordination
Indoor wall climbing teaches younglings great hand, feet and eye coordination and synchronization. To successfully complete their climb, reach the top and be able to get down, they have to look, plan and then coordinate their body parts, specifically hands and feet, to get to their chosen spot. Enhanced coordination skills developed through this kind of indoor activity and can also be transferred to many other aspects of life, including other sports. Wall climbing is also a great way to reinforce the understanding of left and right.
Builds Confidence and Self-Esteem
Standing at the bottom of a wall for the first time can be a little scary for a kid. However, by getting outside their comfort zone and slowly making their way up the climbing wall, they will overcome their fear that leads to boost their confidence and self-esteem.
Increases Decision Making and Problem Solving Abilities
With many possible routes to choose from, and many rocks to hold on to, your child will have to decide what is going to be the best move. At first, they will probably make their wrong conclusions, but as time goes by, they will learn a technique which they can use as they go along. Your child will learn different climbing moves and techniques to help them motivate and develop their own climbing abilities. This is fantastic for building children’s planning and problem-solving abilities too!
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