Anonymous wrote:You can try someplace that doesn’t require a commitment. I personally would hesitate to commit that long for a young child. Sportrock in Rio has drop in sessions.
To sum up, I think it would be great for him if he enjoys it but there are places that don’t push so hard.

+1 My kid is on a rock climbing team, but I pay monthly.

That said, IMO, it's great for otherwise non athletic kids (like mine). DC now has some noticeable muscles on on their arms, shoulders, back. They've been doing this for 2 years.

Maybe he has good grip strength and knows how to use his big muscles instead of his small muscles

There’s a lot of crossover between climbing and ninja warrior. Maybe look into that too. My son does team, but I don’t recall there being a year-long commitment, but we go more than often, so a year long commitment would be fine with us.

Agree that it's a great sport but the year long commitment sends off alarm bells. I would also think again about the outdoor rock climbing (maybe not immediately but for the future) -- my kid that loved rock climbing HATED hiking or camping or anything like that, but loved the rock climbing. They wear gloves I think so the hands aren't an issue (and maybe also something on the knees), but yes scrapes are possible. They also wear helmets.

One of the reasons that rock climbing is good for kids is not just the physical aspects, but also the psychological aspects of risk taking. There's a lot of good research lately on how it's incredibly important for kids psychological and emotional development to take relatively safe physical risks in their play and activities. So not running out into traffic or jumping off the top of the playgym, climbing high and realizing that you won't fall -- that's really important.

Parkour or karate might also be good sports for him to try.

It’s all in your legs. Not like money bars that’s all in your arms. Completely different.

My kid does rock climbing and we never had to pay for a year long commitment for 1:1 lessons. We pay a monthly membership fee, and she's on a youth team (paid monthly as well). The youth team (particularly at the youth level) has a lot of adult supervision. Her gym also has a Saturday morning drop in session, day off school camps, and week long summer camps (indoors) that are other options for him to keep exploring without such an intense commitment.

I would really hesitate to commit to a year after trying it one time. Is there a 3 month option?

Rock climbing is more than upper body strength so that might explain why he has trouble on monkey bars but can climb. Also, top rope requires less strength than leading. The nice thing about climbing is that strength builds naturally as you do harder and longer climbs. As others have mentioned, I wouldn’t commit to anything yet. Sportrock has open climb and drop in classes for kids. I would try those first so your child can get a feel for different climbing disciplines and start learning some technique. If he sticks with it, he’ll find his path. Also, bruises, scrapes, cuts eventually go with the territory. Even more reason to try it out more before making a commitment.

One year commitment is long, but they say their goal is
to train him to get to competitive level for speed one day....lol.. I don't know if there is any competitive level for this age, first time hearing it.

Op here. None of us have done real rock climbing outside. In summer, I believe it is more dangerous and it is so easy to scrape your elbow/hands or knees/legs under hot outdoor weather to do rock climbing. He would not like that. He does not even like to hike or walk/run, I think 2 hours indoor rock climbing is his limit. I need to pay 1:1 with staff because I don't trust him or trust myself. That is for safety reasons.

Could have him try a rock climbing summer camp - my kids did Calleva's a lot and really enjoyed it. One is now the captain of the climbing team at their university.

Quite a commitment - you could try having him take some bouldering classes and see how he likes that. Doesn't require anyone else to do it with. I find it harder from strength perspective but easier as I can do it by myself and I'm scare of heights

You can try someplace that doesn’t require a commitment. I personally would hesitate to commit that long for a young child. Sportrock in Rio has drop in sessions.
To sum up, I think it would be great for him if he enjoys it but there are places that don’t push so hard.

Do it. Esp if he enjoys it. My boys at 10 love it. They have even done 100 foot climbs outside with a belayer. It’s a great sport. For adulthood too. Some places also have competitive teams and rec teams.

I was shocked that my low muscle tone boy can do top rope climbing with one person holding string at those indoor rock climbing place. I think it is like 30 feet tall, and he got to the top a few times. I know, he has someone helping him with a string, but I'm that was still unbelievable to me. He can't do monkey bar at 9.5 year old or open water bottle cap. I don't understand why he can do this but not other things. They sell me that I should continue to let him doing rock climbing for his benefits. It is a year contract for 2 hours/week (with staff 1:1 holding the string) , please advise.

He is not althetic (worst player), but he has been doing weekly sport 1-3 times a week like swimming, soccer or basketball for fun.