Rock Climbing Toddler
Over the weekend at Nature For Kids a question was asked by Rebecca regarding her rock climbing toddler and the post Rock Climbing With Kids.
“We have a 23 month old daughter who loves the rock wall at the YMCA, up until last week she just went up about a foot or so (the bottom “rock”) and came back down. This week she has started really climbing, to the point she is almost over my head. We have to find a good harness for her since they don’t have them that small at the Y. We don’t mind at all buying her one ourselves. We don’t want to stop her in any way! I just don’t know one that is small enough for her little body. Is there a particular brand that you have found works with your little ones?”
Rebecca got me curious. So I went out and shuffled through our climbing equipment and decided to try our full body harness on my 20-month-old. Something I hadn’t done yet because I just assumed it was too large for her. It is made by Rock Empire and is called the Apache. To my surprise it fit her quite well.
There is a little gaping above her legs and chest but not enough to have her slip out. The point where the rope attaches to the harness sits high enough that I don’t think she would flip upside down. Toddlers are prone to be top heavy though so always be cautious.
When our oldest child first started climbing we tied a harness for him out of pieces of webbing. It served it’s purpose but was time consuming and not as comfortable as a harness. So I would recommend buying a harness, especially if you have more than one child. Harnesses allow you to quickly release and tighten straps for the optimum fit.
Most full body children’s harnesses are made for 4 to 9 year-olds so look at the harness description closely before purchasing anything. Better yet, try it on your child first.
Thanks Rebecca for giving me the opportunity to realize our harness fits our little rock-climbing toddler. I’m sure she’ll be very thankful too…no more sitting by and watching her brothers have all the fun!
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