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Rock Climbing Gets Your Kid To Think On The Spot

One rock at a time
My son and I were at Tampines Hub recently, walking from the Library to the Kopitiam.

We came across this new rock climbing facility and it had a no frills $15 for 30 mins climb. Though we didn't come prepared and it was in the evening, I decided for my son "why not". $15 for a $30 min climb is also quite value for money given that other areas charge higher.

After asking my son if he wanted to give it a try, which was a instant yes, we took the plunge, paid the $15 and $1 for socks, and my son was soon excited for his rock climbing experience.

I heard that some venues even charge for the harness and this facility didn't. Hence, the $15 was quite worth it.

As my son was preparing for his first climb, even though with the safety harness, I had my heart in my mouth. My thoughts were of thinking, what if he fell, would I be able to catch him each time?

The instructor was quite good with my son, giving him easy to understand verbal instructions on how to ascend and descend.

Learning how to descend.

So my son took his first step on the rocks and started his climb. At first, he was also uncertain if he could go higher and higher. But each step came with more confidence. Before you know it, he was up at the top.

Before you know it, his up there....

After his first climb, arms were sore. This was probably due to the fact that rock climbing make use of muscles you never knew existed. However, he was excited to go for his 2nd climb. 

The 2nd climb had a small side wall protruding out so I wondered if he could do it. But like fish to water, he was able to navigate to on the sides.


After 2 climbs, the instructor decided to make it more interesting. He challenged my son to only step on the yellow and pink stones, and was not allowed to step on the grey ones.

That is when the climb starts to be interesting. For each ascend, my son had to look down to ensure he does not at the grey stone. As he look up to get his next grip, he had to figure out which colour stone should he reach out to, delicately avoiding the grey stone.

Only pink and yellow stones on this climb.

That's why I felt he started to think on the spot to make the next decision. It doesn't have to be the right decision. Even if it wasn't the right decision, he could just let go and rely on the safety harness to hang on too. A bounce off the wall and back to grip the nearest stone for a restart.

And I guess this is where the rock climbing experience is paying off and helping my son look at how to make decision - observe and examine the surroundings around you and then make that move.

Making decisions seem to be a skill lost in today's textbook generation where to get the marks, there is only way to do it. The decision made is based on a set of instructions and not on observations and understanding the environment.

I look forward to bringing my son to his next climb and for him to better his decision making skills from rock climbing.


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