Hi there,

Back in the fall I started a new series on family sports. The idea behind is to find sports that families can do together and that suits several age groups. Rather than one family member doing a sport, and everybody else sitting in on a bench watching, I like to see the whole family being active together.

When my nephew was here visiting I took him and my kids (except the baby) to an indoor rock climbing gym. A one time visit is a bit pricey (it was $11.95 per person between noon and 3pm); if we went regularly I would buy a family pass. We brought our own tennis shoes and only rented harnesses.

Here is the group I took (sans my 8 year old who was hiding behind my back as usual).

Below is my 6 year old Ella with a full body harness. I recommend this harness for her age and younger as it makes them feel safe.

The gym had a variety of of equipment. There were rings and ropes hanging from the wall. Lots of bouldering walls, which are great for little ones. I wish I hadn’t paid for my 4 year old since she was too scared to climb on a rope and happy to just boulder. They also have exercise bikes there which we didn’t try.

Below is Esther. She climbed so fast it was hard keeping up with her trying to keep the rope tight while belaying.

My nephew did a great job evading my camera. Here he really couldn’t run away…Isn’t he cute? I love his plaid shirt.

Teenagers 14 years and older can be trained to belay, which really helps when you have bunch of kids. My oldest (below on the right) and I took turns belaying. It took us about 15 min to be trained in belaying, so factor that in the first time you come.

After fussing and complaining for a couple of hours my 8 year old finally started climbing and enjoying himself. He was allowed to climb without a rope up to a certain point.

This is a great sport for the winter time. My kids always ask to go. If you have never been give it a try. There are a lot of employees there ready to help.

The gym offers youth classes and classes for home-schoolers.

Have a great weekend, I’ll see you back here next week with an interview of the Hollands.

-Sofija