K’s first rock-climbing experience

Five and a half year old K is not quite the gutsy type. But she surprised us with how from the age of four, she progressively took to swimming, cycling, and most recently, rock-climbing.

I suppose it is in part because we are quite excited to expose her to these activities, so we do talk about them with much enthusiasm. Perhaps that rubbed off on her psyche.

When a friend kindly organised a session at The Rock School in the June holidays, we joined in and had a blast!

I only first tried Rock Climbing in Secondary 2! Minimum age to try here is age 4.

Since the bunch of us had kids aged between 4 and 6, we signed up for the introductory ABC’s for climbing. At $24 for 2 hours (Passion card member discount), I thought the rates were very reasonable.

It was K’s first time bouldering and rock-climbing, so we were really pleased that the instructors were excellent in dealing with kids. The programme was fun too, with the first hour indoors (air-conditioned comfort!) as they played games to warm up, then practiced bouldering.

All geared up and enthused!

For the second hour, it was the Real Thing! The kids were put into safe harnesses, and given instructions on safety, and how to descend. Before we knew it, they were up! And they just kept going!

My jaw-dropped when I realised K was going up, up, up and had no signs of stopping. She actually scaled to the peak twice! I think it must have been at least 5-6 metres high.

We were so proud of her perseverance and guts.

And she makes it to the top!

Check that out! This insanely proud mama was showing all and sundry the video of K scaling the final few steps for weeks thereafter!

I guess this goes to show that we never know till we try, and that as parents, we should not discount what our kids can achieve, as long as we give them the opportunity! It was a faith-stretching afternoon, and a great time of bonding, as we could shout encouragement to her, and the other kids.

It was so fun going with friends too, cheering these little 5 year olds, many of whom reached the peak, and witnessing all the little kids try their best, whether or not they made it to the top. Humbling, to the adults!

It also made me reflect on how this was also a good picture of what parenting should be. Bonding with our kids by being present as they embark on and conquer new challenges, cheering them on every step of the way, and letting them know that it’s okay if they need to take a break.

The Rock School is located at Bedok Community Centre
Address: 850 New Upper Changi Rd, Singapore 467352
Tel: 6242 2106

Note: This is not a sponsored post; we paid full fees at the Passion Card rate.

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