here's a novel idea... quit wasting your money at the gym and go climb outside. it's still pleasant in the morning.

Go boulder for 3 months. Then you will have 135$ (3*45) which will buy you a rope at rei. Then buy a tibloc, fix a line and go climb....No belayer needed

are you serious?
a couple of things:

A) oh no--they took away your crashpad!!! scary!!! STFU. Real men who were bouldering long before the advent of gyms never used crashpads--the dirt was a good enough landing zone for them (or is your gym's rubber, carpet, pea gravel, etc... flooring to rough for you?)

B) Gyms make money off kids groups--each of those kids has paid something to be allowed in the gym--as have you. don't think because youre a regular, you should get special treatment...after having worked in many fields, i can say that it's usually the regulars who cause the most problems (coming in two minutes before closing, asking for discounts, etc...)

C) They're kids. you were a kid once. get over it. yeah, it'd be nice to have separate areas for kids and members, but not all gyms can do that--plus, you're bouldering--close to the ground where kids can see--they want to climb and have to wait in line to put on a rope, so they'll boulder...they're trying to emulate you, not exascerbate.

D) kids are better than the bouldering groupies that hang out around the walls and yell "go for it" when one just wants to climb in peace...most kids will just watch wide-eyed, while the junkie has to confirm his prescene with supportive, moronic exclamations.

E) go outside. if there are people there, get up earlier or go farther away...if that doesn't work, go alpine climbing...if you''ve still sand in your craw, take up some lame-ass sport that no one is into and develop it--like hockey-cycling or flatwater high bellyflopping...

If the gym is running a babysitting service the owner should set times for the service so others can avoid it. If the $$ is so important, time to spend your $$ somewhere else.

Fadeux I know exactly your problem. the stupid little kids run around, and underneath when you bouldering and sit there, or even worse youve been woorking a hard traverse for a while and theres a little kind climbing in your way. I found a solution to this problem, I found carver boulder field was less than a half hour drive away I now have no longer had this problem, But for you I suggest going to the the manager and telling the problem threating to leave and not suggest that climbing gym to your friends Or suggest to the manager they have 1 day a week where little kids can climb, but only with their parents. And the rest of the week no one under 13 can climb .

Well, I can't afford the rope yet, and then what could i complain about?

I'm a little surprised by the opposition the original poster is facing. Yes it was a rant, but I imagine most of us have ranted at least once in our lives. Regardless of tone, the point isn't children climbing responsibly and sharing the gym. The point is unsupervised madness that puts others at risk.

Yes, the owners need to draw in revenue and parties, tours and kids are a great way to do it. Most people who pay memberships, however, do so thinking that there is an unspoken agreement between them and the gym. I will assure you a consistant flow of cash per the terms of our contract against which you can plan bills, expansion, upgrades and salaries. With that in mind, I expect a reasonably safe and enjoyable return on my investment. This kind of dependable income is critical to the gym. It allows for them to actually plan expenses. Trickle-in funds from tours and parties are nothing to sneeze at, but it is not contractually provided, is not assured, offers no promise of repetition from the same source (unlike the contracted individual), etc.

So when I go to the gym I expect a few things. First and foremost is to have a good time enjoying the service being offered. Climbing. If I'm spending my entire time worrying about my safety, having kids climb over/under me, dodging flying ATCs and wondering where my pad went, I'm obviously not getting my money's worth.

The solutions have already been outlined. 1) specific areas for children and parties 2) logically designed routes that trend children away from more advanced routes 3) adult supervision. I didn't read all the posts so if the following has been said, forgive me, but let me add in...

4) Management supervision - If the parents/guardians are NOT doing a good job of keeping their children under control, management SHOULD make every effort to rectify the problem. To this end, party attenders should be required to sign an agreement that they will hold their children to a set list of controlled conduct and accept that they will be asked to leave the gym if those rules are not followed with no refund.

5) Party schedule posted - There should be a party schedule posted at the gym and online if available so that members can plan accordingly.

6) One or two members only days a week -

I agree that kids need to be kids. But NOT at the expense of others around them. Yes, I was a kid once, but I was expected to behave and did so - we actually used to get spanked in the old days, kiddies. It's a shared world and some brat's need to be annoying and dangerous because mom or dad doesn't have the balls to put them in their place should NOT become a gym member's problem. I, for one, have no intentions of paying my hard earned money for the displeasure and would leave your gym. Correction, I would first talk to the manager to see if anything is planned in the very near future to resolve this problem. Failing that, I would take my business elsewhere. There are solutions that are positive for all parties. If the owner of your gym chooses not to employ them, find a gym that does.

A small business owner has an obligation to offer the best possible product to his customers... kids and adults. If only the kids are being catered to, you don't need to be there any more than you need to be spending your paycheck at Toys R' Us on a regular basis.

im sick of little kids! Sick and tired of them! Now, i dont have many belay buddies, im very particular in whom I trust. So I do a lot of bouldering. As I pull into the gym parking lot today, i get cut off by a bus. Not a mini Van or even a full size conversion van, a BIG-@SS Yellow Cheesebox! Then, I watch, as 30+ kids go storming into the already child filled gym.

im sick of little kids! Sick and tired of them! Now, i dont have many belay buddies, im very particular in whom I trust. So I do a lot of bouldering. As I pull into the gym parking lot today, i get cut off by a bus. Not a mini Van or even a full size conversion van, a BIG-@SS Yellow Cheesebox! Then, I watch, as 30+ kids go storming into the already child filled gym.