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farmgirl
Feb 2, 2003, 3:59 PM
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Registered: Nov 16, 2002
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Someone out there, please tell me that you take your kids climbing, hiking, backpacking, too...I've got two boys, ages 6 and 10. I take them everywhere with me, partly by choice and partly because I have no other option... and I refuse to stay at home every weekend. I've been questioned and criticized, and met some pretty impatient folks at the crags in CA. Hope CO is more tolerant...anyone out there with the same experience? Anyone want to play with us?
Pam
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atg200
Feb 2, 2003, 4:18 PM
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I can't believe anyone would give you crap. I see kids at the crags all the time in Colorado. Get on the climbingboulder.com mailing list and look through the archives - there have been several threads there about kid friendly colorado areas and people with kids looking for similar partners.
Good places to start with younger kids in Colorado are Castlewood Canyon, Garden of the Gods, Penitente, and parts of Boulder Canyon. Avoid Eldo - its crowded, stuff falls from the sky, and if you are going to take heat anywhere in Colorado it will be there.
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thomasribiere
Feb 2, 2003, 6:19 PM
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If people are not educated to accept children outdoor, I suppose your children will be... It should be better in the next generation. But keep on giving them the unique taste of outdoor leisures.
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russmanswife
Feb 2, 2003, 10:56 PM
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no you are definitely not alone we took our son who at the time was just a little over a year old to a climbing gym to watch my husband and nikegirl climb, and i overheard a group of guys complaining because people take their kids to the gym?! what is wrong with doing activities as a family?
we are very careful we watch our son which was why i wasn't climbing so that someone was always keeping an eye on him, on the other hand there were a few people in there who also thought he was pretty cute at that time he was learning the whole concept of climbing and was feeling the holds and trying to figure out how to copy the grown ups. thank goodness this is the only time it has happened to us, we also have wall in our garage so i guess until he is a little bigger we can play with him on that without worrying about someone complaining because we had a child there.
bobbi
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markf
Feb 3, 2003, 3:30 AM
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Questioned and criticized? What kind of idiots are these people? Your kids are extremely lucky that you're willing and able to do all that cool outdoor stuff with them. To answer your question, Colorado does seem a little more open minded than a lot of places in that regard.
mark
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farmgirl
Feb 3, 2003, 5:20 PM
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Thanks for the positive input!! It feels great to know that not everybody thinks kids should spend weekends at home playing nintendo.
Pam
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whitenight
Feb 3, 2003, 6:51 PM
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My parents used to take us with them no matter where they went. They could not imagine going on vacation and leaving us with a sitter. Now my mom is the leader of a 4-H Challenge club and she takes groups of children ages 7+ climbing (indoor & outdoor), backpacking, winter camping, caving and skiing. It teaches skills that are not taught in the classroom such as self sufficiently, team work, conservation and more.
Your children are lucky and I bet their friends wish they had parents like you.
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calamity_chk
Feb 3, 2003, 7:22 PM
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I'm not in CO, but hope to be there someday soon.
Also, I take my son (6 yrs) out on a regular basis, and havent received any flack for it yet. In fact, I've received nothing less than encouragement and enthusiasm from other climbers for having him out so young, even from people who arent particularly keen on kiddos in general.
amber
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cobra652004
Feb 4, 2003, 3:13 AM
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Props to you! I think it's awesome that you take your kids w/ you when you do outdoorsey stuff. Whenever I'm up at the Gunks I think it's really cool to see kids climbing/ hiking/etc. I would never be mad about having to wait for kid who was in front of me. If someone is that impatient, let him/her go find another climb.
I wish my parents had introduced me to more stuff like climbing/hiking when I was younger. I just got into climbing last year, but I'm hooked now!
Brian
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mreardon
Feb 4, 2003, 10:34 PM
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My wife rarely climbs, but almost always camps and hikes with me when she gets a chance. Our daughter is there all the time. this last weekend we went to Bishop, and there my little 9 year old was, cruising the highballs and pulling on V1 as if they were the monkey bars at school. No one said a thing, if anything, they applauded that she was out there having so much fun!
Not sure where you were in CA, but I've never seen anyone in our gang act with attitude about kids unless the parents were being stupid. Then again, I'm basically a 9 year old as well, so maybe I was ignoring them
You'll do fine in CO! There are plenty of family places ou there as well.
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mother_sheep
Feb 4, 2003, 10:49 PM
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I take my sons all over the place, climbing or otherwise. It's one of the great pleasures in my life. I'm a member of a parents climbing group here in CO. It originated in Boulder a few months ago. I think we are going to be having a meeting within the next couple of weeks. If you can't attend, you can still join and get on the contact list. Its a great opportunity to network with other parents who climb. I'm really excited about getting together with these people for some road trips this spring and summer. PM me, you or anyone else, if interested in joining.
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rollingstone
Feb 4, 2003, 11:12 PM
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Registered: May 22, 2002
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JP: These critics are just fools! My wife and I took our three camping as sson as they could walk a little, and all have some degree of comfort in the outdoors. Just in the last week, my oldest (she's 22) called to tell me she took a class at Planetrock w/ her boyfriend and she proudly described the knots she learned; my middle daughter (19) asked us to send her a tent so she and some friends could go camping during Spring break, and my youngest (17) announced he was going to do several routes on Rainier w/ me this summer.
Keep the faith, you are doing the right thing!!
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roseraie
Feb 5, 2003, 4:42 AM
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Registered: Jan 22, 2003
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I learned to climb while working at a summer camp, so I'm used to having kids there when I climb. I love having them around... but just keep them out from under climbers and AWAY FROM THE ROPE. Don't take your kid if they can't behave and leave the other climbers alone!
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boardcrazzy
Feb 5, 2003, 6:20 PM
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Registered: Oct 22, 2002
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The only think I don't like about kids at the craig is when the damn 6 year olds are already better than me.
Just kidding . . . really. I love watching good climbers, so I figure if they are starting younger, then there'll be lots of good ones to watch in the future. Can't wait till I have kids so they can lead the hard stuff and then I can toprope in my old age.
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enigma
Feb 13, 2003, 1:02 AM
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Registered: May 19, 2002
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Just make sure you're not leaving children unattended at the bottom of the crag while climbing. Last year I was climbing with a single dad who left his children at the bottom of the crag. After I followed up and then we had to walk down ,we came back to his son who was hurt. The boy around 7, had fallen,at the base, probably just playing around and suffered an concussion and needed stitches as well.
So bring your kids,have them climb but never leave them unsupervised without an adult. Obviously this may be difficult if two adults are both climbing. So bring another responsible adult along,if you care about your children's welfare.
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swohletz
Feb 15, 2003, 8:17 AM
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Registered: Oct 29, 2002
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I don't have kids, but one of the people I climb with has a son, age 10, who comes with us. Often he doesn't climb. We watch out for him when his dad is climbing, and I think it's fine. His dad gets to come out and climb and still gets quality time with his son. He shares what he loves with his son and that probably means he allows his son to do the same with him with what he loves to do....
My love of the outdoors came from camping and hiking with my family. One of my best memories of my childhood was a 2 week camping and hiking trip with my dad when I was 9 or 10. I will never forget what it meant for my dad to take the time to hang out with me and share his love of the outdoors with me.
have fun out there with your kids!
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