For your future reference.
We managed to have a great time during the March school holidays, just before the COVID-19 situation in Singapore worsened. Community spread was still within control then. Furthermore, My Little Climbing Room was opened to only ten children at a time, with daily disinfection spray on all their handholds and wipe-down on all high contact areas after each 90-minute session.
My Little Climbing Room
My Little Climbing Room is a rock-climbing gym built with little children in mind. The room is only a single-storey high and the walls probably between 3 to 4 metres tall.
At first sight, I thought the gym was too small and worried that it wouldn’t be worth the money. But for my four children aged 3 to 10, they had a blast challenging the four walls with varying difficulties.
My kids have experienced rock-climbing in various locations before, such as Clip N’ Climb, Let ‘Em Play, and Onsight Climbing Gym. My Little Climbing Room is by far their happiest experience because there was no fear element. They just went on and on climbing, without stopping, without giving up. This gives them the opportunity for a really good work-out.
I have always emphasized on the importance of climbing for growing kids. Not only climbing tones their muscles, it involves planning, hand-leg-eye coordination, and helps them improve their shoulder stability and wrist-finger strength for writing.
Clip N’ Climb and Let ‘Em Play were very fun too. However, the walls were higher and tougher, thus they were not able to complete some of the walls. As for Onsight Climbing Gym, the walls are more intended for teens and above.
Before We Start
The instructors gave us a safety video to watch, and we also purchased special pairs of grip socks for climbing.
The kids were each given a chart with a list of challenges to try out. Completing the more difficult challenges would get them three stars.
Walls and Safety Feature
There are four walls with varying difficulties, from reclining to inclined walls. I like it that the pulley at the top of the wall released the kids down slowly, instead of those in adult climbing gyms where the climber may experience a sudden drop when being released down the wall. The belaying system attached to the bottom of the wall is also simple for non-climbers to use safely. We don’t even have to wear harnesses to belay them.
The harness used by the gym are also meant for kids.
There are varying degrees of challenges on each wall. The young climber can opt to use only a single colour route on the walls, or take advantage of all the tiles.
On the right side of the gym features a bouldering wall, as well as a VR wall where the kids are challenged to hit targets on the wall. This makes climbing more fun and seems less tiring.
More Fun Elements
My three-year-old twins were unwilling to complete even the most basic wall at first. They were afraid of heights. The helpful instructors gave them a couple of paw patrol tags as rescue targets. We positioned the pup tags high up on the walls, and the twins were instantly motivated to “rescue” them. We used the same trick over and over again to get them up to the top.
If you are not a climber, the climbing instructors would be on standby to assist you with the tags. I had a good workout getting up the walls to hide the pups.
A Break from Climbing
On the left side of the room is the Hangout Zone that is equipped with some other gym equipment and a small kitchen for the little ones to have a break as and when they need.
Verdict
After endless rounds of climbing (I lost count), my four kids were all inspired. The older ones were happy that they could complete the harder routes, while the twins built confidence in themselves, announcing to the world that they could rock-climb. Since they have discovered their new-found passion, I decided to get them a multipass package.
The little ones woke up the next day, demanding for another session of climbing.
Tips for Parents
If your kids are young like five or below, it is probably a good idea to keep to a 1:1 parent-child ratio, because you need to belay your child. I brought my kids there, and I was so thankful to have brought my helper along. We usually don’t involve her in our outings, but somehow I decided to do so that day. So at least we had two adults to belay two kids, while the other two roamed on the bouldering wall where the instructors helped to ensure their safety.
Keen to explore My Little Climbing Room too? Check out their website here. You can book a 90-minute session from their website.
You may also be interested in the following posts:
Let ’em Play Review – Just Let Them Play!
Clip ‘n Climb – Adventure for my 4 young kids
We Went Rock Climbing with the Kids – Onsight Climbing Gym
Discovering Playgrounds in Punggol – 673 Edgefield Plains
Admiralty Park Playground – It’s Gigantic!
