climbing trees

Published January 23, 2009 by Nancy

On the other side of the city, on the army base, there is a big granite hillock of the Canadian Shield sticking out the ground. At the back is a long winding path down through the bush to the lake — to a forgotten beach called Deadman’s Bay. Kids like to scramble up the rockface and explore among the mossy paths, scraggly bushes, and crevices. It can take up an entire afternoon.

They call it The Mountain.

The Mountain happens to have a very fat old tree growing in a nook of a rockface. Someone had placed some wide boards on the first set of branches to make a simple treehouse.

“Climb me!” it seems to cry.

“Come on!” cry the other kids, who have already monkeyed up and are looking down.

Climb up. Yeah, sure.

If your kid has vestibular issues, then he is chained to planet Earth, physiologically and psychologically. He is bewildered by how easily the other kids managed the climb. He will probably be fighting an inner battle between fear and longing.

With any luck, longing will win.

My advice: As long as it’s not a difficult or dangerous climb, sit back (not too far) and just watch. Avoid the temptation to interfere or micro-manage. Kids are pretty good at guiding each other, and your kid wants to do this by himself if he can.

Be on hand to give a boost if he needs it. But otherwise, let him explore the directions the other kids call down to him. The satisfaction he will feel upon reaching that branch will be much deeper if he did it himself.

Climbing back down is another story.

This requires the kid to turn around and reach down backwards and blind with her feet. Expect some distress. You’re going to need to coach her down in a calm, matter-of-fact voice, along with the other kids. Your role is to help her save face, so tell her that everyone feels afraid the first time they climb down.

Be calm, inviting, encouraging. Give step-by-step directions and a guiding hand where you can reach. Then give a hug when she gets to the bottom.

But don’t stop there.

Come back in a couple of days to try again, this time with a “picnic” to eat in the tree. Pack some mouth tools in the picnic to help calm and relax him while he’s up there. Each time he climbs, he paves the nerve networks of his climbing skills till he can climb as well as his friends.