Why I Forced My Kid to Rock Climb By Megan Clark
For my son ’ s birthday , Harrison ’ s Mimi and Poppa gifted him with a much-anticipated rock wall climbing experience . We got him geared up , and as he stood at the base of an indoor rock wall , all of his previous gusto left him with one long wide-eyed study of the steep wall he was about to scale . Before he was two feet off the ground , he was ready to quit and go home . He wanted to get down , get out of the harness , and run for the hills . And I said , “ No .”
In fact , I said , “ You ’ re not climbing down ; keep going . Go all the way to the top . You are not quitting .” And he did it . He scaled not one , not two , but three different walls , each higher and harder than the last . He wasn ’ t ecstatic about it and still kept mentioning his plans to quit , but I kept up my mantra , “ I ’ m not letting you quit ; you ’ ve got this !”
He left that gym with tired arms and shaky legs but with his head held high . As the weeks have passed , he loves looking at the pictures and now talks about his accomplishment very proudly . In fact , some of his retelling accounts have completely left out his desire to quit and focused on what he achieved .
In this day and age of child-led parenting , I ’ m sure I came off harsh and unloving as I forced my kid to cling to a rock wall against his will . But I knew what giving up would do in his head and heart long-term .
34 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW