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General Climbing Discussion

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Babies at crags 13-Aug-2010 At 8:28:50 AM TonyB

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On 12/08/2010 Richard wrote:
>With a 3 year old and a five year old, I have quickly come to the conclusion
>that kids and cliffs don't mix.

Our baby is 6mths old and he's quite easy to look after when climbing. If we don't have at least 3 people we climb indoors. I can imagine that toddlers are a different story.

A couple of years ago I was driving through Manly at about 40kph behind another car. A fellow was walking on the footpath with each hand holding a toddler. Suddenly, one of the kids broke free, turned at ran straight at the road. The car in front slammed on his brakes. The kid tripped on the kerb and flew, hands outstreched under the car in front. We stopped. I almost vomited instantly. We got out but the car in front had stopped just cm from the kid who was on the ground, under and in front of the front wheels.

As I suggested earlier, the bush is probably as safer place for kids than being anywhere near traffic. However, looking after our boy when we're climbing, when he's able to walk, is going to be a much bigger challenge. Any outdoor child care tips are appreciated. Has anyone tried a harness and a rope to a tree ? Kid hanesses with leashes were very common when I was young but I haven't seen one for years.