How do I place climbing holds for children?

The distance between the climbing holds can vary depending on who is going to use the wall. We recommend setting 8-10 climbing holds per square metre for children from 3-10 years, and 6-8 climbing holds per  square metres for older children and adults.

There can be different approaches to route setting, and if you are an experienced climber, you probably have your own. Here are two different suggestions on how to set a route when making a building a wall for children:

1. Sort the climbing grips before you start mounting them on the wall. The climbing holds that have best to grip with both hands (jugs) are placed evenly over the wall at a height from the child's shoulder and upwards. It gives the child a good starting point for getting up the wall when the climbing holds with the best grip options are evenly distributed. The last climbing holds are distributed on the remaining part of the climbing wall, these are the footholds and and slightly more challenging holds on the hands.
2. Another approach is to set the routes according to the child's movements. Here the child is an active part of the route setting. You start with a single foothold, let the child stand with his foot on it and then put two handles where it will be natural for the child to grasp with the hands. Now the child stands with one foot on a holds and with both hands on the wall. The next foothold should be placed where the free foot can reach and just slightly higher than the first foothold. Build on from here with alternating holds for hands and feet. If you have built the climbing wall out of climbing board modules with extra holes for climbing holds, the route building is a process that you can return to again and again and make the routes harder and harder as needed.