  Since Aidan was barely mobile at around four months we could tell he was a natural climber. Before he could walk, he could climb. Literally. Before he was a year old, he'd climbed out of his crib twice and the playard on a regular basis.
We finally gave up caging him and got him a bed with a ladder and slide to climb on when he was 18 months old. He loved it. Since we made that declaration of his climbing abilities so long ago, John and I have anxiously awaited the opportunity to get him in the rock gym. Yesterday, that day came! I took Aidan to urlLink Texas Rock Gym , where I myself hadn't been since getting pregnant with him.
He had a ball! I was so proud of him. Of course, everyone in the gym was immediately taken by the adorable little climber. To be honest, I think I could have started a little earlier. For the past year and a half or so, we've been grooming his climbing abilities. When we go to Tinsley Park (or whatever you call Memorial Park when it gets near downtown, between Allen and Memorial), he always practices descending on the terraces.
It's a great safe place to get a child comfortable with going down backwards on their belly, since their instinct is to go down on their bottoms. Everytime we went hiking this past year, John would take a little boldering foray with Aidan. We've taught him about keeping three of your four limbs on the rock and reaching around with the forth. He's great at crossovers and lunging for handholds. He has no fear. They had a great little harness that fit him well.
Like standard adult harnesses, it went around the legs, but it also went around each shoulder, and the 'beaner looped in where those two pairs of loops met. They taught him the lingo and he was adorable with his little "on belay, mama! " and "dirt me, mama! " As with everything regarding Aidan these days, the only trick was to inspire his little process-oriented mind to work in the goal-oriented atmosphere.
He saw no importance in getting to the top bar, he just liked climbing up a bit and rappelling down (he didn't get the whole put your feet in front of you bit, he just bumped his body against the rock all the way down each time!). The highest he climbed the whole time was about fifteen feet, and that was when a climber that worked there freeclimbed up in a tickle race to try to inspire him to go higher. He's been a little lost with John gone. When anything goes wrong he bursts into tears and cries "Daddy, don't go! " I thought some one on one time with him would help. He had a great time climbing, but he asked if we could bring our sister Ellie now. I think it's a tribute to attachment parenting that he doesn't even crave time without his sister, but it leaves me wondering what to do to make him feel super extra special. Even though he missed his sister, he had a great time climbing. He can't wait to go back! 
