1. Climbing increases muscle tone and strength in both fine and gross motor movements.

2. The act of climbing sharpens visual perception and motor skills as they decide where to place a foot or hand to move up or down.

3. Climbing develops the vestibular system, which takes in information and sends it to the brain, which in turn sends out a signal to help with balance.

4. Climbing develops motor fitness like agility, speed, coordination, and balance.

5. Problem-solving and decision-making skills are also enhanced through climbing.

6. Motor skill development helps kids in the classroom, particularly children who may not be able to perform appropriate writing skills or may not even be able to hold a pencil. This is important because all skills done in the classroom are reflective of motor skills!!

7. Learning to climb teaches the child the importance of following directions.

8. Spatial awareness learned through climbing helps kids place objects on a page, such as labeling body parts in a picture (nose goes below eyes, mouth goes below the nose, etc.).

9. Climbing assists in developing visual perception. Children who have problems with visual perception cannot sort, color, identify shapes, build with blocks, or use memory and matching games.

10. Climbing develops coordinated eye and head movement so that kids can perform tasks such as copying from the blackboard and reading across a page.

11. Finally, it helps determine a child’s hand dominance.