Tying in on top rope with a young child.

Last summer I started getting my little guy climbing outside with me.  Being only 2.5yr, he needed considerable encouragement.  The only way he was brave enough was if I climbed with him while my wife belayed us.

I would tie in with a standard figure 8 and connect him with a locker and an Alpine butterfly with 2-3' slack. He would climb and I would follow helping and encouraging him along the way.

I would say this worked "Okay," as sometimes there was not enough slack to allow for a move/assistance.  Additionally, being lowered in this configuration meant holding him (not very helpful for his learning)

I'm wondering if any other families have thought of a better approach.

I've used very similar setups with my child at that same age. It's definitely not ideal, especially if your wife absentmindedly cranks the grigri open and decks you both.

If I were to do it again, I'd think about TR solo on a fixed strand (especially since toddler terrain usually offers lots of opportunities to go hands-free, so you don't need an actual TR solo setup, necessarily) and then have my wife belay just him. She probably will pay more attention that way.

Haley D wrote: 
You or your wife could also climb the route first and just hang out at the anchors and provide encouragement from the top to give him a little more independence. When my kids were little little, I would strategically place treats along the route to provide motivation to move upward haha.  

I've done the same thing.  We called it the "Gummy Bear Fairy."  The fairy would leave gummy bears on the rock (or clean branches) for the approach to the climb and on the rock itself.    My kids actually thought there was such a fairy until my son saw me placing them.  They are now 7 and 9 and whenever we go for a hike, they ask if the gummy bear fairy is coming.  (They now take turns hiding gummy bears for each other when hiking.)

If the route is pretty short and very easy, I would also use the top-rope solo using a gri-gri and backup knots.   That way you can go completely hands free to assist him, and lower right beside him.   One of the biggest things I found when teaching my kids is not to push or pressure them at all.   If they got into a harness and touched the rock, I considered it a win.   My son only wanted to climb up about five feet with bounce down as I lowered him.  He would do this over and over.  Baby steps are truly just that for toddlers when climbing.  We also had an ice cream incentive point.  If the kids could reach that ledge, or bush, or horn, etc, then they earned ice cream on the way home.  (After reading all this, I am surprised my kids aren't diabetic!)

Treats on route!! So obvious, its silly I have not done that yet.  The "Gummy Bear Fairy," will live on!

Only downside to the additional additional slack between us would be during lowering.  Without reducing that slack, he'd be on his own.  Not that I couldn't clip into an additional butterfly just below him.  I never really considered setting up a top-rope solo but it totally makes sense. I will certainly give this a whirl next time we get outside.

Thanks for the feedback! 

I would suggest an upside-down Y shape of the rope, with you at one end and the kid on the other. That way a slip of one doesn't pull down on the other. And you'd have enough slack to move up/down/across as need for support, photos etc.

I would try again, but with your child tied in on a cow's tail.  An overhand in the rope will give them a lot more freedom to move side-to-side.  I prefer the clove hitch method as opposed to the bowline.  
https://www.alpinesavvy.com/blog/team-of-3-in-moderate-terrain-try-end-roping

As for lowering, I think it's fine for you to hold him for the time being.  Just go clip into the loop he's cloved into.  He's likely not heavy enough for lowering to be possible by himself.  Eventually he'll want to do it all by himself and you can lower him normally.  

I'm going to follow this thread and hopefully get some better ideas than my current setup which is to just solo climb next to or behind them.

kevin R wrote:

I've done the same thing.  We called it the "Gummy Bear Fairy."  The fairy would leave gummy bears on the rock (or clean branches) for the approach to the climb and on the rock itself.    My kids actually thought there was such a fairy until my son saw me placing them.  They are now 7 and 9 and whenever we go for a hike, they ask if the gummy bear fairy is coming.  (They now take turns hiding gummy bears for each other when hiking.)

If the route is pretty short and very easy, I would also use the top-rope solo using a gri-gri and backup knots.   That way you can go completely hands free to assist him, and lower right beside him.   One of the biggest things I found when teaching my kids is not to push or pressure them at all.   If they got into a harness and touched the rock, I considered it a win.   My son only wanted to climb up about five feet with bounce down as I lowered him.  He would do this over and over.  Baby steps are truly just that for toddlers when climbing.  We also had an ice cream incentive point.  If the kids could reach that ledge, or bush, or horn, etc, then they earned ice cream on the way home.  (After reading all this, I am surprised my kids aren't diabetic!)

This is an adorable idea, but hearing about encouraging a very small child to eat gummy bears mid-climb has me wondering about choking hazards? Sounds like it worked out well for your family, but perhaps something to keep in mind. 

also climb with 3yo. my family uses a fixed line. one parent belays bebe and the other micro/gri's fixed line.

we also snack on ledges

multipitch with two ropes so a parent can climb beside bebe

When I was in your shoes I tied my kid in with a figure-8 so that they see the correct way to tie in. Then I clipped my PAS with locker to a alpine butterfly a few feet above the kid's tie-in so that when I was sitting back in my harness I was a tad below the kid and could help with lowering but didn't have to if they were comfortable. This gave me enough room to climb within a few feet of or right next to the kid.