Baby rock climbing?!

Hi! My 2 year old started climbing at our local rock gym & I can’t find shoes that work for her. Unfortunately she’s not allowed to go barefoot there and the smallest rock climbing shoes are a 9/10. I’ve heard that water shoes might work? Basically I’m looking for a pair of regular shoes that would be good for rock climbing. She’s a size 6/7 toddler.

Thanks! 

If she's not climbing in Solutions, is she even really climbing?? 

Water shoes, especially those that fit like socks, have worked well for some. My kids preferred climbing in tennis shoes until 4 or 5. My four year old still favors his approach shoes over climbing shoes.

We found some regular slippers for our daughter and then took some of the old 5.10 stealth paint to the soles. They worked really well until she got big enough for some of the smaller Sportiva shoes.

Our daughter climbed in boots until she was 7, then we bought her shoes that were 3x too big. We were broke as can be back then, but she did just fine.

FWIW as your child grows do the conversion from kids sizes to womens/mens to get great deals on shoes for kids. 

Abram Herman wrote: If she's not climbing in Solutions, is she even really climbing?? 

Savage A F. 

Bravo.

Just had the last kid move out, so I am at the other end of your trail.
If I could make a suggestion for all the parents here, you all should set up a kid gear sharing network. Once you actually start with climbing shoes, you'll see that if they get 4 months in a size you're lucky. I have repurposed most of my daughters old shoes and small harnesses to friends, but it actually took some effort.
Not really sure when accurate footwork comes into play, but 2 probably isn't it.

Tc pros, but resoled with c4 rubber

I clicked on this thread thinking it was about bouldering, what a pleasant surprise. 

Old Lady H
Sneakers, really cheap ones at that, did just fine for me, in my first shots at it!

Get something that doesn't flop around on her foot, and make sure the straps, laces, etc are going to stay secure and not hang up on anything. And second getting a group of parents to swap with. We have a great used gear shop here, but not every place is that lucky.

Oh. And running shoes for the parents. I have a feeling you'll need to be sprinting to keep up, with this one! 

Best, Helen

I've seen a few young kids (2-5) wearing water shoes in the gym. Very rubbery, cheap to replace as their feet grow

Water shoes is what we used. Just because we had them around, as most kids do these days.

I wouldn't rush out to buy anything though. She climbed in SOMETHING when she tried climbing, right? Why not just keep wearing the same thing until she outgrows that in couple of months? For all you know she would lose interest by then. Or not.

Kids Natives work well for my kids. This is kind of in-line with the watershoes others have mentioned, but they're general sneakers with lots of sticky rubber.

How much does it cost for a pair?

Mad Rock Monkeys are the smallest climbing shoe made

Are they available for small kids?

Stickit or evolv momentum are fine and have fair price points. Let’s face it, toddlers just learned to walk not long ago they aren’t going to toe in to a foot chip on that pink one in the corner.

My youngest just turned 3 and has been climbing since 18 months or so.  He uses (i'm not kidding) paw patrol slippers and they actually work pretty well: https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/paw-patrol-slippers-for-boys-9-10/6000198159796?cmpid=sem_pla_google_en_none_6000198159796_10017210723211841430_None&cmpid=sem_pla_google_en_none_868545337_45376143753_None&gclid=CjwKCAjwuO3cBRAyEiwAzOxKsqHXejlfKpOk62KUen1hgJCSnJZBSlcR2acFjOq9fxgd3bzg-P8jgxoCf6cQAvD_BwE 

My kids use sandals that have the rubber/sole come up over the toes. Something like a pair of kids keens sandals. Most kids routes have pretty big footholds. Its working so far with my 10 year old up to 5.10 in the gym and 5.8 outside. She doesn't climb that frequently so she would probably only get 1 or 2 uses out of a climbing specific shoe before she outgrew it.