I'm thinking of joining the local Y. They have TONS of programs for children, and quite frankly I could use the exercise.
I'm a SAHM with an 11 month old. She's never done day care, but she has been watched on many occaisions by family members.
The Y has free child care -- two hours max per visit. I checked it out and I thought it looked okay... There is a minimum of three adults in the room and sometimes up to six. There were half a dozen kids there when I was visiting (one infant and five 4-7 year olds -- no toddlers). They were a little rowdy but not aggressive or anything. The kids were playing on their own, the babe was in the arms of one of the caretakers. They said during busy times there can be up to 30 kids in there. They will give snacks but won't change diapers (they'd page me in that case).
Does this sound reasonable? I'm afraid I don't know much about group child care.
I probably wouldn't go during peak times (luxury of being home during the day) and would start out leaving her for only 15-20 min at a time.
I'm curious about your experiences and would love your advice.
chinaKat

My son HATED going to childcare at the gym until he was almost 4 - then he LOVED going. Now I have a two year old and she has high separation anxiety. I would feel fine about leaving my kids, IF they would go willingly. I just can't stand to leave a screaming toddler or an unhappy kid. THAT I can't do.
I have used the childcare at the Y for my son when I taught yoga at a local YMCA. They are the best in terms of childcare - the staff is well trained, the activity center for the kids is big and clean and the kids actually run around. I prefer that to the crappy little childcare with a tv at my gym. But an hour of PBS while I work out would be okay with me (if my toddler would be willing to go!)

It sounds like a normal gym child care place to me, from my experience anyways.
My two girls, who are 3 and 7 LOVE going to the gyms child care. I am on site and they have a one way mirror so I can look in at anytime and they are always happy as can be.
I agree with the above poster though, if your child just hates it and screams and cries you wont get a workout in and it will just be miserable for him. All kids are different though...if he has never been left in a situation like that before maybe you could try (if they offer it) a week for free to see how he does?
My oldest I couldn't leave her anywhere until she was almost 4, she would just FREAK OUT, my youngest I could leave on the moon and be gone all day shopping and she would be happy as a lark, she just never had any seperation anxiety thankfully.

We use our gym's childcare when we go, which is maybe 1-2 times per week these days. DD loves it. She's 22 mos., and I guess she was about 14-15 mos. when we joined. She likes to see the "ladies" at the gym and the "tids" (kids). She has a favorite (ratty-looking) baby doll that she gets when she gets there and usually keeps with her most of the time.
Ours has three rooms, a nursery for the little ones, then a room for like 3-7, and then a youth room (I'm a little fuzzy on the age boundaries). Anyway, I like that there aren't bigger kids in with the ones DD's age.
ITA though, I would never leave her if she was screaming. There are plenty of moms who we see doing that to their kids and it just breaks my heart. I guess I am lucky that DD loves going to the gym as much as she does.

My ds is 3 1/2 months and we use the childcare center at the Y. Sometimes there are a lot of kids in there, but they always hold babies, so I feel good about that. The toddlers usually seem really upset about their moms leaving. I am hoping that if we go there regularly he will just be fine with it? I think consistency is key.

We had a great gig going at the YWCA (until we moved). I started when DD was around 12 mos. The room was huge - plenty of space to run and soft climbing apparati for building huge forts, etc. She liked the caregivers, who had regular schedules, so she developed a favorite. And she got to know the kids who went regularly, as most moms do (go at similar times on the same days of the week, so we knew that Owen would be there wed, for example, and this made it easier for DD; to see other kids having fun/doing ok with it). There were days I went for her sake, because i knew she would enjoy playing on all the climbing gear and seeing her friends. We went max 4x/week, but usually no more than 3 until March, when she was 2.5. She loved it. I have not seen a childcare place at a gym like it since, and wish they were like that everywhere.

We use the child care at the gym. I ususally go during the day 3 days a week and at night 2 days a week. I leave the kids at home when I go at night. The only problem I've had was teaching them how to change cloth ciapers. But now they know how to do it and don't mind at all. Jacob really likes it there. Noel enjoys it but isn't as excited about it as Jacob. So overall it's been a good experience.
I used to be a member at Curves and it was just impossible to get there most days. They close at 7 and have no childcare so it was hard to get there in time. I finally gave up on that and joined my gym. They're open until 10 or so.
I enjoy having the childcare but during the winter if there's a flu outbreak or something I'll just go at night without the kids. Also when we have another baby I won't take the baby until it's a few months old. Just too many germs and I'll be nursing so I'd get called out all the time to nurse..

i couldn't have joined the Y without their free child care. my dd has been going since she was 8 months old. it was hard on her at first, and on different days since. i asked them to not let her cry more than a few minutes, to come get me--otherwise i would not have been able to relax. she enjoys it there overall, tho i try to maake a point of going off-peak--she's not into crowds.
also, the more often you go, the better the staff will get to know your child's particular needs and temperament. i found that a regular schedule was best for both of us--the reliability of routine, and knowing e.g. that each monday at 10:30 there is the same caregiver.
good luck. i'm betting you will feel a terrific energy boost once you get into the rhythm.

My kids are 3 and 4 and we use the child care at our neighborhood gym. I think I started taking them when they were 6 months old. They love it...and I get some alone "just me" time and exercise!! It's great!! :thumb

Hi im new in these forum. I dont have my own kids but I have a 2 yr old brother that is leaving with me.There are good and bad side of a child care program. Unfortunately, I saw the bad side of it. One time I left my brother to child care prog. and when I came back he was so dirty and he had too many scratches and insect bites. :angry And that was the last time.
I suggest if you really have to left your child in such programs make sure that the kids are well taken care and enough facilities for child care program. :notes:

I joined the Y when dd (now almost 3) was about 11 months. It took a few days for her to get used to it, but they were so understanding and helpful with the transition. Once she got used to the idea, she loooved it.
She did get sick a lot more than she had before we joined. Not sure if that was her age (teething/mouthing things and being out in the world more in general) or just normal kid germ swapping. It felt like we spent the whole winter of her second year sick. All of us. Mostly stomach viruses. Blah.
Now she's hardly ever sick and we've been going to a 24 hour Fitness for about 4 months. I had to pry her out from under a table yesterday because she didn't want to leave.
The Y had the childcare as part of the membership. That was nice. Now I pay $40 for 20 "visits." Each visit is 2 hours max. I'm usually there about that long. They check IDs before you can pick them up. I like that.

I joined the gym 2 weeks ago & started leaving Emma in there - Its one lady & anywhere from 1 - @12 kids. I don't like the ratio. Plus the first day I left her in there I peaked in the window & could tell she was putting something in & out of her mouth so I went in to look & one of the other kids had dropped a dime sized (but thicker) fruit snack & she had gotten it - she barely eats cheerios whole. :irked: the next time last week (a total of 3 times) I peaked in a couple times & she just seemed to be pathetically wandering then about 15 minutes later I peeked through & she was sobbing so I went in & she had been like that for about 10 minutes :( then the last try on friday she sat in the same 2 foot radius (so not typical) the entire time.
So needless to say I got my butt out of bed at 4:45 this am & went in from 5-6 before dh left for work & am going to try to do that from now on - maybe when she's bigger & more self sufficient - I'm jealous of everyone's whose daycares seem so wonderful!

We belong to the Y and DD has been in the drop off child care there since she was 4 months old. She has had her times (certain workers aren't child friendly, which sucks) when she hasn't liked it, but she's on a routine now and we go about 4-5 times a week there, and she has her little friends and i know when the "good" people are working and when it's less busy and schedule that accordingly.
There are still times where if she's super tired or it's been a long day or i don't want to deal with crappy staff that I call my sitter and just have her come over while we run out to the gym. Overall though I am really happy with the drop off childcare at our Y.

i have three kids i leave in childcare at the gym almost every day of the week. the advantage for me is that i am leaving them as a group--i think this makes the separation easier. other things i have found helpful are:
a) only go in off peak hours. too much noise scares them.
b) it's not ap, but i roll them in to the gym area with their stroller and leave them in it. when the twins (2 1/2) are ready to play they get out. using the stroller has also been very helpful in getting them safely from the parking lot to the building. in other places we sling or hold hands, but in this case i find the stroller to be a big help. when i was slinging them from parking lot to child care they didn't want to go.
c) i sometimes go in and play with them AFTER i work out. it helps to get to know the workers and helps the girls have a better feeling for the place.
d) i let them know my limit for one of them crying is one minute. after that they come get me. the policy is ten minutes, but ime they are not eager to let any kid cry that long and are happy to come get you much much sooner if you let them know you are okay with that. again, i want them to have a good feeling for the place.