Kiddie gyms

[txsqlchick]

Erm...am I the only one who thinks this is totally insane? What ever happened to taking your kids to the park and just letting them run wild? What happened to riding bikes or playing sports? Why does everything have to be so regimented and structured?

 

[maleficent]

"At first I limited play time and forced them to be active,"

Back in my day, ya know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, playtime WAS being active...


and comments like that mom disturb me a bit because it's making exercise -not fun... and if i were a kid, i'd resent having to do it...

 

[txsqlchick]

Back in my day, ya know, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, playtime WAS being active...


and comments like that mom disturb me a bit because it's making exercise -not fun... and if i were a kid, i'd resent having to do it...

Me too. I think some people have lost their damn minds. They don't want to let their kids be kids because "something might happen" or they "might get hurt", but they completely ignore the consequences of obesity later in life...or the consequences of taking young, growing children to a gym to use scaled-down versions of equipment that was originally meant to be used by full-grown adults who are reasonably healthy. Not to mention the consequences to the child's psyche. I know how it feels to be a doughy child who is constantly told by her "loved ones" how she needs to lose weight. Hell, my mother put me on diet sodas at age 9. My grandmother used to offer to pay me money to lose weight when I was 11-12. You grow up thinking you're a worthless fat piece of shit and that nobody will love you unless you get thin. That theory was proven correct when I developed an ED in high school and my family loved me more. Yup, they really did. They didn't say so, but their behavior told the story.

Plus, I thought the goal with a lot of pediatric weight management programs was to stop/slow down gains rather than LOSE weight. That mom who was talking about her 10 year-old losing weight and "firming up" made the bile rise to the back of my throat. What. The. Sweet. Loving. Fuck. Yeah, that won't create issues AT ALL.

 

[Kristi]

This is sooo sad and disturbing. : (

I guess if this is something that they wanted to do as an acivity it wouldn't be completely bad (there are worse things) BUT to limit their playtime and "force" them to workout is a disaster!

 

[Bellaryna]

Totally agree with you on this being the most ridiculous thing ever.
Though I do have to say that I for one don't feel comfortable allowing my kids to run around outside hither and yon.
We have 2 registered pedophiles in my neighborhood. And I am not taking the chances.
Now here is a for instance:
My Dd has been buggin' me for ages to go to the Y and "see" what my classes are all about. She is 8 years old. I have told her time and time again that she is to young/little to do any of those classes.
However so that she could see just how hard her mommy working I let her sit in and watch last night.
The teacher asked her if she wanted to try some of the moves. (It's a Power Core class, so had lots of yoga movement in it.)
She jumped in and tried a few then went and sat down.
If she wanted, and wanted is the key word here, to try to do something like that I think it would be okay. But lets face it at the end of the day she is only 8 and doesn't find that to be all that fun.
The kid size machines in the story freaked me out. And the way the people were talking about their kids being over weight sickened me.
I have always told my daughter that she is beautiful just the way she is. And I try real hard to give her a positive image while I am on this journey to get healthier.
I know I rambled a bit hopefully you'll understand everything I meant.

 

[edco76]

The sad thing is they are probably still feeding them junk.

Its a sad thing really. Its easy to call people crazy but unfortunately times have changed. I played outside from sun up to sun down and day I wasnt in school or it wasnt raining. And even then I would try to get out and play in the rain. BUT all this playing was done all over the neighborhood. At any given time I may be anywhere in town at 10 years old. We would walk to the store, play in the woods, ride our bikes literally all over town.

A lot of that behaviour just isnt possible today. Or not wise anyway. My daughter is nine. She plays outside some. She plays on her heelies in the driveway, rides her bike in front of the house and we have a trampoline in the backyard. She is only allowed to go to specified driveways in either direction though. Anything she can't do in her little are is a no-no. I take her to the park sometimes but at nine she gets pretty bored of that pretty quick. So if she gets any exercise one of the parents have to be around. We go play tennis, she goes to the playground with me, we go hiking/swimming, things like that but the level of activity needed to really stay fit for a 9 year old is hard to obtain.

My son is a little different story. He has 2 boys who live a few houses down that he hangs out with. They have a little wider range to wander because he is
Older
Isnt alone
Is a boy
Is usually heavily armed (he is almost never without a BB gun and at least 3-4 knives)

 

[txsqlchick]

Totally agree with you on this being the most ridiculous thing ever.
Though I do have to say that I for one don't feel comfortable allowing my kids to run around outside hither and yon.
We have 2 registered pedophiles in my neighborhood. And I am not taking the chances.

But you have a yard, don't you? What's wrong with turning them outside? Also, if you're that afraid of them being attacked you could go with them and supervise them. Don't think I'm making light of your concerns here; I was attacked by a pedophile as a child. And no, my parents weren't anywhere around.

Now here is a for instance:
My Dd has been buggin' me for ages to go to the Y and "see" what my classes are all about. She is 8 years old. I have told her time and time again that she is to young/little to do any of those classes.
However so that she could see just how hard her mommy working I let her sit in and watch last night.
The teacher asked her if she wanted to try some of the moves. (It's a Power Core class, so had lots of yoga movement in it.)
She jumped in and tried a few then went and sat down.
If she wanted, and wanted is the key word here, to try to do something like that I think it would be okay. But lets face it at the end of the day she is only 8 and doesn't find that to be all that fun.
The kid size machines in the story freaked me out. And the way the people were talking about their kids being over weight sickened me.
I have always told my daughter that she is beautiful just the way she is. And I try real hard to give her a positive image while I am on this journey to get healthier.
I know I rambled a bit hopefully you'll understand everything I meant.

Yeah, the kiddie machines were kind of sick. Plus, the cost of it is astronomical. It's almost twice what my gym membership costs me. You won't go broke preying on the fears of western parents these days.

 

[allyphoe]

One of my LJ-friends belongs to a Y with kid-sized machines. She said the other day she wanted to go work out, but her 8yo had a friend (whose mother was also a Y member) over. She offered the kids the opportunity to go try out the kid machines while she did her workout, and they jumped at the chance and had a great time. So I don't see kid-sized machines as inherently bad.

Would I buy my kid a health club membership? Nope. But it's mostly for the same reasons I wouldn't buy myself one. If I used a gym regularly, and they had kid-size equipment, I'd be happy having my kid play at working out, rather than sitting in the child care room watching videos.

Also, I had to laugh at the "workout more grueling than ballet or Little League" part. A tween who is serious about either is going to be *working* - whereas a couch potato (like my kid) who goes to the gym can still skate by with the bare minimum exertion.

 

[txsqlchick]

One of my LJ-friends belongs to a Y with kid-sized machines. She said the other day she wanted to go work out, but her 8yo had a friend (whose mother was also a Y member) over. She offered the kids the opportunity to go try out the kid machines while she did her workout, and they jumped at the chance and had a great time. So I don't see kid-sized machines as inherently bad.

My main concern is whether they're harmful to growing bodies. They very well could be. I don't see why parents would pay $60 a month for a kiddie gym when playing outside is free.

 

[Trops]

My take is that it is not harmful to introduce kids to seeing working out as a common everyday thing that people do. When a kid sees adults going to a gym to take care of his body and health, that idea will rub off on the kid and he and she will start to take those ideas into everyday decisions. You don't want the kid to build muscle, or increase performance, but you do want a kid to be active and take an interest in his health. This same level of fitness can be found playing outside and climbing trees and such, but that just doesn't happen as much anymore.

Unfortunately, the same parents that use this kind of exercise for their kids are the same that use the television and video games as learning devices and entertainment. I'm afraid that they have a mentality of plug the kid into the class and all the health issues and learning is taken care of. I did my job, now eat your happy meal and watch the power rangers. Cynical, I know, but there is a lot of truth there.

My plan for my kids is the simplest of exercises. I canceled TV about 4 years ago so they have no choice but to run around like kids.

 

[allyphoe]

I don't see why parents would pay $60 a month for a kiddie gym when playing outside is free.

My next-door neighbor (mom to an 8yo and a 6yo) feels that same way about childcare.

Like I said, I wouldn't pay for a gym for myself when playing outside is free, but presumably there are some people who do it. My kid dislikes playing outside, and I don't blame her. After about 5 minutes, she's covered in mosquito bites. It's hot and humid most of the year, and sopping wet the rest. There's no playground in our neighborhood (closest one is ~15 minutes away by car). The only kids her age are the unsupervised neighbor kids, who think "playing" involves riding bikes over other people's stuff, and the little girl at the far end of the street, who isn't allowed out of her own house (they live on a dangerous-due-to-traffic corner - I don't know why she's not allowed to play in other people's yards, but she's not). And when she does play outside, she's certainly not getting any exercise. She moves more jumping on the bed than she does chalking on the driveway.

As far as the money goes, we pay $48 a month for ballet, and that's 30 minutes once a week. $60 a month for unlimited access is a good price for what's essentially an extracurricular activity.

 

[txsqlchick]

My next-door neighbor (mom to an 8yo and a 6yo) feels that same way about childcare.

Like I said, I wouldn't pay for a gym for myself when playing outside is free, but presumably there are some people who do it. My kid dislikes playing outside, and I don't blame her. After about 5 minutes, she's covered in mosquito bites. It's hot and humid most of the year, and sopping wet the rest. There's no playground in our neighborhood (closest one is ~15 minutes away by car). The only kids her age are the unsupervised neighbor kids, who think "playing" involves riding bikes over other people's stuff, and the little girl at the far end of the street, who isn't allowed out of her own house (they live on a dangerous-due-to-traffic corner - I don't know why she's not allowed to play in other people's yards, but she's not). And when she does play outside, she's certainly not getting any exercise. She moves more jumping on the bed than she does chalking on the driveway.

There's always a reason. I grew up in Dallas, which is plenty hot and humid on its own. We didn't have a pool either, and I grew up in the city where we didn't have Stepford-esque housing developments with their own private pools, so we ran around in the sprinkler to cool off. I didn't have any friends on my street either.

I only got fat after I was old enough to cross my arms and refuse to go outside, and my mom got sick of arguing with me to do it. Mosquito bites? So what? Insect repellant. That's what we did, and if we forgot to put it on...oh well, we got bitten. And it itched. And we scratched. (And we lived.) We fell off our bikes too, and once my brother had to get stitches when he cut his lip open horsing around outside.

I played a lot alone, but my imagination had also not been completely rotted by television and video games. We didn't get a video game console until I was 8, and mom had custody of the TV during the day so she could do housework and watch her stories.

I still think kiddie gyms are a totally idiotic idea, borne of a need to completely regiment and structure childrens' lives and to protect them from pedophiles behind every bush, cars that will not see or stop for their precious child, or other overblown fears. I think it's a step in the wrong direction. Many parents today are rotting their childrens' brains with television, video games and junk food...and they think a little time in a kiddie gym is going to help? It's a crock, an UTTER crock.

I fully expect the "you don't have kids, you don't understand" argument sometime today from someone. Well...I think people who don't have children can see this from a perspective that parents cannot. I could equally say "you don't NOT have kids, so you don't understand".

 

[Trops]

Uhm? Gym memberships for adults are not cheap, but we pay to run on a treadmill instead of the street. We could easily do pushups and sit ups at home, or pull ups at the playground. We pay these fees because we feel it's worth it. I know that I would pay a lot of money to guarantee that my kids grow up healthy and strong. There is no guarantee, so we do what we think is best. No reason to judge others on what can only be seen as a best guess.

 

[Bellaryna]

But you have a yard, don't you? What's wrong with turning them outside? Also, if you're that afraid of them being attacked you could go with them and supervise them. Don't think I'm making light of your concerns here; I was attacked by a pedophile as a child. And no, my parents weren't anywhere around.

Yes we do. But it is just like Edco said about his dd. She gets pretty bored out there. Remember she is nearly 9. And the swings and slide just don't do it for her anymore. Again same as Edco there are no other kids in our neighborhood for her to pal around with. So we are really limited in our choices.
I was the same as Edco as a kid. Except I lived out in the country and really did have the freedom to do just about anything.
I also do go out and take my kids on walks, bike rides, ect. But wouldn't it be nice to not have to supervise them all the time? I mean really I am not worried my kid is going to be the bad guy in all this. It's the wacky weirdo down the street.

Yeah, the kiddie machines were kind of sick. Plus, the cost of it is astronomical. It's almost twice what my gym membership costs me. You won't go broke preying on the fears of western parents these days.

As for your having been attacked by a pedophile as I child I can understand. I was too. And that is why I won't let my kids go anywhere without me. Because if I can help it I never ever want them to ever go thru what I did. And if that means they have to stay inside more or have less places to roam then so be it.
Unfortunately that is the way it has to be due to the world that we live in.

 

[txsqlchick]

Uhm? Gym memberships for adults are not cheap, but we pay to run on a treadmill instead of the street. We could easily do pushups and sit ups at home, or pull ups at the playground. We pay these fees because we feel it's worth it. I know that I would pay a lot of money to guarantee that my kids grow up healthy and strong. There is no guarantee, so we do what we think is best. No reason to judge others on what can only be seen as a best guess.

Mine is pretty cheap. It's $35 a month. I guess cheap is relative. I don't mind paying it for myself, but I'd be irritated to pay it for a child when they can run themselves stupid for free. As an adult, I don't have that sort of free time/energy. Plus, as an adult, I get to make all my own decisions. Children are directed by their parents.

 

[txsqlchick]

As for your having been attacked by a pedophile as I child I can understand. I was too. And that is why I won't let my kids go anywhere without me. Because if I can help it I never ever want them to ever go thru what I did. And if that means they have to stay inside more or have less places to roam then so be it.
Unfortunately that is the way it has to be due to the world that we live in.

Rates of sexual assault on children have not really changed, since most sexual assault is perpetrated by someone the child knows and trusts. Reporting of it has increased as the stigma of being a victim has diminished, but please don't think it didn't go on back in the "good old days". It did. The world we're living in isn't really all that different from the world we had 40-50 years ago...at least as far as that goes. Parents worry themselves stupid over it.

The plain truth is if someone's going to do that to your child it's most likely going to be someone you know and trust, too. That's why the fear of strangers is overblown. Children are most likely to be harmed by those close to them. That was not the case with me, but many sessions of group therapy taught me I was the exception rather than the rule.

 

[Bellaryna]

Rates of sexual assault on children have not really changed, since most sexual assault is perpetrated by someone the child knows and trusts. Reporting of it has increased as the stigma of being a victim has diminished, but please don't think it didn't go on back in the "good old days". It did. The world we're living in isn't really all that different from the world we had 40-50 years ago...at least as far as that goes. Parents worry themselves stupid over it.

The plain truth is if someone's going to do that to your child it's most likely going to be someone you know and trust, too. That's why the fear of strangers is overblown. Children are most likely to be harmed by those close to them. That was not the case with me, but many sessions of group therapy taught me I was the exception rather than the rule.

Okay look we can go on and on about this forever. But lets not.
We each have our different views. And that is okay.
I realize that there pedaphiles "everywhere". However I know for FACT that there are 2 in my VERY neighborhood. They have been registered with the local law enforcement.
As for being molested by someone they know, we have been very proactive in teaching them exactly what they should and should not do. In what an okay touch is and what is not.
So if I don't feel comfortable letting my kids roam all over the block than that is my choice to make. And it is okay. In no way are my kids neglected in that they don't get enough exercise or eat unhealthy meals. They don't sit for hours on end watching TV. We as a family are active. Were we as active as we could have been in the past? No or we wouldn't be in the present shape that we are. My kids are in the normal range for their weight and height. It is the hubby and I that need the "extra exercise".
At the beginning of this thread you asked about kiddy gyms.
I said I didn't agree with them.
But to each his own.
I wouldn't pay to have my kids in one.
I even got a job at the Y so I wouldn't have to pay for my membership.
Like I said it is all in your perspective.

 

[txsqlchick]

Okay look we can go on and on about this forever. But lets not.
We each have our different views. And that is okay.
I realize that there pedaphiles "everywhere". However I know for FACT that there are 2 in my VERY neighborhood. They have been registered with the local law enforcement.

Reporting laws vary from state to state. Not every sex offender is a pedophile.

As for being molested by someone they know, we have been very proactive in teaching them exactly what they should and should not do. In what an okay touch is and what is not.

So did my parents. When you're being held down by somebody much stronger than you are, telling them not to touch your private area is not very effective. Shame is a good silencer, too. I didn't tell my parents for 11 years.

So if I don't feel comfortable letting my kids roam all over the block than that is my choice to make. And it is okay. In no way are my kids neglected in that they don't get enough exercise or eat unhealthy meals. They don't sit for hours on end watching TV. We as a family are active. Were we as active as we could have been in the past? No or we wouldn't be in the present shape that we are. My kids are in the normal range for their weight and height. It is the hubby and I that need the "extra exercise".
At the beginning of this thread you asked about kiddy gyms.
I said I didn't agree with them.
But to each his own.
I wouldn't pay to have my kids in one.
I even got a job at the Y so I wouldn't have to pay for my membership.
Like I said it is all in your perspective.

Your kids may be active and healthy, but there are plenty of obese kids out there stuffing their faces with chips and chicken nuggets playing computer games all day, with their parents shrugging and blaming "that dangerous world out there" for their child's sedentary lifestyle. They may just be bad parents, or they may have a very overblown fear of what's actually out there. Either way it's child abuse in my opinion.

 

[klingonacademy]

Erm...am I the only one who thinks this is totally insane? What ever happened to taking your kids to the park and just letting them run wild? What happened to riding bikes or playing sports? Why does everything have to be so regimented and structured?

yeah! But the thing is, that many kids have never had a normal active childhood. They've been sitting in front of screen since they could sit up and monkey-ing around might be out of their reach...now that they are all of 10 and have diabetes.

 

[Ben2]

Hm. I can see stupid parents taking this too far, making them do weights, and then being wtf when there kids develop a growing problem.