A new trend I've been seeing in the fitness world is parents are taking babies as young as six weeks to special fitness gyms to get them moving early on in life. Fitness centers for children such as My Gym are popping up all over the country where parents are able to enroll their baby or toddler in a fitness class. 
While there could be many reasons for this rising trend, I think its safe to assume this trend is in part due to growing fears about childhood obesity.
While I agree that it is great to get kids moving and socializing, I am not sure an actual fitness class is necessary for babies. It seems to me that classes like these are more for the parents' sanity than the kids' health. Don't get me wrong, if you have a few extra bucks then I don't see anything wrong with giving it a try because it does look like a lot of fun. However, as far as being completely necessary, I am not overly convinced.
What do you guys think about this whole fitness center for babies and toddlers concept? Speak up and share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Urban Decay
Antik Batik
Yves Saint Laurent
I would definalty look into this is I had a child!
1It's great bonding time, and it;'s good for you AND the baby!
I think these are more like social groups for parents. I think exericise classes that foucs on the mom exercising and the baby coming along for the ride are better and more worth the dough. I took a dance class for moms and babies. The babies just hung out and if they cried you just picke up yor kid and danced with them. The end o the class was a mommy and baby dance jam and it was great. Everyone got out of the house and I made new friends too.
2I have two little girls, and they would love it. It is very hard, especially in the winter, to get them out and let them run and play. Buring off energy is key to their attitudes and emotional stability. The only thing we have here for them to do is shell out $7 a piece to a place that is a giant warehouse w/ bouncy houses. I'd love a gym for them!
3i take my 8 month old to baby boot camp every day with me since she was 4 months old, she loves it and i love it.
4The "parents' sanity" is worth a few bucks!!!
5Can't you just put them in sports? I don't get it. I went to swimming lessons (water babies), gymnastics and dance when I was a toddler. Then as I kid I played soccer, swam, did gymnastics, t-ball, cheerleading...everything you can think of. I think it is better to put kids in something that will get them started on a path to a sport (or sports) they can do for their whole childhood. It just seems more productive.
6I agree that it is much more for the parents benefit. It's good to see people taking an active role in their children's health, but what happened to playing? When I was a kid we got so much excersize just running around being kids. It seems very elitist to have to sign your kids up for a gym membership to have healthy kids.
7Babies differ - my oldest hated group activities. He was perfectly happy to be in the space and climbing and stuff, but loathed circle time. I didn't form a mommy group out of other class parents, but I have friends who have.
As for benefits - a lot of us new parents haven't had the benefit of growing up around little kids or learning how they develop. These classes are a way for us to learn the developmental stages and how to play with baby to encourage growth (physical, emotional and mental) - this is not something that comes naturally to all of us.
8The words "mommy group" make my stomach turn. I know lots of moms (and dads) do these play group things, but every time I read about them the groups sound like Mean Girls on 'roids. No thank you.
9Sometime in the 70s-80s there was a 'revolutionary' gymnastics for babies that gained popularity among parents because it helped babies develop flexibility. In their adult lives, however, a lot of these 'gymnastics babies' developed serious problems with their joints...
10The moral of this story is: If it's just for the fun of socializing with other mothers and babies, then it's ok, but baby fitness?
When in the history of time were 6-month-old babies ever given physical work? It's just not natural.
Hmm, I'm not all that social a person and would rather just play one-on-one with my daughter. She has been a wiggle worm almost from day one, so I'm not worried about her fitness at all! The support group aspect could be nice, but I also agree with jkat that a lot of mommy groups seem to consist mainly of women trying to one up each other about their miracle babies' numerous talents, and that doesn't appeal to me at all.
11I have three little boys and I would prefer not to spend money on something like this. It would be easier to take my kids to the park where they make friends easily and run around to their hearts content for free.
12As long as I don't have to work out surrounded by screaming babies or hyper active toddlers, I don't really mind
In France, where I live, baby swimming classes have been quite popular for a couple of decades and I think it's rather cool to teach kids how to swim as
early as possible.
13As long as parents don't try to turn their kid into a mini-Hercules like that one boy, this actually doesn't seem like a bad idea.
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