Tumble Tots - great development or expensive play?

[sb9]

Hi,

Not sure about joining. Have been once and my lo played on it a bit. It is so expensive so not sure if to join, what do others think?

[colditz]

Expensive play! You can do roly polies on the sofa cushions at home, and you can meet friends at toddler griups - you don't have to combine the two unless you're desperatly short on time.

[TotalChaos]

I went the once and wasn't impressed at all. My local council had better sessions and equipment (that you had to pay for, but cost less and you only paid eat time you went).

[llareggub]

The latter.

Our local council runs a similar session only cheaper and without the membership fee.

We tried Tumbletots and DS was not particularly impressed; he got bored of the equipment and wanted to run around.

[thedollshouse]

The first time I went I wasn't particularly impressed but we perserved and I am a fan now. Ds started going when he was 18 months and finished when he turned 5.

I found it was very good for his confidence, when ds was at nursery his teacher said she was concerned about ds's physical skills, said he had no co-ordination, couldn't balance, couldn't hop etc. I mentioned it to the leader at Tumble Tots she said it was complete tosh and she thought that ds was very confident physically. In the sessions she concentrated on the areas that the nursery were concerned about and it really boosted his confidence, he was also particularly proud that he was the first in his class at nursery to be be able to do a forward roll and leap frog.

[Tambajam]

I wasn't very impressed with the equipment at my local one. I have no idea if it's the same everywhere. It was really appropriate for older children (who were doing classes just before) and they were pretending it could be used for babies/ toddlers and it really couldn't. It was a bit silly.
I think if your child is at least 2.5 it could be valuable but otherwise no.

[sazzerbear]

DS (2.4) loves TT's, he's been going since before he could walk. Certainly improves confidence and coordination and bruns off all that energy. It is pricey though - unfortunately we don't have any council run facilites nearby without a trek in the car so it's convenient as well.

[TheProvincialLady]

Our local one is superb and DS1 has really thrived there. But then he enjoys heavily structured activities and it has given him the confidence to be more physical. It is not cheap but we don't really pay for any other activities except the occasional soft play so I don't mind.

[scrappydappydoo]

I did tt with dd1 - it was ok don't think it did much for her and I got really bored.
I'm doing a funfit one at local ymca with dd2 much cheaper and better equipment including trampolines. I also take them along to the leisure centre which has a massive soft play which is more geared to under fives and they run and climb to their hearts content for £2.50

[slowreadingprogress]

totally depends on the child

My ds hated it, was too structured for him and alot of time was spent trying to make him wait in line for the next activity - dreadful waste of time for an under two.....

soft play was better for us, just free play, no structure.

[Hulababy]

My dd enjoyed it when she was little. She did gymbabes from 6 months to 18 months. Was fun. Wasn't too expensive I don't think. Equipment was fine but not too notch I guess.

Moved to gymborre whe she nearly 2. Was more expensive but more organised and newer equipment. And was closer to home. Dd did that til she was 4 and really liked it.

[Heated]

Both my dcs love/d TT, run by a very good leader, but it is pricey once you include the annual 'fee'. But have recently been looking into the cost of karate lessons for ds which has put it all into perspective! I also met some really nice similarly minded women at TT.

[WaitingForVino]

Totally depends on child. My Dd started at 16 mo and it's worth every penny. She loves it. She was active and climbs everything in sight anyway so for us it's the perfect solution. My DS was too afraid to try it but that's his nature. Best way to find out is try it!

[rabbitstew]

I tried gymbabes and tumbletots for my ds1 on the advice of our HV, because he was very late with his gross motor skills. He quite enjoyed it, but I much preferred the gym classes they do for 2 year olds and upwards at the local community sports centre - largely because they were very similar in the sorts of things they did, but much cheaper. They also, of course, continue up to any age group you want, as fun tumbling around and playing on gym equipment morphs into proper gymnastics as they get older.