To think "classes" for babies and very young children a re a money-making scam?

[Gateau]

I've never heard anything so ludicrous in all my life - "classes" for babies and very young children. I'm talking about the likes of music and singing classes, 'gym' classes, overpriced swimming classes etc etc.. The list is endless.
Recently someone told me their baby learnt to "wave" at a music class and another told me their little one learnt to climb stairs at gymn classes. Ummm, can we not teach them these ourselves??! I did.
I just find them so patronising and more than that, I don't think it's fair to put them in classes at such a young age. There's enough time for classes when school comes round.
I know some Mums, partic SAHMs want their LOs to socialise with other LOs and classes are a social outlet for them, but what's wrong with natural growth - ie nursery,a playgroup or mother and toddler group, soft play, the park, the garden, playing inside with them yourself, inviting other LOs round to play......??
IMO these classes are nothing but a money-making scam; I can't believe so many parents have fallen for it.

I'm not getting het up. I'm expressing an opinion, which is different to yours. So be it.

Well I saw for myself the benefits of Tumble Tots when ds was still in the toddler class and dd was at home from school. Ds was 3 and she was 6. The leader allowed dd to do the activites with ds and oh, my goodness. She was hopeless. Her balance was appalling, she couldn't do anything.

Ds on the other hand was so agile.

Dd then did a couple of terms at Gymbobs and they did Bring a Friend Day. All the 5/6 year olds friends had no idea of hw to do anything. None of them could do a froward roll or negotiate their way around the equipment.

Now so what, you might say. Indeed, but my two enjoyed it and I thought it was a great start for them and very confidence building. Dd stopped in favour of her beloved ballet, ds still goes.

Of course you're free to have your pov OP but you are being very patronising and condescending to people who choose to go to these classes. 'If you want to waste your money by waving a scarf over your child's face, that's up to you.' for example

And I don't see why it bothers you so much for people to make their living in this way - there is clearly a demand or the classes wouldn't run would they?

Agree thatbiggermanprison.
My DS is 16 months has never been to a swimming class and is REALLY confident. Much more confident - as I posted before _ than his little friend who had been going to SwimTots since he was 6 months.
Many of these classes sell parents the idea -and they buy into it.

A lot of these classes put children into groups of the same age, which you don't get at toddler group. I pay £5 for tumble tots and he really has come on lots. he didn't walk until he was 21 months so is behind in a lot of physical things and this has helped him. He used to go to a messy class which was £2.75 - saved me cleaning up the mess!! Howeveri t has just lost it's funding from the children's centre and has gone up to £5. I think that is too much so we've stopped going now. He also goes to a swimming class which is £10 for 30 mins. However it costs us £7 to go to the pool anyway and I think it is worth it. I wouldn't have had the confidence to do it with him without the lessons.

I run 2 toddler activities.
make NO money
they are charities and barely self fund.

the little ones that come to one are from 18 months to 3 years they do messy play, most come from homes where the parents don't want the mess at home, it works well, they get to play with stuff that isn't available at home. for that the parent pays £1.50 a session they get a snack and drink for parent and child.

The other is a toddler group that has a craft table and a 10 minute music session as well as snack and drink time for that we charge £1 per family.

they learn lots about socialising with other children and parents get to have adult conversation.

if you don't want to go then don't but please don't suggest parents are being ripped off.. the majority of these activities don't make money at all.

doh of course classes sell an idea or skill to parents since baby wont initiate the class

still at a loss to see why you are so het up gateau

dont likey, dont go

simple

And ThatBigGermanPrison you are spot on that most children who are stimulated in many different ways - be they structured like classes or impromptu like you describe - will all eventually develop the same skills.

I am not claiming that my ds's have developed any better for going to the classes we went to. There are many many ways to stimulate your children and many many ways to fill your day with them. It really is impossible to know if they have made any differene to their development but I DO know they had fun and so did I so therefore I don't actually care about this!

How many times? I'm not talking about activities like this bythepower. What you do sounds great. I've said countless times I'm referring to the classes that cost between £5 and £10 a time!!!! THese ARE a rip-off.

I do take ds to something every day - cos we both like to get out of the house every day and do something other than shopping and going to the park!!

monday - used to be swimming but they have switched to wed now so we can't go
tuesday - toddler group
wed - tumble tots and toddler group
thurs - toddler group and used to be messy class
friday - music class but might be doing socatots instead
saturday - swimming

greyskull, you charge £1.50 a session, clearly you are ripping nobody off - but check out the price of Jo Jingles etc

but what I am saying is that if we wanted to run it to make any money at all we would have to be charging £5-10 a session..
so I guess what you are saying these classes are good as long as no one earns a living from it?

Who says I'm going?
I have more useful outlets for my well earned money, thank you.

rip off in your opinion, maybe not others.if i chose poncy pricey that is my prerogative

and yes i did have a schedule of classes and do to

i am an organised person and it kept me sane to have structure

"Your well earned money"

So you are allowed to earn a living then.

Perhaps you should consider not ripping people off in whatever it is you do and offer to do it for free instead.

That doesn't buy food for your children? Oh, well, what a shame.

Ok, so you have 10 parents with one child each for 45minute session - at £5 each, you are making a massive £50. Out of that you pay hall hire, buy tapes, instruments etc, provide juice and biscuits. Strikes me as less of a ruthless money-making scam than a social service!

I think that some classes are overpriced and oversold as somehow improving your child's future SATS or something when they do no such thing. And I also think it's quite likely that some people go to the pricey ones because they think that way they will only meet 'caring' (ie middle class) parents and make nice friends for their PFBs ie no nits, no fag breaks for the helpers and only organic biccies for the DC.

Is that where you're living - the island of sodor??
SOunds like it - what an inane comment.

We did Sign and Sign (£5 each) which was good because I learned the signs much quicker than I would have done from a book, and DS benefitted from that. DS enjoyed being there as he liked the songs. Yes I could have done it all but home but I could afford it so where's the harm? I met a good bunch of women.

We now do tumble tots and it is expensive again but Ds loves going and call my house under stimulating but we don't have that much soft play equipment at home, ladders etc so he does get to do something different. It costs me the same to go to TT as it would to catch 2 buses across town to go and sit in the local sick pit soft play area and I think TT is better value for money for me.

Some of the classes seem daft to me but unless people are pawning their babies nappies to go I don't really see the need to judge.

Well said solidgold.

and Gymboree, OUCH OUCH OUCH!

I like toddler groups, and some of the ones I go to are a couple of quid - which I'm prepared to cough up for an uninterrupted cup of tea in a nice warm hall, and a knackered toddler at the end of it.

I am NOT prepared to pay up to £8 to run around at somewhere like Gymboree.

Saying that swimming lessons round here are cheap, it's high time I signed my 5 year old up!

Gateau I don't think you are in a great position to judge how other people earn a living, ie running baby classes, when you spend so much of your working life claiming boredom and deliberatly trying to wind people up because you have nothing to do.

BigGermanPrison, it may be that the most classes had nothing to do with how DS is now. But, as far as the swimming one goes I do disagree. I've seen other toddlers his age (3years) petrified of putting their head underwater, or generally scared to go into a pool other than to dip their toe in. If DS is just a water lover anyway, or whether he truly benefitted from the class , I guess we'll never know. I am happy to think however that his classes helped him on his way.

My ds has dyspraxia. He went to special OT run 'classes' (really just a type of Tumbletots only with other equally useless kids!) - obviously the physios and OTs etc thought that this kind of structured class helped confidence and motor development in young children. But maybe they know nothing?
Obviously most regular kids will do well pretty much whatever you do with them, but to sneer at parents who take their kids to groups to have fun seems rather churlish.

Yep, but the good thing is, I'm getting paid for it, ProvinciaLady..Preferable to paying out for a lot of nonsense.