Specific, kids only gym....would you join one?

[squilly]

A good friend of mine is looking at setting up a gym specifically aimed at children, working with specific child oriented gym equipment and specially designed, fun activities.

My question is this...would you be willing to pay for your child to have a child-specific gym membership if you knew they were:-

a) going to be in a pleasant environment?
b) were going to be well supervised?
c) were going to have specific fitness goals set for them, allowing them a sense of achievement and a structured programme of events?
d) that a cafe, with organic food and healthy drinks, would be available?

I guess I'm trying to establish if there's a market out there for this before she sinks all her money into it!

Message withdrawn

i'd join it.

the weather's absolute shite here much of the time - even too shite to enjoy playing outside (freezing gales, snow blowing sideways, etc.)

A local leisure centre does youth gym sessions for 8-15yo. My friend drops her children off there sometimes for an hour on Sautrdya afternoon but it's more PAYG because it's local authority.

www.broxtowe.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2079

Also might be owrht her looking to see how this place is doing:

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2004/oct/12/shopping.lifeandhealth

But I tend to agree with cod. They should be outside. Or doing something else. I wouldn't sign DD up for regular sessions - she already does 7.5 hours of sport a week, plus running round at break, lunchtime.

Interesting expat. That article features a gym on W coast of Scotland.

Yes I certainly would, even better if there was a pool!

From what age is it?

i think it'd be perfect in W. Scotland.

there's generally FA for kids to do here and the weather's been too shite for much of anything outdoors.

This is gymnastics based rather than fitness as such but it is quite popular is this area (SW London) despite being hideously expensive The Little Gym

Around here it would be seen as a posh person's expensive luxury thing (I think).

I doubt membership would be massively popular, but on a PAYG basis it might do well.

It will of course be quiet during the school day, so if she goes ahead, tell her to convert it to a baby gym for several daytime sessions each week. There's a place in Luton (the Salto Centre if she wants to look it up) that does this, and the baby (toddler) gym is fabulous, because there is so much space, and the children get to use equipment that they wouldn't elsewhere (eg full size trampoline which they put an inflatable enclosure round).

Thanks for all the comments and the input.

I have a few doubts about the venture and as my friend's about to become a one parent family, I wanted to get some genuine views from mums to support (or otherwise) her theories before she rushes ahead with the large financial investment.

I recently read Duncan Bannatyne's autobiography and he said that ladies gyms generally failed because you were appealing to only part of the gym going community, cutting down your odds of participation by limiting the type of person you target.

It also splits families up even more, ie if a family work all day, which they undoubtedly will if they have gym membership, they may wish to spend time together in the evenings, which points toward the whole family approach to gyms.

I like the idea of a baby gym during the day. I'm not sure whether she'll have thought of that one. I also think she was planning on doing the indoor play area type activities, offering parties for weekends and after school, that kind of thing.

I don't have much in the way of detail at the moment, so I'm not sure of ages involved. It was back of a magazine type planning she'd talked about recently, on the way back from a trip to London. We both got fired up about it, but after a bit of research, I was starting to have doubts. She emailed yesterday, though and said she was still keen and had even seen the ideal property!!!!

mmmm.....lots to think about. And thanks again for the input....

No, I prefer bouncing around in the garden or in the park. Fresh air come rain or shine for us!

I wouldn't be that interested. Dss already have swimming and tennis lessons at the main gym that dh and I go to and the advantage is that we can have a workout while they are at their class.

I'm not sure about Bannatyne's take on things - Curves and Gymophobics seem to be taking off around here. They offer a very different experience to most gyms/health clubs though.

I can see sense in being able to offer different sessions though. I used to spend time at a health club where:

opening - 8am - Mad fitness before work types

9am-11am - school mums

11am - 2pm - very quiet (I used to go at this time)

2-5 - quite quiet

5pm onwards - post work fitness nuts.

Gyms are supposed to be a bit passe now - we're all supposed to be into yoga, pilates, etc.

But it's knowing your local crowd - west coast of Scotland, indoor activity, yes please all year round cos the weather's crap.

City Slickers - something I can fit in immeidately before work, after work or in 45 mins at lunchtime. So in between you could run tots sessions.

Suburbs - school mums, locals before and after work. Tots sessions in afternoon?

Most importantly perhaps: children are at school for 33-38 weeks of the year from 9am -4pm (ish)

We're members of The Little Gym, it is very expensive but really excellent.

there was a place in watford but it didn't surive despite starting well-link has a few comments i think.- 51k - Cached - Similar pages

Thanks again for all the comments. I'm meeting my friend Wednesday and will print off all the comments/links for her to have a look at.

We're based in a leafy part of Sheffield, but we've got no seaside nearby...weather's not fab year round...but we have the usual city centre type facilites nearby. Half of me thinks a kiddy gym is the right move...half of me just isn't sure.....but it's not my call at the end of the day. I'm just pulling together some research/stats so my friend knows I'm rooting for her.