Should I quit my gym??

[mefordis]

Please help me make a decision! I currently pay $119 a month to go to a gym that has a daycare. My 2 yr old has cried and screamed both times I try to bring her there. It is so stressful for me when I am on the treadmill because I am just waiting for them to page me to come get her, and they have.

Now when I say we are going to the gym she cries and says she doesn't want to go to the gym. I have only taken her there alone twice. The rest of the time she is with her 7 yr old sister, and she is fine when they are together but my 7 yr old goes to school and the plan was to go to the gym during the DAY and leave y 2 yr old in daycare for 30 mins while I run.

I really need to get in shape and I am stressed. The alternative is wait until 10 pm after everyone is in bed and use our gym downstairs. But I am so tired by then I have yet to do that! I always talk myself out of it.

Do I quit the gym and force myself to get downstairs and use our home gym at 10 pm at night

OR

Suck it up and let the 2 yr old cry at the gym. They will page me but at least I'll get 20-30 mins of cardio in.

Opinions?? Thank you!!!!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Why is she crying? Are the people engaging, nice, etc and she is just crying for mommy?

If that is the case, I would give it some time. She will eventually get used to the place and probably start to look forward to going.

 

[jen0610]

Please help me make a decision! I currently pay $119 a month to go to a gym that has a daycare. My 2 yr old has cried and screamed both times I try to bring her there. It is so stressful for me when I am on the treadmill because I am just waiting for them to page me to come get her, and they have.

Now when I say we are going to the gym she cries and says she doesn't want to go to the gym. I have only taken her there alone twice. The rest of the time she is with her 7 yr old sister, and she is fine when they are together but my 7 yr old goes to school and the plan was to go to the gym during the DAY and leave y 2 yr old in daycare for 30 mins while I run.

I really need to get in shape and I am stressed. The alternative is wait until 10 pm after everyone is in bed and use our gym downstairs. But I am so tired by then I have yet to do that! I always talk myself out of it.

Do I quit the gym and force myself to get downstairs and use our home gym at 10 pm at night

OR

Suck it up and let the 2 yr old cry at the gym. They will page me but at least I'll get 20-30 mins of cardio in.

Opinions?? Thank you!!!!

Sorry, but if I had a gym already at home, no way would I be spending $119 to go to a gym. I would be using it through out the day. When your 7 year old gets home from school, let her keep an eye on the little one while you run downstairs to use the gym. Your in the same house, your a shout away. Or, when your DH gets home, go down and get a quick 20 minute run in while dinner finishes in the oven and DH can watch both kids.

 

[mefordis]

If I take her at 11 when it is slow the babysitters there will hold her and give her one on one time. She has extreme separation anxiety -- she hates being away from me.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If I take her at 11 when it is slow the babysitters there will hold her and give her one on one time. She has extreme separation anxiety -- she hates being away from me.

I would take her everyday then. Create a routine. It is kind of like "kid training".

Here is an article that explains how to set up a "routine". It does take time and you have to have patience.

http://workingmoms.about.com/od/parenting/a/childanxiety.htm

 

[npmommie]

Sorry, but if I had a gym already at home, no way would I be spending $119 to go to a gym. I would be using it through out the day. When your 7 year old gets home from school, let her keep an eye on the little one while you run downstairs to use the gym. Your in the same house, your a shout away. Or, when your DH gets home, go down and get a quick 20 minute run in while dinner finishes in the oven and DH can watch both kids.

 

[scrapquitler]

Do I quit the gym and force myself to get downstairs and use our home gym at 10 pm at night

OR

Suck it up and let the 2 yr old cry at the gym. They will page me but at least I'll get 20-30 mins of cardio in.

Opinions?? Thank you!!!!

Can you do something different, like go to the gym early in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up? Back when I used to go, that's what I did. I got up at 5, went to the gym and was back home in time for everyone else to wake up at 6

 

[Mermaid02]

I had this problem when my son was a baby. I finally quit. I just couldn't deal with it.

Utilize your home gym, get up early while your dh is still home!

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

$119 for the gym?!?!? Holy cow that is alot!! I pay $32 and that includes child care.

 

[ckay87]

$119 for the gym?!?!? Holy cow that is alot!! I pay $32 and that includes child care.

No kidding. Maybe it's the location, but that is a LOT. For that money, they should be watching your child, appeasing her when she cries and teaching her a foreign language.

 

[mefordis]

Thank you for all of the replies! I can't depend on my husband watching the kids at all. He works very late and needs his sleep.

I could work out in our basement gym around 10 when he is home and if the kids get up for whatever reason he would take care of it.

Mygtm is lifetime fitness and it is like a resort with pools, a salon, tons of classes, a cafe. That is why it costs so much.

I am not good at handling my daughte
rs meltdownd. They ar loud and fierce.

 

[kirstenb1]

I'm mean but I'd let her cry. This is assuming you're working out 5 days a week, so she gets used to seeing the same caretakers and kids, and gets into a routine. If she's still crying a month later, then take another look.

But to me, it's like getting used to daycare or preschool , or any other new setting.

 

[Shmily1]

Would it be possible to put something down in your gym area for your DD to do while you are working out? Maybe a tv she could watch movies or kids channels on or a play kitchen and baby dolls that would only be used when you are down there? If it's something she is interested in, she will want to go down there and have her activity time too then you could still work out during the day.

If that is not possible, I would go to the gym during the time when the workers can spend time with her and do it all the time that way so your DD knows what to expect.

Good luck!!

 

[Liberty Belle]

Is there a reason you can't work out in your home gym during the day? Will your two year old not play with toys or jump around, etc while you're working out?

If not, I'd give the gym and childcare situation another couple of weeks and if she's still really upset, I'd try again next year.

Of course, you could ask your pediatrician and see what she says.

 

[mjkacmom]

No kidding. Maybe it's the location, but that is a LOT. For that money, they should be watching your child, appeasing her when she cries and teaching her a foreign language.

I loved my gym when ds12 was a baby. He was a miserable baby, and we went to the gym with his toddler sister every day. Childcare was not included, and no matter what, they didn't come and get me (her name was Maria - she was awesome - told me not to worry). Eventually he got used to it, and I had my time to myself (much needed time). They next gym I belonged to, childcare was included, and you get what you pay for. This was when my 3 youngest were little, and I couldn't get 15 minutes into a workout. It took SO long to get them ready, pack them all up, drive to the gym, get them situated, only to have to turn around and go home.

DH bought me an awesome treadmill, and I'd use their naptime, and not feel guilty about not cleaning or doing something productive during that time. Are there cancellation fees involved in quiting? If so, I'd let them know that either they deal with your ds, or you're not paying those fees! I've found that the more expensive gyms with deal with the kids without coming to get you - let's face it, if you were working, and she was crying, would they call you?

 

[SaraJayne]

I can't get past the $119 a month, while having a gym in the basement!

 

[robinb]

Will the childcare people allow you to stay with her for a while? I would recommend that you transition her to the nursery and then transition her to where you leave to workout. Go to the gym next week (with your workout clothes and everything) except when you get there just go to the nursery. Tell her that it looked like so much fun that you wanted to check it out. Stay with her for 30 minutes and then go home. Don't work out. Do this 3-4 times next week. Encourage the caretakers to play with her too. Encourage her to play with other kids. Make it super fun. The next week stay for 10-20 minutes and then leave for 5 minutes. Increase the amount of time you leave that week. The final week (or so) stay for 5 minutes and then work out. Make sure when you leave she knows that mommy will be back. Good luck!

 

[FireDancer]

Sorry, but if I had a gym already at home, no way would I be spending $119 to go to a gym.

No home gym (outside of the ones some pro athletes have at home) will ever compete with an actual gym. One of the most important things to do while working out is change up the routine and use different equipment and that is hard to do in a home gym, at least much harder than with all the equipment at a proper gym. Add in the classes, indoor tracks, pools, and trainers if you use those and you gym has them and without spending six figures you won't have that in a home gym. $119 seems steep to me but that might be because the OP is in a more expensive area than I am.

I have no advice on the kid issue but wanted to point out why just settling for the home gym isn't a like for like substitute for the actual gym.

 

[mefordis]

Okay, I just called my gym. I have until the 30th of this month to terminate my membership, then it starts March 1. So I'll have the month of Feb if I want to use the gym. Unlikely, though.

I will save about $1400 per year by using my basement treadmill and free weights.

Thank you for your input!!

 

[mumto3girls]

Will the childcare people allow you to stay with her for a while? I would recommend that you transition her to the nursery and then transition her to where you leave to workout. Go to the gym next week (with your workout clothes and everything) except when you get there just go to the nursery. Tell her that it looked like so much fun that you wanted to check it out. Stay with her for 30 minutes and then go home. Don't work out. Do this 3-4 times next week. Encourage the caretakers to play with her too. Encourage her to play with other kids. Make it super fun. The next week stay for 10-20 minutes and then leave for 5 minutes. Increase the amount of time you leave that week. The final week (or so) stay for 5 minutes and then work out. Make sure when you leave she knows that mommy will be back. Good luck!

If you really want to continue at the gym, I bet this would work. It is time consuming though. My girls all had a lot of separation anxiety. I hated to think of someone else having to deal with them when they were upset like that and I felt bad for the child as well. When I had one your daughter's age I used to do my elliptical during naptime. It was tough because, let's face it, there were a million other things that would have been nice to get done during naptime, but I wasn't comfortable having her around the elliptical--worried about her trying to climb onto it while I was using it etc, and my husband travels a lot and works long, erratic hours, so naptime it was. My youngest is now 4 and I usually get on it right after my older two go to school. She is independent enough to watch tv or play with toys while I am downstairs. Sometimes she will come down and play with something down there, but she is old enough now that I don't worry.