Tuesday, March 8, 2011

What to Look for in Your Fitness Center Child Care

When you're looking for a fitness center to be a member of, there are many things that you want to consider. What kinds of machines does the gym have for you to use? Are they in good working condition? Does the fitness center have a pool or other activities that the entire family would enjoy? And then there's a big part of choosing a gym: the child care that's offered.


If you're a mom (and chances are that if you're reading this blog post, you are), then you certainly want to do your best to find a fitness center that offers child care. But what exactly should you look for? Follow these tips to find the absolute best child care available in a fitness center.


The Staff
The first thing you want to consider is the type of staff that your gym's child care employs. Does the staff include at least one person that has been trained in first aid care and CPR? Is the staff filled with young teenagers whose only experience is some babysitting? Or is the staff filled with people that are highly experienced and qualified to care for your children? Don't be afraid to ask these types of questions when interviewing various child care centers.


Time Limits
One thing that all moms should be sure to ask fitness center child care is if there is a time limit for watching their children. Many gym child care centers have a particular amount of time that they will watch each child while their mothers work out or hit the pool. Be sure to ask this ahead of time so that you are fully aware of how long your workouts will be able to last sans children. Depending on how long you plan on exercising for, this could be a make-it or break-it factor.


Number of Kids Allowed
Wouldn't it be a pain in the you-know-what to bring your children with you to the gym and arrive only to find out that the child center is over capacity? Be sure to ask the gym's child care center if there is a maximum capacity for their center. If the cap-off limit is fairly low, you may want to consider finding a gym child care center that allows more children. Otherwise, you can consider asking the gym's child care employees when they are busiest and when they are slowest, and then you can plan your workouts accordingly.


Finding a child care program can be challenging—particularly if you're looking for one that's in a fitness center. By addressing these three areas, you can help to ensure that you find the gym child care center that's best for you and your needs.

Katrina Robinson is a freelance writer, providing high quality content to Viamedic.com, a US located medication facilitator, selling only FDA approved medications and providing comprehensive research, such as the Skin Resource Center.

(Picture Credit: Fitness21, Almighty Dad)

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