My 24-Hour Gym Membership

When we were at Centre Parcs my husband persuaded me to put Bob in the crèche for two hours so that we could go to the spa. This was a very big step for me as, before then, I had only left her with my husband or my Mum.

Although I panicked, Bob had a whale of a time! When we went to collect her I watched through the window and she was having lots of fun. The staff said she had been happy and I don’t think she was over bothered about coming away with us. The next day we were doing an activity in the room next to the crèche. Bob stood at the windows, gazing longingly. I think she wished that she could go again!

As she had enjoyed going to crèche, I decided to find a gym with a crèche that we could join. I thought this would be good for both of us as it would help Bob to socialise with other children and it would allow me to have some time to myself and help me to lose my baby belly.

Finding a gym with a crèche wasn’t easy. We live quite close to three towns and, although there were many gyms, none of them had a crèche. (Apart from one, which had a terrible, Ofsted report.) Eventually I found one that was about forty minutes drive away. This may seem like a lot but it was in a place that I regularly visit and, as we live in the middle of nowhere, most places are about half an hour away.

We went to look around the gym to see if it was what we were looking for. It was great. The crèche was good, it had family swim times, there were plenty of fun classes and there was hardly anybody wearing Lycra! We spent sometime together in the crèche and then it was suggested that I leave Bob for ten minutes whilst I filled out the paper work. I thought that this was a good idea, as it would give me a chance to see if she settled and I would be just outside the door.

I told Bob that I would be back soon and went to sort out the membership. Ten minutes later I returned, took one look at Bob and my heart sank! She had obviously been sobbing and, although she had stopped, she seemed traumatised! I held her and she struggled to catch her breath. She must have been heartbroken to get in this state. This was very out of character for her.

I decided to give it another try the following day. I told the ladies in the crèche that I had worked in a nursery and I was well aware that children could ‘work’ people. I said that if she was crying and could be settled that was o.k. but if she heartbroken to come and get me.

I went to my induction and we had just started filling in my details on the computer when there was a knock at the door. It was Bob. She was in the same state that she had been in the day before. The lady said that she had been fine for a few minutes but then she had become inconsolable.

This experience was supposed to be good for both of us. It was obviously not enjoyable for Bob! I decided to cancel my membership and to maybe try again in another year. It would be different if I was returning to work and Bob had to go to nursery. Then I would have persevered but I didn’t feel right putting her somewhere that she hated for the sake of losing a few pounds.

Maybe it was just that she didn’t like this particular crèche. Hopefully she will not be like this when school starts. Have you ever experienced anything like this with your child? I’d love to hear your stories and your solutions.

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