Kids gyms offer specialized equipment and activities to promote physical activity and reduce childhood obesity. They offer classes, workshops, and specialty classes such as martial arts, yoga, and rock climbing. They also organize birthday parties and after-school programs, and offer parents’ nights.
A kids gym is a business designed to help young people exercise and stay in shape. Children’s gyms often offer special gymnastics equipment and activities geared toward children. This equipment can include floors covered with foam mats, a trampoline, or active video games as ways to promote activities to help kids stay fit and reduce the risk of childhood obesity.
While a kids’ gym may have exercise equipment freely available for children, in most cases the activities are organized around classes and workshops. The support of the staff and parents or guardians of the children who attend the children’s gym is important to keep them motivated. Most fitness centers have adopted parent involvement classes to keep parents involved in physical education and their child’s physical education.
Other specialty classes offered at select kids’ gyms may include karate or other martial arts classes, yoga, rock climbing, and strength training for kids. Activities such as gymnastics, dance, and cheerleading may also be offered. A children’s gym may offer classes on nutrition, motivation, and performance systems.
Many centers organize children’s birthday parties. This offers a good opportunity for supervised fun activities for children, often with access to equipment such as a climbing wall, in a location where parents can be more confident that their children will be safe. A party at a kids’ gym can also put more focus on the fun and games of the event, rather than the cake and other sweets.
For parents, a kids’ gym often hosts a weekly parents’ night or fun night. For an average of four hours, parents can have a Friday night or the night the gym chooses to watch a movie, take a bubble bath, go out to dinner or enjoy the peace and quiet that the house offers when the children leave for the night. These nights are not training hours for the children; rather, there is a lot of games, supervision, and laughter.
Children’s fitness centers may also offer after-school programs for parents who can’t make it home when school is out. With no one to watch the kids, a kids’ gym might be the perfect solution. Most centers are staffed with background-checked staff, so parents can feel comfortable knowing their children are participating in fun activities and perhaps making new friends.
With all the attention childhood obesity has received, it’s no wonder kids’ gyms are popping up everywhere. According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), childhood obesity increased from 6.5% to 19.6% among children ages six to 11 in the US between 2007 and 2008. Experts recommend that children ages two and older participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate, enjoyable physical activity every day. These activities and exercise periods can often be provided by a children’s gym.
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