Babysitting at the gym?

[heavy_duty]

what do you expect from the babysitter at the gym?
I have some who interact with my kids (2.5 & 4) and some who actually just "watch" them and say nothing to them as they play on their own.

some are excited to see my kids when the arrive and you can tell some are like "oh crap I have to watch kids today"

I pay $3.00 per kid to the front desk and often tip $2.00 to the sitter. all sitters are around 16-20 years old I guess.

when its the bitchy ones I keep the gym time to 60 mins total when its is the nice ones I'll stretch it to 75 min.

my kids always say the "girls were nice" and want to go give them theTwonie/toonie.

but my original question is what do you expect from them?

thanks

-Dad-

 

[Sassy69]

I guess maybe the first question to ask of the gym manager is what does the gym expect of the day care staff?

 

[Daisy_Girl]

I think it depends on the ratio of staff to children, the ages of the children, and the facilities.

If I took my 6 month old there, I would expect a lot more individual attention (holding, playing with) than if I had a child who was capable of entertaining his/herself.

If there are a lot of toys, videos, things to climb on, etc - then I would expect less interaction - since the children can play with the things there.

BUT, that said, I would ALWAYS expect the staff to treat my children with respect, watch for their safety, and be otherwise professional - no matter what.

 

[myway]

I don't have kids but as a paramedic, myself and the peeps I work with chat regularly about how more day care staff and nursing home staff need to be BLS certified. It only takes a couple of hours and really makes a HUGE difference.Everyone always assumes nothing bad will happen. Well, it does. I work around a 70 hour work week and am constantly asked to work more.... because shit happens. I'm not saying live in fear.I'm saying more people should be prepared just in case.

 

[heavy_duty]

sometimes when we arrive the babysitter is in her room waiting for kids and my kids are the only ones there so she seems glad some kids finally came. (she's the nice one)

the other one works behing the front counter and when we arrive she'll go into the babysitting room, turn the light on and just sit there. come to think of it, I don't think she's too enthusiastic regardless of what she's going to have to do that night.

thanks for the replies, they do always watch for the safety of my girls and treat them with respect and the girls do like the babysitters even if I find them a littlw low on energy.

I think it depends on the ratio of staff to children, the ages of the children, and the facilities.

If I took my 6 month old there, I would expect a lot more individual attention (holding, playing with) than if I had a child who was capable of entertaining his/herself.

If there are a lot of toys, videos, things to climb on, etc - then I would expect less interaction - since the children can play with the things there.

BUT, that said, I would ALWAYS expect the staff to treat my children with respect, watch for their safety, and be otherwise professional - no matter what.

 

[jenscats5]

sometimes when we arrive the babysitter is in her room waiting for kids and my kids are the only ones there so she seems glad some kids finally came. (she's the nice one)

the other one works behing the front counter and when we arrive she'll go into the babysitting room, turn the light on and just sit there. come to think of it, I don't think she's too enthusiastic regardless of what she's going to have to do that night.

thanks for the replies, they do always watch for the safety of my girls and treat them with respect and the girls do like the babysitters even if I find them a littlw low on energy.

That would be my main concern - maybe pop in now & again to check up.....but as long as they are safe, that's the important thing.....

 

[Gymgurl]

My gym has weel trained staff and their are tv's in each room so you can watch your child the whole time if you want. I don't pay extra for it ...but the monthly rate is $68.00 and I can leave them there (all 3 of them) for up to 2 hours.

 

[Sassy69]

I think it doesn't hurt to talk to the gym management & see what they expect of the people they hire and then communicate to them what you think or would like - then w/ that feedback they can maybe set their expectations of that particular part of their operation to maybe be better, more engaged, etc. And same w/ the babysitters - sometimes if you just say "on my kids just love when you (whoever is there) are here -they love to play w/ you etc etc etc" -- you know - give the babysitters themselves some feedback & let them maybe take a little more interest in their work in response to knowing that you think it is important as well.