Is this illegal?

Hollylb3

amy052006 said:

Um, did you ask what the ratio was before you registered? Because I sure as hell did.  The answer was basically 3-4 workers at a time, and that they do their best to plan according to trends but hey, sometimes it is crowded.

No, because I've been a member before, and there were never more than 4 or 5 at a time, except in the evenings (which was a large reason I always went during the day). But being as it's summer vacation, that's gone way up.

Geicogecko

oh jinx oops!

LoveBeingMama

Andrewsgal said:

LoveBeingMama said:

I actually don't think she is making a bigger deal out of it than necessary. The gym I go to (which is In the park district building) has to follow DCFS guidelines for child/teacher ratios, even with all of the parents in the building. This includes limiting the number of infants. They prefer you to call ahead because if you just walk in and they are at legal capacity, they will turn you down. It would shock me if OP's gym wasn't held to similar guidelines. It's in the best interest of the gym to limit numbers of children to reduce liability. I don't expect the minimum wage workers to teach and engage with and entertain my kids; They often pop in a video or the kids run around playing with toys. I do however, expect them to not get in over their heads with too many children and not be able adequately supervise them all.

I seriously don't know why people can't read. The OP already said the gym does NOT have to follow state guidelines.


Actually, I can read quite well, thanks. I just think that googling "are gyms exempt" or hearing anecdotes on TB is not the same as actually finding out if her YMCA is held to particular guidelines regarding childcare. Could they be exempt? Sure. Could they follow guidelines, and 25 kids of those particular ages are within the guidelines? Absolutely. Would it still surprise me if they have zero guidelines to follow and can have as many kids they want in a room? Yeah.

Geicogecko

amy052006 said:

Hollylb3 said:

Um, did you ask what the ratio was before you registered? Because I sure as hell did.  The answer was basically 3-4 workers at a time, and that they do their best to plan according to trends but hey, sometimes it is crowded.

No, because I've been a member before, and there were never more than 4 or 5 at a time, except in the evenings (which was a large reason I always went during the day). But being as it's summer vacation, that's gone way up.

So you thought there would always just be 4-5 kids in there?  Really?

I know i'm the weird lurker who is baffled by dumb stuff, but really if you are showing up with a party of 5 kids... you've gotta know there's going to be more than 5 kids

Hollylb3

I knew there'd be more than 5. I assumed there'd be the several that there normally are, plus hers, 2 of which basically play independently. They're 9, 5, 3, and 1.

Andrewsgal

Lol at the complaint of there being to many kids when you personally show up with 5 at one time. Too funny. Go at a different time then your friend there will be 4 less, problem solved.

jensriot

Summer activities are just like that though. My friend is shocked at how busy swim lessons are this session v the last one (during the school year). She just can't believe how many people are there. It is summer, kids are out of school, stuff with kids is going to be busy. It sucks sometimes, but it's only 2-3 months. Can you guys play with your schedule just for a little bit? I bet by the first or second week of August things calm down, maybe sooner. I agree that the gym should supply more caregivers, but if they don't maybe come up with other temporary ideas.

Dochas

I go to the Y and there are never, ever that many kids there with 1 person.  I'm not sure why everyone has decided to gang up on you but so many of these responses are ridiculous.  The Y doesn't provide free childcare, you pay for it either as part of a more expensive membership or by paying for tickets.  I would definitely talk to the director and see if they are planning to add workers or establish a ratio.  There are never less than 3 people working when I go during the week.

Hollylb3

Thanks @Dochas‌. I agree it's expected that it will be properly staffed. That's why I'm paying more than I would at any other gym in town.

Cheekers2010

I only read the first page so I may be repeating but our gym absolutely has to adhere to state ratios. 4:1 for kids under 3 and 10:1 for 3 and older. There are always several workers in the daycare and if they reach the limit, the computer won't allow them to check any more kids in.

penguingrrl

How old were the bulk of the children? If they were school aged then the facility may well have been within ratio.

honkytonk_kid

I don't think you're being ridiculous. If you were talking about LA Fitness or a crossfit gym, I wouldn't think much about a wonky childcare situation, but isn't the Y's whole thing that it's a family place? It's not a free service, you pay for it be be included in your membership, like many other aspects of a Y- classes, pool, programs, etc.

Going without the friend doesn't exactly solve the problem, woo, now it's 21:1 instead of 25:1. So much safer. I don't know how much of a stink I would raise over it, but it can't hurt to mention it to management and ask if there are any plans for more help during the summer.

Hollylb3

penguingrrl said:

How old were the bulk of the children? If they were school aged then the facility may well have been within ratio.

I'd say 3 babies, 6-7 toddlers, a couple around 7-9, and the rest around 3-5. Just estimating. Regardless of if that's within the ratio, it's too much for one person.

Aussie45

Dochas said:

I go to the Y and there are never, ever that many kids there with 1 person.  I'm not sure why everyone has decided to gang up on you but so many of these responses are ridiculous.  The Y doesn't provide free childcare, you pay for it either as part of a more expensive membership or by paying for tickets.  I would definitely talk to the director and see if they are planning to add workers or establish a ratio.  There are never less than 3 people working when I go during the week.

Same. I have to pay $85 for a family membership, and $35 childcare fee on top of that (not the Y, but a local gym that offers daycare as well). You can bet that if they didn't have enough workers I would complain. I would definitely talk to them to figure out if they have a plan to add more workers or to have a ratio. Whether or not they have laws to adhere to like regular day cares, the Y's main claim to fame is that it's a family place. It seems odd that they don't have a well-staffed daycare.

Hollylb3

Yeah, I called yesterday at 12:30, left a voicemail, and still no return call. Shocking. I'll be calling again today.

Aussie45

amy052006 said:

Aussie45 said:

Dochas said:

I go to the Y and there are never, ever that many kids there with 1 person.  I'm not sure why everyone has decided to gang up on you but so many of these responses are ridiculous.  The Y doesn't provide free childcare, you pay for it either as part of a more expensive membership or by paying for tickets.  I would definitely talk to the director and see if they are planning to add workers or establish a ratio.  There are never less than 3 people working when I go during the week.

Same. I have to pay $85 for a family membership, and $35 childcare fee on top of that (not the Y, but a local gym that offers daycare as well). You can bet that if they didn't have enough workers I would complain. I would definitely talk to them to figure out if they have a plan to add more workers or to have a ratio. Whether or not they have laws to adhere to like regular day cares, the Y's main claim to fame is that it's a family place. It seems odd that they don't have a well-staffed daycare.

Well, yeah, me too. But I sure as shit checked that out before I signed a contract.  

I didn't. I didn't even think to ask. DD was/is still young and has never been in daycare. I had no idea that gym daycares didn't follow the regular daycare laws until this thread.

eaglesfan700

Our Y is always well-staffed, with at least 2-3 people just for the infant room and probably 5 or so for toddlers and 2 for bigger kids. They have strict guidelines as to how many kids are allowed in and they enforce it (I have been turned away before)

It has been extra busy lately and now I am bringing in three kids. So I adjusted my schedule to avoid the madness. I have a sitter on Monday mornings because there is a 9:30 class I take which is popular and that time is busy anyway. Tue and Fri I go when the baby wakes fom her morning nap, around 11. Wed I go for 10:45 Body Pump and Thurs I go at 8:15 for another class.

Also, a family membership is a family membership, you aren't paying extra for child watch. It is advertised as a service free to members. Our Y is part of a network of Ys that all operate under the same rules and have reciprocal memberships

mandymack

I don't know about "illegal" (not sure what state you are in and it's requirements) but I definitely would not be comfortable leaving my kids in a crowd that large with only one care-giver.  I've gone to our club for a scheduled class on a number of occassions when the daycare had a "sorry, we're full" sign up and had no choice but to go home. I can understand your frustration.

Aussie45

@amy052006‌ No, we didn't tour it. I saw their gym online and it is one of the two in our area with a pool. We decided to go with this one and when we did a 'tour' (front desk explaining where everything was from where they were), you could see the kids room but not very well. We signed up for daycare at a later date when DD got bored of being in the stroller on the track for an hour. Then we sign up at the front desk again and they said we were good to go for using child care as much as we wanted.

Hollylb3

letranger said:

Also if you are paying more
For gym and childcare you can just pay less at a gym and hire someone to watch your kid.

Yeah, that $20 a month I save would surely pay a babysitter an hour a day for a month.

notkateanymore

Well I guess you're just fucked.

Hollylb3

As I stated before, I've used the gym before. I saw that there was adequate staff before. I didn't realize at summer break there would be overflowing children and no more staff added. I didn't ask for solutions. I asked if it was illegal. I do not "sit around on the computer all day and post". I've made a total of about 5 posts in the past month or two. I'm hardly at Hav status. Lay off.

Hollylb3

I mean originated 5. Of course I come back and reply to what I started. That hardly means I sit around on the computer all day. I'm tired of defending myself. I'm done. Got my answer.

notkateanymore

Talk to the hand, y'all!

bumpuser8448316

KateMW said:

Talk to the hand, y'all!

/dead/

notkateanymore

scatteredtrees said:

QueSyrah said:

KateMW said:

Talk to the hand, y'all!

/dead/

add me to the body count

I want more love people!!  

kcisthebombdotcom

amy052006 said:

Aussie45 said:

Aussie45 said:

Dochas said:

I go to the Y and there are never, ever that many kids there with 1 person.  I'm not sure why everyone has decided to gang up on you but so many of these responses are ridiculous.  The Y doesn't provide free childcare, you pay for it either as part of a more expensive membership or by paying for tickets.  I would definitely talk to the director and see if they are planning to add workers or establish a ratio.  There are never less than 3 people working when I go during the week.

Same. I have to pay $85 for a family membership, and $35 childcare fee on top of that (not the Y, but a local gym that offers daycare as well). You can bet that if they didn't have enough workers I would complain. I would definitely talk to them to figure out if they have a plan to add more workers or to have a ratio. Whether or not they have laws to adhere to like regular day cares, the Y's main claim to fame is that it's a family place. It seems odd that they don't have a well-staffed daycare.

Well, yeah, me too. But I sure as shit checked that out before I signed a contract.  

I didn't. I didn't even think to ask. DD was/is still young and has never been in daycare. I had no idea that gym daycares didn't follow the regular daycare laws until this thread.

You didn't tour the gym area? See how many workers were in there?

Maybe she toured in the slower months and wasn't thinking to ask about the ratios in the busier times, ffs. This pile on is dumb. As a customer who is paying a premium for a service she is well within her right to speak to a director because she is concerned about child safety. Of course as a business they can tell her to fuck off and do what they want. I'm failing to see how she's out of line for inquiring. Obviously there's a lot of people nitpicking here since they don't have hav to pick on anymore.

Dochas

eaglesfan700 said:

Our Y is always well-staffed, with at least 2-3 people just for the infant room and probably 5 or so for toddlers and 2 for bigger kids. They have strict guidelines as to how many kids are allowed in and they enforce it (I have been turned away before)

It has been extra busy lately and now I am bringing in three kids. So I adjusted my schedule to avoid the madness. I have a sitter on Monday mornings because there is a 9:30 class I take which is popular and that time is busy anyway. Tue and Fri I go when the baby wakes fom her morning nap, around 11. Wed I go for 10:45 Body Pump and Thurs I go at 8:15 for another class.

Also, a family membership is a family membership, you aren't paying extra for child watch. It is advertised as a service free to members. Our Y is part of a network of Ys that all operate under the same rules and have reciprocal memberships

The family membership is the only one that comes with childcare included.  The family membership is for 2 adults and all children under age 18.  When it's only 1 adult using the gym and a small child in the childwatch the extra cost of your membership IS paying for childcare.  It isn't free for members.  If you have an individual membership it's $4 per day for the childcare.

It's weird that some of you can't entertain yourselves here without having someone to ridicule.

Hollylb3

Thanks, KC. And in case anyone does care, the director had the manager call me and she told me that she watches everything on the monitor from her office, and that the child care worker has never felt overwhelmed. Makes me feel a lot better. :-w

Andrewsgal

amy052006 said:

Dochas said:

eaglesfan700 said:

Our Y is always well-staffed, with at least 2-3 people just for the infant room and probably 5 or so for toddlers and 2 for bigger kids. They have strict guidelines as to how many kids are allowed in and they enforce it (I have been turned away before)



It has been extra busy lately and now I am bringing in three kids. So I adjusted my schedule to avoid the madness. I have a sitter on Monday mornings because there is a 9:30 class I take which is popular and that time is busy anyway. Tue and Fri I go when the baby wakes fom her morning nap, around 11. Wed I go for 10:45 Body Pump and Thurs I go at 8:15 for another class.


Also, a family membership is a family membership, you aren't paying extra for child watch. It is advertised as a service free to members. Our Y is part of a network of Ys that all operate under the same rules and have reciprocal memberships

The family membership is the only one that comes with childcare included.  The family membership is for 2 adults and all children under age 18.  When it's only 1 adult using the gym and a small child in the childwatch the extra cost of your membership IS paying for childcare.  It isn't free for members.  If you have an individual membership it's $4 per day for the childcare.

It's weird that some of you can't entertain yourselves here without having someone to ridicule.

This is not the case at my Y, and therefore also eagles.  

Holly, you got your answer.  They give zero fucks about your business.  

This is also not the case at my Y either.

Dochas

letranger said:

Yeah single parents exist so that's why you can have an individual membership with childcare included.

At yours, perhaps.  At mine you can do a family membership or you can pay separately for childcare.

notkateanymore

Well then it must be that way everywhere.

Hollylb3

Passive aggressive love titting = one way I'll cop to being like Hav.

Andrewsgal

cjcouple said:

nowababy said:

I really don't get this pile on at all. It's a legit question to ask. Then decide what to go when you have the answer. Either deal or stop going to the gym. /Nowababy was here.

It's not a pile on.  She came on here looking to get the Y because they had a poorly staffed child center. IMO this post came off very self centered. Then it got even worse as people offered suggestions.  

I will be honest and say I may have jumped to a conclusion because Holly, you do often sound selfish. I don't know you irl so maybe I am way off base here and I apologize if that is the case but from different responses I have seen  in the past that is the image I took away  

I think entitled more than selfish. This and the massage post are good examples of that.

Hollylb3

I will fully admit that occasionally I can come off as entitled. I try not to be, though I can see now the massage thing would be taken that way. I don't think it's entitled to ask that a place that advertises child care be properly staffed.

Andrewsgal

Hollylb3 said:

I will fully admit that occasionally I can come off as entitled. I try not to be, though I can see now the massage thing would be taken that way. I don't think it's entitled to ask that a place that advertises child care be properly staffed.

When your personally are dropping off 5 freaking kids, yes it is entitled to complain. You said there were 20 kids you were adding 20% and upset they didn't have more people. That is pretty entitled.

Hollylb3

Andrewsgal said:

Hollylb3 said:

I will fully admit that occasionally I can come off as entitled. I try not to be, though I can see now the massage thing would be taken that way. I don't think it's entitled to ask that a place that advertises child care be properly staffed.

When your personally are dropping off 5 freaking kids, yes it is entitled to complain. You said there were 20 kids you were adding 20% and upset they didn't have more people. That is pretty entitled.

I can't help that my friend has 4 kids. And as I said, 2 of them are old enough to self entertain, and dare I said, help with her younger 2.

Andrewsgal

Hollylb3 said:

Hollylb3 said:

I will fully admit that occasionally I can come off as entitled. I try not to be, though I can see now the massage thing would be taken that way. I don't think it's entitled to ask that a place that advertises child care be properly staffed.

When your personally are dropping off 5 freaking kids, yes it is entitled to complain. You said there were 20 kids you were adding 20% and upset they didn't have more people. That is pretty entitled.

I can't help that my friend has 4 kids. And as I said, 2 of them are old enough to self entertain, and dare I said, help with her younger 2.

It doesn't matter it still adds into the count of kids and that is what you are complaining about and yes you can help it, you can work out at different times or not complain when you are adding to the problem big time.

Hollylb3

AG, I just can't bring myself to care what you think, no matter how hard I try.

Andrewsgal

Hollylb3 said:

AG, I just can't bring myself to care what you think, no matter how hard I try.

It's because I drink and have people's blood on my hands isn't it? But for real if you didn't care you wouldn't argue with me , and I am far from the only one saying you are wrong and act entitled.