in July 2022 Babies 🇬🇧

Child friendly gym

Hi, please if anyone can offer advice. Me and my partner are thinking to go into the buisness of creating a child friendly gym. We aren't posting our idea locally at the moment to avoid someone else using our idea etc. But we as parents have seen how difficult it can be to access a gym with children especially young children. There would be bouncers, play pens and seating to secure young children. As well as a supervised children's corner with activities and things to occupy slightly older children. It would be quite a start up especially financially, so trying to gauge whether it's even a good idea. Especially with the cost of childcare. And it would also encourage healthy habits for children to see their parents working out and be included. There would be family friendly classes for children to join alongside their parents too.

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Great idea I'd do this if it was local to me

@Claire thank you for the reply. I think we've definitely discovered a gap in the market. Because majority of gyms are no under 14 allowed so it excludes a lot of parents from going to the gym. If you don't mind me asking, what do you think would be a comfortable membership fee? We were thinking £40-50 a month to start with, maybe decreasing once we know we have the numbers. That would include using the equipment all month during opening hours, the activities cost for the children and also the cost of the people caring for them while you work out. The activities would be a wide range from tuff trays, books, toys, colouring, arts and craft. And also educating the children about nutrition and healthy eating. We would try to make it a nursery style environment while the parents work out

Sounds reasonable, there are some gyms that do mum and baby exercise classes with baby in carrier they can charge £6 an hour or up to £12 an hour from my experience so if you're offering all that for only around £40 a month it will probably be very popular

the tuff trays and toys would be great for parents with older kids like I have a nearly three year old so if he can go off and play while i use the gym it would be great or the extra pair of hands to distract my baby too as he wants to be held all day every day 😅

Yes please! And make it a chain 😅 David Lloyd is the only gym i know of that has a creche (at least here in Edinburgh). They charge well over £150-200 which makes it inaccessible to so many parents who could really do with the self care.

@Tali we have a little one ourselves so really don't to be greedy with the memberships. We would love for it to build a community type atmosphere

I actually googled looking for this when my LO was younger but there is nothing local to me in Kent. Like the comment above, there is David Lloyd but it was too far from where I live (and expensive) xx

@Emily I did the same when I had my little girl, all the gyms I came across were age 14 minimum. Which excludes a whole group of people that want to work out but can't because of childcare. It's so hard to come across which is why we are thinking that it would be in demand. Just need to find a way to raise the finances

And we can’t be the only ones either! Good luck- if there had been one locally to me I 100% would have joined xx

I’m in the wellness industry and have owned and managed studios etc. Give me a message if you have any Qs - happy to offer any advice! Initial business model - I’ve had teachers hire studio space from me to run classes for mums with babies in tow (with one teacher looking after babes and the other actually teaching). That might be a good way of starting up and gauging interest / building your community - hiring a studio / church hall etc and buying equipment

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