Toddler Kindy Gymbaroo Reviews 2

Loved Gymbaroo.
This was fun, interactive, and entertaining. Babies are encouraged to explore on the equipment. We attended a Wombat class, as my little one is crawling but not walking. Met some other mums that i have kept in contact with. We got to have a play at the satrt, then the class started and we sang songs and played with scarves and afew instruments. And at the end of the class, we were allowed and encouraged to play on the equipment again.
I cannot recommend Gymbaroo more. It was so much fun for both parent and baby! We attended the Bentleigh class.

It's apparently common knowledge that Gymbaroo is overpriced and underwhelming, but as a new parent, we generally learn things the hard way.

I hope that after reading my review, you don't make the same mistake I did, save yourself a few hundred bucks and not experience the horror of seeing gym equipment almost dumped on your baby!

NEGLIGENT STAFF AND A LACK OF SAFETY AWARENESS

My baby was 6mth old at the time. We had an incident at the end of a Wombat class, while I was packing and getting ready to leave, my 6mo baby was playing on a gym mat under some monkey bars where several weighted gym balls were hanging.
Without any explanation or warning, the gym assistant walked over to us, stood over my baby and decided it was perfectly safe to start unpacking that particular gym equipment and dropping those weighted gym balls right next to my bub. I was so shocked by her gross lack of safety awareness, I had to just grab my baby and never went back.

DISHONEST AND PATRONISING MANAGEMENT

Like any protective parent, I raised my safety concerns with management, their response was even MORE DISAPPOINTING. Basically, Gymbaroo management adopted the 'ADMIT NOTHING. DENY EVERYTHING' approach. Not only did they NOT address their staff's negligent conduct at all, but the manager also made up this elaborate story that I let my child 'wander off into the gym area unsupervised' to shift the blame on the parent and not their staff. Fact check: my 6mo baby could barely crawl and I was right next to her the whole time. Talk about blame-shifting and fake spin at its best.

Bottom line: Gymbaroo is quite happy to take your money, but if you encounter any issue with their staff or safety practices, they are probably NOT going to be very helpful nor caring.

OVERPRICED and UNDERWHELMING

Gymbaroo ads are all about their cool baby gyms, BUT you don't actually get that much time to play in one!!
At $25 a session, you get exactly 20mins of unstructured gym time per session and not a minute more or else! They boast their 'specially designed and built their own fabulous equipment' – but there was no one in the gym to show you why they are so fabulous and if you are using it correctly on your baby. Honestly, for a young baby, it takes 20 minutes for them to warm up and get used to the new environment. But time's up in the gym and off to another 20 min of sing-song time, which frankly I can get for free at Storytime from the local library. Plus it is always the same songs, dance, blow some bubbles (yawn ...things you can easily do yourself for Free) They hand out 'special' toys which your baby only get to play with for 3 mins before theysing the Goodbye song and push you out the door, literally.
Bottom line: If you want your kid to be more active in a gym, plenty other kids gym and playgroups offer free play and are waaaaaay better value, like for $10 you can get a full hour of play. Do your research and compare!

NOT CHILD FRIENDLY
For a business that targets babies and young children, Gymbaroo is sorely lacking in terms of essential baby facilities. At Greenwich, there was not a changing table in sight, and they also make it a company policy that you are allowed to remain on their premise for strictly 40mins during class time, any longer then you would get dirty looks from the staff, talk about no fun policy. Too bad if your baby is hungry, don't care! parents are not allowed to feed their babies before or after class.