To say that the YMCA’s Child Watch was a lifesaver for me is no exaggeration.
After 10 years of teaching, I became the lucky mom of a baby and a toddler just 18 months apart. It made sense for me to stay at home instead of continuing to work as a teacher.
The long, monotonous days began to take a toll that first winter at home. I gained weight and I became a bit depressed. The weather and the boys’ sleep schedules kept us stuck inside.
Luckily, I discovered my local YMCA.
But it wasn’t just the gym that saved us. It was finding the excellent child care program at the YMCA that brought joy and community back into our lives.
The YMCA is special because community and family are at its core
YMCA’s child care is free for family members’ children while parents work out. This is a great feature for a young family. But the biggest driver pushing me out of the house — with a car seat under one arm and the hand of my toddler in the other — was the community.
The boys loved going to Child Watch at the Y because they loved the people who worked there. Twelve years later, we still keep in touch with some of them! If I couldn’t pull myself together that morning, I wasn’t just missing a workout — the boys and I were missing our friends.
Now I’m the mom of two teens and a 10-year-old, so I don’t use child care as often, but community is still a big reason we are loyal members of the Y. We realized that the YMCA is not just a gym but a second family.
Child care at the YMCA helps kids grow and thrive
Other metro Detroit families agree. Kim Plesco and her first-grade daughter visit the YMCA every week.
“Our family has a very busy life. And there are times when my husband can’t be home to watch our daughter. On those days, I can go in, and I can take her to the child care, and she’s safe. I can exercise; I don’t have to worry about it. It’s significantly impacted my ability to be fit and stay in shape,” Plesco says, running her hands through her daughter’s hair. Their tight bond is evident.
“I love the YMCA!” her daughter says, with a grin. “I like that I can play games there!”
What is Child Watch at the Y? Technology-free fun
Plesco shares how Child Watch is unique because members know their children will be playing with blocks and dolls, coloring and crafting, or playing games like Jenga or duck-duck-goose with staff members. They won’t be sitting in front of a screen for an hour, which is huge for parents of little ones.
For me, it meant when we got home from the Y, I could turn on a cartoon without guilt so I could make lunch. It meant that my boys were ready for a nap because they had been thinking, playing and enjoying the same kind of activities I needed in my self-care journey. Win-win!
The YMCA cares about its members, and that shines through Child Watch.
“The most important thing for people to know is it’s a community,” says Plesco. “It’s not just somewhere that I go to exercise. It’s somewhere I’m going to make friends.”
The YMCA has always been about more than fitness — it’s about connection, support, and family. Even now, years later, the relationships and belonging we found at the YMCA continue to be a cornerstone of our lives. For families like mine and Kim Plesco’s, the YMCA is truly a second home.
Find out more about the many benefits of family membership at YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit. Visit ymcadetroit.org.
from Metro Parent https://ift.tt/8xeAlIw
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