I was approached this week by a local branch of Gymboree (a national leader in classes for kids) about the possibility of offering an exclusive weekly class for fathers. This is significant! A major children’s venue feels strongly that there is a need for a dads only class and they are seeking the advice of dads to see what works best for us rather than just slap something together. Gymboree has been very supportive of our dads community and I would like to help them out with their proposal.
Our opinion counts! So let’s use the comments section to throw in your two cents about logistics and what you think would be ideal to make the class work. You see if Gymboree can make this happen…Then, perhaps other major children’s venues will follow suit and dads will feel a little more included…and the term “mommy & me” will become a thing of the past.
Here is the scenario: the Tribeca Gymboree location is currently trying to put together a class just for fathers. This winter session class could be offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays at either 5:30 or 6:30 to accommodate the often forgotten “working dad” or it could be offered on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
For example, you could make a point that Friday evening is tough because dads and their family are getting ready for the weekend OR you could argue that dad could get out of work a little earlier on Friday so they can participate in this parent & me class. One other point to make is that Gymboree would also allow drop-ins (at a slightly higher cost per class) for this class for those fathers that would not be able to commit to a 17 week session.
1. Do you have any feedback for which day and time would work best?
2. Is this something fathers would be interested in?
Disclosure: Gymboree is a sponsor/advertiser with NYC Dads Group
What age group would this be for? And a totally selfish question – how would the charge work for twins?
For me the weekend mornings are the best – evening classes tend to bump up against the dinner/bath/bedtime routine which usually kicks off around 6pm for my kids. Not sure if that’s the case for everyone else.
And yes, I’d be interested. 🙂
Good question about age. Most of their classes range in 6 month age brackets (ie. 6 – 12 mo, 12 – 18mo, etc.). It would probably depend on interest level, but safe to say it would be a mixed age class.
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Not sure a working father would be able to make even a 6:30 class regularly (5:30 would be even harder), since working parents of either gender might be challenged to get a kid from Home and then to the class. Plus you are then in prime dinner time. Weekend mornings would be far favorable to that time, in my experience.
For a stay at home dad, I’d still say late afternoon/early eve is still going to be rough, as that’s still evening “rush” (dinner, bath, bed) time. If they had the spot, I’d strongly suggest weekday AMs.
Realistically I’d expect, if the late afternoon weekdays were all they offered, the class would fail and they’d write off dads again. I doubt Moms classes at that time would fare much better.
Thanks so much for your feedback!
Would 9:30 on Saturdays be too early?
I might be able to do an 11am on Sundays.
It would be a mixed aged class (probably music). But, enrollment in the class would grant you unlimited access to open gyms.
Siblings would be 50% off.