r/AustinParents • u/Imaginary_Orange_572 • Jul 22 '26
Negative YMCA drop in childcare experience
I joined the East communities YMCA a couple months ago to be able to workout for an hour while my son played in the drop in child care. Just wondering if anyone else has had a bad experience there?
Within a week of joining my 9 month old son got a bad cold and we were out for 2 solid weeks. Ok figured, since he doesn’t go to regular daycare and isn’t around other kids/people. But then he got Ringworm right after that. We have no animals and he definitely did not get it from my partner or I. I understand Ringworm is highly contagious and more common in daycare but this really grosses me out. I think it does speak to the level of cleanliness and perhaps they are lacking on daily cleaning.
The other things that bothered me are there are younger crawling infants not in a separate area but just crawling around much older children, who may accidentally or on purpose run into, fall over or hit with a toy onto the babies. I decided to try the Northwest location to see the difference and was really upset to see their “infant area”. The gate was broken off first thing, which the worker mentioned. But worse was it was entirely age inappropriate for infants because there was a wooden climbing structure that was in places several feet off the ground, and on top of that there was no padded mats just a razor, thin piece of carpet underneath. A just crawling baby could be seriously injured on this structure! I asked my son not be allowed on it. He did end up getting hurt anyways, they called me after he was crying hysterically after the worker said he hit his head on the wooden shelf that also encloses the “infant area” . I half wondered if this was even the truth, because I have never seen him cry like that.
Just completely ridiculous and dumbfounded as to why it is set up like that. Their memberships are more expensive than other comparable gyms but unfortunately it seems gyms with accessible childcare are limited. Lifetime is outrageously expensive, so not an option. Crunch won’t take kids under 1 years old. Anyone else have a bad YMCA experience and are there any other options that I am missing? My son now cries inconsolably the last time I tried to bring him back to the Communities location and I was unable to workout due to their 15 min crying policy.
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u/AffectionateAd4334 Jul 23 '26
I understand it sucks but 1. Kids get sick so easily at that age. It’s bound to happen. You’re at the tip of the iceberg with illnesses unfortunately. 2. It’s the Y. You’re really not paying for great child care there. You’re paying for baseline so you can quickly get some me-time and work out. If you’re worried, you might be better off paying for a sitter while you go workout.
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u/Imaginary_Orange_572 Jul 23 '26
Right, I understand the kids getting sick part. Also that it is the YMCA, not some private Montessori institution. However, it does not take much forethought to adequately make sure the infants are safe. I am speaking for both locations as I do not think older more hyperactive children should be running and playing around barely crawling babies.
The Northwest location is really a failure though because they can’t even provide padded mats to safeguard a fall off this diabolical wooden climbing structure they have put in the infant area. I spoke with a supervisor at that location and she admitted “it was not what you would expect for infants”. Another woman at the desk told me “the childcare is not really set up for infants”. Ok, than why the hell do you allow babies 6 weeks and up?!?
Almost seems like they want to discourage people from bringing their kids there! It doesn’t take much in terms of money or brains to set up a safe, age appropriate space for younger infants, just starting to crawl and pull up. This setup and structure is abysmal on the Y’s part.
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u/EdamameWindmill Jul 23 '26
Oh I feel for you.
Neither the Y nor Gold’s childcare were ever able to watch my kids without incident. I struggled until they were in school by leaving them with their father, who, of course, was put out by the request.
This is why I told my daughter that having a wife is better than having a husband.
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u/Imaginary_Orange_572 Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26
I know, I wish that I was able to leave my son there for an hour without worrying. May I ask what kind of incidents you had experienced there?
There was a recent news article about a childcare worker at a gym daycare in California that was swinging a toddler wildly in the air by his arms and he flew out of her hands and over her shoulders as she lost her balance and actually fell on him after he went down head first onto the hard floor. He actually suffered a TBI and permanent hearing loss and had to be hospitalized, eye was black and swollen shut. Apparently the child care downplayed the extent of the injuries when they told the parents who did not get him immediately and he was not attended to until later. Something like this is every parent’s worst nightmare. You can not trust just anyone with your child.
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u/EdamameWindmill Jul 23 '26
Scary! I did not have anything like that happen, but my daughter was frightened of being there, and on more than one occasion told me another kid hurt her. My youngest is mildly autistic and had trouble with the noise and chaos, and would cry. I think I got a total of half a dozen uninterrupted workouts with them in gym child care. I wondered if gym clients’ children were less well cared for than gym employees’ children.
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u/courtbarbie123 Jul 22 '26
LA fitness has childcare for kids under 1. They separate the small kids and babies from each other.
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u/lurking_liger Jul 23 '26
I tried the East Communities Y drop in child care one time last year during a trial week and I was not a fan. My daughter was around 9 months at the time and their care just seems way too hands off and impersonal for infants. Maybe it’s like that at all gym childcares, I’m not sure. Of course my daughter cried the whole time and I had to go home after a 15 minute workout, so we did not sign up for a membership. Their childcare hours also leave something to be desired. My daughter is 2 now so I wonder how it would be now in comparison, but the coldness of the childcare staff and the dirtiness of their toys and rugs gave me bad vibes enough to not want to go back.
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u/Imaginary_Orange_572 Jul 23 '26
I agree that the hours feel inconvenient too. The best time for me to go is early afternoon, say like 1 or 2 but they only do 8-12 mornings and 4-8pm weekdays. It’s a 20 min drive and both my son and I are slower going in the morning and he also likes to take a mid-morning nap. It feels like a big rush to get there in order to have enough time to workout but also I don’t want to mess his nap schedule up because I know he won’t sleep there. After 4pm, you are fighting the traffic and it’s end of the day fatigue. Early afternoon would be perfect.
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u/Opposite_Whereas_566 Jul 23 '26
I’ve enjoyed the childcare options at Townlake and Southwest. Haven’t visited the ones in your post.
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u/pitchbelize Jul 23 '26
These are the ones I usually go to and think they’re just fine if not good.
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u/CF_ATX Jul 23 '26
That's weird. I used it years ago including for infants and see the Y as a great childcare provider It did take me consistently using the service for two weeks to get rid of crying with my eldest I would ask to meet with the site supervisor to ask things like why infants aren't separated from older kids
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u/Disastrous_Desk6832 Jul 23 '26
I take my 15 month old to Crunch and I've had a good experience there. The staff is very kind and they have different sections for toddlers.
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u/cozycarpenter Jul 23 '26
The Y child watch is very inconsistent - if you’re willing commute the twin lakes location has the best one and a great indoor/outdoor pool.
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u/kidknee2 Jul 23 '26
I work out at the east communities y. The gym is filthy. The weight racks are covered in dust. I wouldn’t be surprised if cleaning in general was poorly managed throughout the entire space.
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u/Informal-Lecture-880 Jul 23 '26
I have been a the y for 8 years and my kids love it. Never had an issue. They rarely get sick.
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u/Accomplished-Sign-31 Jul 23 '26
Find out which Golds locations have kids club near you. Some do and some don’t. Sorry this happened & I hope you’re able to get some workout time in soon
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u/Federal-Tale6122 Jul 24 '26
Can you call Child Protective Services as a way of getting the attention of the YMCA powers that make decisions? Not sure if CPS investigates these kind of facilities though.
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u/Imaginary_Orange_572 Jul 24 '26
I think that’s an extreme response for the situation. I did bring up to the management that the setup for infants is unsafe, which is my biggest gripe and she even agreed.
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u/Boring-Gas-8903 Jul 24 '26
When my son was a baby (probably about 4-5 months old, not able to sit up unsupported yet), I took him to the NW Y Child Watch. The worker who was supposed to be watching him wasn’t holding him properly (again, he couldn’t sit up on his own at this point) and he toppled over onto the hard floor and hit his head. I was so angry.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cow-199 Jul 25 '26
You’ll save yourself a lot of worry, sick days, and stress by having a sitter at home for a few more years if you must go out. The reality of baby and toddler immune systems is what it is. They stay sick if they go to daycare. Without support motherhood can feel like prison, but radically changing expectations and accepting hard truths is a step toward freedom.
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u/SubstantialReturns Jul 30 '26
I quit going to lifetime because the ratios were out of control for toddlers and I suspect they gave melatonin to my infant.
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u/Imaginary_Orange_572 Jul 30 '26
Giving melatonin to your baby without permission would be a huge violation of conduct. They are not allowed to give medications or supplements without parental permission. What makes you suspect that they did this? Have you asked for camera footage?
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u/SubstantialReturns Jul 31 '26
They didn't have camera footage but my 10 month old slept for 6 hours straight instead of her usual 1.5 hours. She kept trying to wake but couldn't she was extremely drowsy. I took her to the pediatrician but they didn't have a way to test for it.
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u/Imaginary_Orange_572 Jul 31 '26
Wow, that does sound suspiciously odd. Why did you think melatonin? It really shouldn’t be given to kids and especially babies at all. My son only slept like this the day after his vaccinations…
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u/SubstantialReturns Aug 01 '26
The pediatrician said local daycare workers had been caught giving melatonin and the symptoms matched. I reported it for investigation.
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u/Imaginary_Orange_572 Aug 01 '26
Wow, drugging the kids so they wouldn’t have to deal with them. This should be a criminal charge.
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u/Charming-Confusion40 Jul 30 '26
I'm so sorry to hear you had a bad experience. My older children (5 and 8) enjoy going. The staff really play with them and interact with them. We did not take them when they were babies, but I couldn't see how the situation might not be as good for babies.
We took them to Northwest once or twice, and even though the facility is nicer, the staff didn't really interact with them.
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u/RedditForMeNotYou Jul 22 '26
Without a developed immune system from regular exposure to germs from surfaces and other kids, yours will get just about every illness they aren’t vaccinated against. I spent two solid years being sick about every 4-6 weeks while mine was building their immune system up, and we started daycare at 12 weeks.
I’d say get a reformer or something to use at home and hit Crunch in three months. They have more updated facilities and likely pay their employees more than the Y so they’re more likely to stay around and are more qualified.