With our first child, my wife spent many a week at the local children's centre. Free weekly classes such as Stay and Play and Rhyme Time allowed our eldest to play with other babies without us spending a penny.
This time around, our 2nd child has known only his family for the first 7 months of his life.
My wife being the worrier that she is, was concerned that if we didn't get him to a baby class soon we would have somehow assigned him to a life of social anxiety with an inability to make friends.
However, after messaging the local children's centre, we were told that the government guidelines do not permit them to re open.
The problem is, baby classes are expensive. In London the average price is around £9 for 30 min - 45 min, often payable termly.
So if you are willing to shell out, what are you actually getting and is it worth the money?Here are a few of the classes we tried and our personal opinion.....
We went to a free trial for Monkey Music. You had to pay for a full term once you had completed the trial. It was £111 for 12 weeks, which was an amount we could not afford to spend at the time. My wife, being the eternal optomist, thought 'well if it's brilliant we will find the money somehow'.
The teacher was very professional and very strict about social distancing. This made you feel more comfortable and created a safe space.
The class was calm and the teacher engaged with the children throughout.
However, for 25 minutes of the 30 minutes we sang songs. Songs that I could have sang at home with baby club on the TV. For the other 5 min we played with instruments, which was great but very short-lived.
Worth the money? No. Over £9 for 30 minutes of singing songs that you can sing at home and not much opportunity to interact with other babies.
Baby sensory is a class that we took our first child to for one session. The reason being that we went for a trial at Christmas and it was mental!
However, one of the advantages of Covid is that for such classes there are restrictions on the amount participants.
So we had used up our free trial, but luckily we were invited midterm and only had to pay for 3 weeks upfront.
It was great, and we are still going!
Jam packed with activities, instruments, bubbles, puppets, dancing - be prepared to sweat. There is also a 5 minute break for your baby to play and move around as they wish, interacting with others.
Is it worth the money? Yes!.....kind of. Lets be honest £9 for any baby class is ridiculous but if you are going to pay it, then Baby Sensory is going to pack as much into that £9 class as possible. Also, you book in half term blocks, so you don't need to shell out everything at once.
We took our eldest to Tumbletots. It's basically gymnastics for Toddlers with a few songs in the middle.
The class is fun and full of activity as your little one climbs and rolls his way around the course.
There are lots of staff on hand to keep your child safe and many opportunities for your child to interact with other children their own age.
Is it worth the money? For us, no. We stopped going to Tumbletots because we realised that our son could climb and roll at the park for free. He is also the kind of child that makes a new friend wherever he goes....including the park. So we started going to the park instead.
Soccerdays is one of many companies that offers fun football classes from age 2 years and up.
The children play games based on football that include counting, colour recognition, imaginary play and much more.
There are always numerous coaches guiding the children and the attention given to each child, particularly those who are struggling, is unbeatable.
Our eldest started just before turning 2 years old and is still attending after 3 years.
Is it worth the money? Yes. It's full of fun, engages the children for a full 45 minutes and creates a real love for football. You pay in 6 week blocks so not too much all at once.
So there you have it. Our experience of children's classes. My advice is to book the free trial but don't feel pressured in to signing up, particularly if it's for a full term.
Comments