Gymboree or Stroller Strides?

Gymboree offers a free trail class. I did it w/ my 2 older children & will w/ my new born when he's older. The price is comparable to other programs in the area. A friend of mine did Stroller Strides & told me it's geared towards the moms where Gymboree is geared towards the kids. Another great program is Kids Clubhouse.

Hey A., I use to live in Queens also.. Now i live in East meadow.. I am going to texas at the end of the month to visit friends w/ my hubby and two girls.. Ok so.. this is what i think.. Gymboree is so expensive for my budget. So, I go to the library for free classes. Look into your neighboorhood library. They are great plus you mingle w/ other moms that live near you and take your stroller out and walk there and back. Or before you go to library take a walk then go there hop in car ahahahaha.. Also, I have been going on LIparentsource.com and they got me into doing Soccer tots for my 2.5 year old and i bring my 8 month old. I have her in my arms no babysitter. It is great and fun for both of them. There are also free playdates at Once Upon a TreeTop
and go to LIdirectory.com check it out..

I hope this helped.. Good Luck. Barb G.

Hi A.,

Alot of those gym classes can be expensive, but it's great for the kids to get excercise and have a great time. However, I also do Stroller Strides with my daughter who is almost 2. How old is your daughter? The great thing about Stroller Strides is that it's for both you and your daughter. You get a great workout, but we sing songs to the kids and teach them about letters and numbers. The instructor often brings stuffed animals and we sing to the kids and babies while working out. Afterwards, all the kids get out of the strollers and run around together and play while the moms talk. Plus, we organize mom nights out and have guest speakers come in to talk about nutrition, sleep issues with baby, relationship coaches, etc. I highly recommend it. In the winter, there are classes 6 days a week and we meet at the Westchester Mall from 9-10 on Monday, Wed, Friday and Saturday and the Westchester County Center from 9:30-10:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. Have you been to the website? http://classes.strollerstrides.net/westchester/location/i...

I do Stroller Strides & it is AWESOME! My daughter loves it & you totally get your money's worth. It is the only exercise routine I've been able to stick to- I think b/c it's w/other moms & the workout changes every day.
Hope you tried it!

I never tried Stroller Strides, but my daughter has been going to Gymboree since she was 6 months old and she loves it. She just turned two and we are still there. In addition to the Gym type clasessed they also have Music and Art. If you live near a GYmboree I woul reccomend the Choice membership. You can go to as many age appropriate classes as you want as well as the free play times. We live close enough that we are there almost evey day, and it is more than worth the cost. This term choice membership for the 15 week membership was $650. That works out to about $43 per week, then the more classes you go to the better the bargain you are getting - I try to get to 9 or 10 classes a week. Plus if you are a member they have a loyalty program which give you dicounts on the cost of the enrollment and they often have early bird specials (too late for this term)which give great discounts (it cost me about $3.50 per class with all of my discounts).

I also saw something in Parents magazine for $50 off enrolment and $25 in free merchandise. I think if you mention then they may be able to help you.

Obviously I love the place - I go to the East Northport location - all the people there are great - I think it was the best choice I made as far as entertaining my daughter!

I am not sure how old your baby is but sounds like she is under 1? I just signed us up for Gymboree, my son is 22 months. I got 1 free trial class and 50 dollars off enrollment. It cost me 187 dollars for 11 weeks plus you can go to free play periods a few times a week for no additional cost. That is what really got me because its winter here and very cold. Its hard to find activities for my son when its too cold to go to the park. I also did Little Gym with my son last winter when he was under 1 and he really loved it. Little Gym has an annoying yearly membership fee that I didn't like but they were really nice.

We've been attending weekly gymboree classes since my 26 month old was 8 months old. She absolutely loves it. I highly recommend it. We pay a monthly flat rate and can attend as many play classes (in my daugher's level) as we wish. My husband and I both work, so it's usually just the weekend classes, but there are times when one of us is off and we take her during the week. It's tons of fun.

I never did classes with babies. My daughter did Gymboree and my son did Gymtime when they were 2 and 3 years old. Gymboree is pricey, there may be less expensive gym class options, through Little Gym, through your local Y or rec department. I am not familiar with stroller strides, but it sounds like an exercise class for mom, not a fun activity class for the baby. Sounds like baby is confined to a moving stroller while mom exercises - this is very different than baby being free and exploring, playing on equipment and trying out music toys. Since your previous post talked about baby not having much freedom in your apartment due to the wood floors, I'd choose a class that let her be free and explore.

Hi A.,

I've done Gymboree, but it was a structured class for 0-6 months. I thought that was good for that age group, but didn't love the classes after that. A place I liked better was My Gym, but their classes start at 7 months of age. They are great. I also did a program similar to Stroller Strides, it was called StrollerFit. I really enjoyed the program and it really helped get me back into shape. I continued through most of my next pregnancy too, and only recently stopped (at 7 months pregnant). You meet a lot of Moms and they typically organize playdates and Mom's Nights Out. Hope this helps.

My daughter loved Gymboree, lots of things to to, and you can do your own thing, you don't always have to follow the group...(when it's group time)theres matt time,,balls, slides, climbing things, and bubbles. I'm sure stroller strides is good too, but Gymboree would probably be more fun.

The Stroller Strides at the Source Mall actually has a Wed class that is combined with Gymboree. I don't know all the details but you can find out more here:

http://www.meetup.com/StrollerStridesLI/

Hi! I tried Gymboree once for free. You may want to try it too but I do not think it was anything to waste my money on. I know a lot mommies in my mommy group are into it. I never tried Stroller Strides but I know at times you can try them for free.

Hi A.,

I live in Forest Hills, NY (Queens) and tried Gymboree. I wasn't too crazy about it. The one I went to in Forest Hills wasn't all that clean. The instructor, Sean, was WONDERFUL with the kids...but I became grossed out when the floor had a lot hair and dirt on it. I go now to Little Lessons in Forest Hills Gardens. They're much cheaper than Gymboree. You pay like $130 per class for 10 classes. Also, the Little Lessons folks keep that place super clean.

Hope that helps and good luck!