Gymboree Play & Music

I am a grandma who took her granddaughter to open gym. We entered using an umbroller type stroller which we left by the front door, alongside the cubbies for our shoes, diaper bag, etc. When it was time to leave I needed to use the restroom so I got my granddaughter all settled into her stroller, I put on my shoes, & we headed toward where I assumed the bathroom was. I was wrong. The door I thought was the bathroom was the music room. I knew we couldn’t walk with our street shoes to the bathroom I was directed to, in the gym area, on rugs & mats the children play on, or take the stroller. The teacher confirmed this. After unbuckling the baby, Taking her water bottle out of her hands & mouth, taking my shoes off, & going to the back of the gym where a single bathroom was, I was surprised to open the door & see what their set-​up was. I had to put the baby down on the area carpet they had down over the linoleum floor. How unsanitary! Everyone knows where the droplets fall when a toilet is flushed! I tried to go as fast as I could while the baby crawled around but by the time I washed my hands she had made it to the toilet & pulled-​up! She is at the stage where everything goes into the mouth! I was horrified & vowed never to take my granddaughter to that place again by myself! I also wondered what happens if a child (or adult, for that matter) comes in with a wheelchair. If street shoes & strollers, & wheelchairs (?) are not allowed on the tile then the bathroom should be accessible using the tiled floor. It seems logical but now I see in an attempt to make even more $$$ they added another room to be used as the music room. I also assume that’s where they have parties. For a business who caters to children, they must do a better job of maintaining a germ free & sanitary environment as much as possible. Certain things can’t be avoided & babies will undoubtedly be exposed to germs in all environments but I was simply floored, no pun intended, when I saw this oversight on Gymboree’s part. As I said previously, I won’t be back by myself & I think the parents of my granddaughter will make this their 1^st & last group of classes there. Awful!

I’ve only been to a couple of classes with my baby who is less than 6 months old, and have had great experiences so far. I wish I had found this place sooner!
Apparently Gymborees vary in quality a lot, so I have a feeling my standards are being set high by this one.
The three instructors I’ve had classes with were really good. They were very enthusiastic and caring toward the babies, they got to know each baby by name, encouraged each baby individually during class, and used each baby’s name during the songs in class too. I was impressed by how fairly they gave attention to all the babies and parents!
The instructors also let us know that they clean items between classes and even mentioned what to do if we were uncomfortable with any items being shared during group activities (i.e., feel free to put it to the side if it’s drooled on too much for comfort).
Overall I found the location to seem quite clean. Not spotless, «brand spanking new» clean, just clean with a little wear and tear — which honestly seems the most realistic for items being used by kids.
About class size, the ones I’ve been to so far had no more than 6 babies, which felt fine to me. Then I read a review of a Gymboree down in Miami-​Dade having 15 – 20 babies! Thank goodness that’s not the case here (although I’m sure from a business perspective they’d be happy with that — if that ever happens, it’ll be interesting to see how they handle it — hopefully they’d just add more sessions or instructors).
Some might find the classes expensive, well… they cost about the same as signing up for a yoga, spinning, pilates or barre class :-). I think the rates are reasonable considering that in some citiies, Gymboree classes run $ 80+ per month. By the way, this location had a great special where they waived the membership fee and let you go to an extra class, which has helped me definitely see this as something I *have* to make time to do with my child! Once your baby is mobile it probably works out better cost-​wise since you can take advantage of open gym time (which is included with any class) better.

Gymboree of Jupiter recently moved to Midtown in Palm Beach Gardens. The new location is much easier to find!
I took my 2 year old to a Mommy & Me class. He had a really fun time climbing on the different equipment. Everything was toddler sized, soft and very safe. The class had «circle time,» and the teacher would sing songs, blow tiny bubbles and lead the children in activities. The kids really loved the parachute.
There were small bouncy balls that were really easy for the little ones to grip, and they were also for sale for $ 5. The tiny bubble blower was also for sale, but I did not see a price tag.