A gym come true for moms and tots

It’s another frenetic weekend and working mommies are again at their wits’ end thinking of how best to spend the day with their hyperactive toddlers. Go to the mall? (Sorry, but you can’t check in your kid at the store counter!) Bring your tyke to a playground or a playland? Go somewhere where these kids can have their fair share of entertainment fare?

You can do all this and more at Gymboree Play & Music Center, the world’s pioneer in parent-child play and movement classes. Launched at the Power Plant Mall in Rockwell Center, Makati City only recently, it’s a gym come true for today’s busy moms who are afforded quality time with their little kids before they’re packed off to the big school.

Ann Tan, a young modern mom, didn’t know what to do with her own little girl when she went to visit her sister in Chicago. She asked her sister, "What do mothers here do with their babies?" Her sister’s instant reply was, "Parents take their kids to Gymboree."

Ann relates, "My daughter Grace Ann was barely two years old and she was quite a handful. At that age, they’re becoming very malikot."

Her curiosity piqued, Ann went to check out the Gymboree website. Enjoying her site-seeing, she thought the place looked like fun. But she found out there was no Gymboree anywhere in the Philippines so she talked to Gymboree USA and inquired about how she could bring it home.

It all started with one loving mom and a big dream. In 1976, Joan Barnes, a San Francisco mother, went in search of a "safe, fun and nurturing place" where new parents and their children can play together. She didn’t find any so what do you think did this enterprising mom do? Well, she built her own! Thus, the Gymboree Play & Music program was born.

"And now, it’s all over the world (over 480 sites in 26 countries)," showbiz personality-turned-mom Jackie Aquino Gavino, Gymboree program and PR director and play teacher, is happy to announce. "In Asia, it’s only Japan that doesn’t have it. This is the master franchise in the Philippines (parents can find out more about this flagship store at Level R2 of Power Plant Mall South Court by calling 890-PLAY or e-mailing playandmusic@gymboree.com.ph) . People know about Gymboree because of its clothesline, but we’re not bringing that in. We only brought in play and music. It’s an interactive parent-child play and music program for children, aged 0 to four years old."

Shortly after the Philippines got the Gymboree franchise in January this year, Ann and Jackie went for training in San Francisco. Jackie recounts, "It was a very extensive training – 12 hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., for two weeks. We had a lot of hands-on experience. We had on-site training. We trained with other franchise owners and with actual children. We observed and taught a class of our own which was like our thesis. I was never so nervous in my life! There were a lot of Filipinos who signed up for Gymboree in the US and we met many of them. There were also a lot of fathers who participated. It was a beautiful experience!"

What could be more beautiful than seeing your little kid make his first step or hearing him utter his first word? "Most parents miss all these things because they leave their children to the care of the yayas and they’re out all day working," Jackie sadly notes. "Here at Gymboree, parents and their children play and learn from each other."

"The Gymboree philosophy is that parents are an essential part of the program in terms of the development of their children, especially when they’re under four years old," Ann points out. "Parents are really the best teachers. When they come to class with their children, their children’s self-esteem is boosted – they feel good, they’re encouraged, they have confidence to try new things. And the parents also learn about their child’s development. So it works both ways – the child is learning, the parents are also learning."

"A class only takes 45 minutes once a week," says Jackie. "Of course, you can take it twice or thrice a week."

Gymboree Play & Music Center was formally opened last Aug. 8 at the Power Plant Mall in Rockwell. Parents who have enlisted agree that it’s the ultimate place for their toddlers to be. Young children are free to run around, look, touch and play. The play equipment, designed by playground designer Jay Beckwith, are specifically created to meet the needs of newborns through four-year-olds. More than 45 pieces of equipment can be reconfigured to create hundreds of different playscapes featuring high, low and in-between structures for climbing, rolling, balancing, bouncing and sliding. Gee! Kids really do the darndest things!

The place, which occupies all of 242 sq. m., was designed by Gymboree director Ghasan Baghdadi following US specifications. "It’s been totally baby-proofed, it’s very kid-friendly," Ann assures. "There are no sharp corners anywhere. All the electric outlets are covered. All our equipment are low to the ground."

"We have mats which we clean many times a day," says Jackie. "Adults cannot wear shoes in the play area."

"We also made it like a friendly mommy-children center," Ann asserts. "We have a fridge and a microwave so mommies can leave their milk and warm it up. There’s a private room where mommies can breastfeed their kids. Yes, I and Jackie breastfed our babies, too. We’re mommies ourselves and we know how hard it is for mommies when they bring their young children to the mall where there’s no place for them, not even a diaper-changing area. Not only does Gymboree have a diaper-changing area and its own toilet, it’s so big you can even bathe your baby here. Yes, we do provide diapers and wipes in case moms forgot to bring or ran out of them."

Gymboree also has a music room, but more on that later.

Only a few weeks old, the center has elicited a lot of feedback from moms who are pregnant with expectations. Celebrity mom Christine Jacob-Sandejas who’s got two kids of her own (and counting) texted Jackie and said, "I’m really happy. We need that here in the Philippines."

Other celebrities who’ve made inquiries are Lani Mercado, Arnel Ignacio and Maita Sanchez who gave birth only one-and-a-half months ago. Even singles like Beth Tamayo are asking about Gymboree.

"Our youngest kid here is a newborn," says Jackie. "One mom has been coming to take classes with her three-week-old baby. And there was even a pregnant woman who came and wanted to sign up her unborn baby for class."

Jackie is most at home with her new real-life role now. In 1998, she got married to Mark Gavino of Roxas City. "He was a friend of a friend and we double-dated different people," Jackie tells her love story. "We were friends and we would ask for each other’s advice. He would sometimes give me a date."

Little did Jackie and Mark know that their friendship would end up in an altar date. "We got married at San Beda Church," says Jackie. "There was a rally that day. My dad, Senator Butz Aquino, gave me away. I don’t know if he was happy or sad."

Today, the Gavinos have a two-year-old girl named Andrea Martina who’s the love of her lolo’s life. "In the beginning, Dad was afraid to hold his apo because she was so tiny," Jackie relates. "He would ask, ‘When can I play with her?’ And I said maybe when she was three months old. So now, he teaches her all these things, brings her pasalubong when he comes back from a trip. He’s a little silly also – he teaches her how to put soup cans on top of one another."

So how does Jackie find her new role? "This is a good role to play," she gushes,flashing a beatific smile. "I’ve played teacher before and everything, but it’s different when you actually have children with you and you can share the program with your own child. Now, as a mother, my priorities are different. The last taping I did was a drama titled Maynila six months ago. The last movie offer I got had a kissing scene with a girl – I turned it down. One whole day away from your child is like forever. I’m a board member of MTRCB and I do shows once in a while, but my priority now is my family. I will go back to doing movies only if it’s really a good role."

According to Jackie, one of the best things about her job is she gets paid to do what she loves doing. "Imagine coming to work in your favorite jeans and T-shirt and running around your office in your socks!"

Running around – and enjoying every minute of it – with their young clients are Gymboree play teachers. "They were all referrals," says Ann, "we did not advertise. A lot of them are teaching preschool but that’s not really a requirement. We simply require them to be good facilitators because they’re not just teaching the kids but the parents as well; they have to be fun-loving, they have to be good with children."

Jackie adds with a passion, "They have to be passionate about what they’re doing – they have to love the children more than anything else!"

At Gymboree, learning is play – or is it the other way around? There are developmentally appropriate classes for children and their parents. These include:

• GymBabies (birth to six months/pre-mobile infants) with focus on sensory play and stimulation.

• GymCrawlers (six to 12 months/confident sitters and beginning crawlers) with focus on development of upper body stability, strength and coordination.

• GymWalkers (10 to 18 months/cruisers and early walkers) with focus on socialization, strength, walking balance and coordination.

• GymRunners (14 to 28 months/confident walkers, runners and climbers) with focus on physical challenges, peer interaction and language enrichment.

• GymExplorers (two-year-olds/active imagination and creativity) with focus on exploration of imaginary themes and creativity.

• GymKids (three- and four-year-olds/emergence of skills and interests) with focus on listening skills, cooperative play and coordination.

• GymPairs (two mobile children): A class especially designed for the parent who has two mobile children, modified to serve the needs of each age group.

And hear this: There are also Gymboree music classes, handled by Trumpets and Repertory actress Pheona Baranda-Paras. Ann notes, "Here, kids get exposed to different musical styles – from Latin to Cajun, reggae, Broadway, and classical. At a very young age, they learn tempo, rhythm, elements that help them if they want to learn how to play musical instruments later on. Also, when you learn rhythm, you’re actually learning language in a way. They say music helps develop the brain. I listened to a lot of classical music when I was pregnant."

"I sang religious songs to my baby when I was pregnant," says Jackie. "There’s a lot of singing in class so it’s fun."

"And a little bit of dancing for older kids," Ann adds.

Gymboree is open every day during mall hours: Monday-Thursday, Sunday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday till 10 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

"Sure, you can afford Gymboree," says Jackie with a wide smile. "One quarter costs only P6,800 for 11 or 12 sessions, which is much less than what preschools now charge. We offer preview classes where you come for free."

Then there’s also GymPlay where it’s all play and no class. Moms can leave their kids with a Gymboree caregiver while they enjoy shopping.

Gymboree also hosts fun, hassle-free birthday parties and themed events. It also offers off-site programs at locations like preschools, seminars or malls – wherever children are, Gymboree is there.

Gymboree in the Philippines is also planning to initiate childbirth education (Lamaze) programs to be taught by certified instructors.

Now, this is some gym team to beat!