Parents Driving to gym

[EvaB]

How long does it take to get to your kids gym? How far are they from their school/home? If you got a bit longer drive and can't go back home during the class what do you do in the meantime? And what do you do with other siblings if there are any? I'm just curious and looking for some ideas.

 

[cbifoja]

We drive 30-40 minutes from home to school and then an additional 20-30 minutes from school to gym.

I stay but I bring my computer for my graduate work, my phone, and whatever book I'm reading. I usually go somewhere to grab a bite to eat after I drop her off and take a long time eating. Then I go back to the gym and sit in the parking lot, sometimes under a blanket, reading my book. She is an only child so no sibling to have to worry about.

The drive home is usually an hour because there's little traffic that late.

 

[1canadiangymmom]

We are 45 - 60 minutes from home, but only 10 minutes from dd's school. No younger siblings. I have a car pool for Sundays, so I only drive 1/2 way to meet up from home each way. on the 3 week days, she takes the bus to gym, and I found a part time job at a dance studio for the 3 hours I have to wait to take her home after I am finished at my "real" job. Couldn't just sit around waiting.

 

[motigymnasticsmom]

We are twenty minutes from gym with no traffic from home, from business, it's about 10 minutes. If there is an accident on I-75 going to gym side, and its a busy weekday/time/weekend, it might take up to 40-60 minutes to reach gym going back roads. School is 5 min away from home, but she rides bus home, fil takes her to gym from home. It's useless to car ride, the buses get to leave before the schools realease car riders, so, by the time you reach home, so does the bus, lol. DD is my youngest, but we do have a business and in laws to care for, so, I have other things to do always.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

When my ds and dd started on team back in 2010, we were 35-40 min. from gym. (homeschooled) You know, back when gas was like, oh almost $5 a gallon! They were on different days, so I was making the drive 6 days a week. At first, I would hang out at the library with my youngest ds or shop (that got expensive) or sometimes watch. Since I was there I started to work at the gym, teaching ballet, working at the front desk, volunteering for the booster club.

We did that up until a year ago last November when we sold our house and moved in closer to the gym and also to my dh's work. Then, the drive became about 8 minutes. I still work at the gym. Heck, sometimes I'm there more than they are! But we have many more carpool options now. There are about 8 team kids within a square mile of us!

My ds switched to a different gym in July last year, and he's about 15-20 min from the house (through town, so depending on traffic) but he's maybe 5 min. past my dh's work, so he picks him up a lot after workout, and my mom will take him to gym if I have to work. I also have a ds in college locally, and when he is around he also helps pick up whichever gymmie needs it. He coaches at my/dd's gym three days a week.

The bad days are when I have to drop my dd off at 2:45, drive my ds through town and slow traffic (no good way to get to his gym from my/dd's-there's freeway from home, but not so much from her gym) to drop him off around 3:20 and try to hightail it back to my/dd's gym before the mad 4 pm rec rush. Luckily, I don't have to do this very often.

Even better: My gymmie ds is 15, so next year, he can drive himself to gym.

 

[Faolmor]

We're an hour away, and it's the closest gym with a team program (she started off in one of their satellite gyms, in a rec program for 3-5yos, but when she got invited to development, we had no choice but to switch to the state centre). DD is homeschooled, so luckily, I don't have to rush her out of class on gym days.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

School is 0.5 miles from home I pick her up.
To gym 20 min no traffic, 35 min at rush hour.

I usually go home or to work and husband does pickup.

No sibs to worry about, brother is 22

Things I do when I don't go home, date with husband, meet up with the girls, grocery shop, retail shopping, the library, Barnes and Noble stop, my gym, the park, bike. There is always something to do.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Last year we drove 45 min-90 min each way for gym (x2 because my DDs are in different gyms which used to be in opposite directions). It was 15mins to their school and another 15-30 mins for pick up. Gym was 3-5 days a week (schedules kept changing), and sometimes both had gym in one day. My YDD and I would pass the 3 hour practices doing homework together, go to the grocery store together (cooler bags were my friend), or just wandering ikea together. Sometimes we would just sit and watch- there was a LOT of stuff going on at the gym all the time and it was never boring. We didn't go home during any practices because of the drive.

This year, my ODD switched gyms to one closer to her sister, we moved closer to the gyms, and I am homeschooling. We now have a 12-25 min commute each way, six days a week (schedules are static now but both girls moved up levels). This year my ODDs practices are at least 4 hours long and I never sit for them. My YDDs practices are 2 hours and I still stay around for them (YDDs practices are inside the time my ODD practices, four times a week, and they both get picked up at the same time now). I bring a book and a cup of hot tea, and just read and enjoy the silence of my car- or catch up on my social media. I've found that now that I am homeschooling I enjoy sitting through the practices because it gets me out of the house and yet I still have solitude. I would love to take long walks during practice, and have a few times, but the area is very industrial and I get uncomfortable walking at night. I wish one of the gyms would toss in a few treadmills or ellipticals in the parent areas (ODDs gym has a huge balcony and YDDs gym has a whole separate apartment area) so I could move, read, and still hand around...but that's not likely, so I will just continue to enjoy the me time.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

I guess I am pretty luck compared to many of y'all. My dd's gym is about 15 minutes from my house. I take her straight from school and it usually takes about 20 minutes. We get to practice about 10-15 minutes late though. I go home during practice although I usually stay for a while at the beginning or end. Her practices are 4 hours long, so I never stay for the whole thing.

 

[vbdb]

We're only 20 minutes from the gym on a bad day and school is a three minute drive from our house. I have two DDs at gym so we're driving there 6 days a week but have carpool with another family so we normally only do one way. We aren't allowed to watch practice so I usually head home.

 

[OwlGalLiz]

We live half way between school and gym- they are both 30 min from home in opposite directions. So 3 days a week I take him directly from school to gym (just at under an hour commute). We jokingly call my minivan my office, as many times in my son's gymnastics career thus far, I have met with clients while he has been in practice. Since practice is 4 hours, I typically don't stay at the gym unless it's for booster club or other projects going on.

 

[EvaB]

Thank you for your replies. I have about 35-40 min drive so it looks pretty normal. I do some grocery shopping in the meantime when I have to come with 3yo, luckily sometimes he can stay at home with dad. There is a fitness club next door to the gym so I'm thinking about doing some exercises while waiting.

 

[dmbgymnast]

My house is about 5-10 minutes from the gym, but I live about 30-45 minutes from my school. I go to gym right after school to get there for 5, so that means getting off the bus 3 stops early to get there in time.

 

[Shooosh]

We are lucky that our gym is fewer than 10 min away. I am able to drop them off, go home to start dinner or see my other kids and then head back to get them later.
Hoping we never have to change gyms because boys programs are few and far between!!

 

[Bug's mom]

Our drive is 1 hour each direction from home, 1hr 10min from school to gym. We make 4 practices a week, and practices are 4 hours. I stay around for practice just because of the time and cost to run back and forth for drop off and pickup. I'll do some banking and groceries as needed, and work remotely from the lounge the rest of the time. The gym set up work desks, tables and couches for those of us who hang out. I make a real effort not to focus on every moment of practice so dd gains increasing independence, but I do catch a skill or 2 and she likes having me there to share those moments. My DS is 10. Sometimes he comes to the gym to hang out with the other brothers, or we'll watch play board games and watch netflix together. Most of the time, he's just as happy to hang with his step-Dad and share dude time. Our friends and family think we make huge sacrifices, but there are much worse ways to spend our time!

 

[CCGymbug]

We are 25 mins all highway with no traffic. If not snowing/freezing I take my younger son walking, we go to the beach and search for animals or to playground. If dark we go shopping. Our gym has an indoor play area with bounce so he can do that as well. I bring a tablet for him to read, play games watch a show when he is ready to have some rest time. We will go for dinner. I find out 3h usually flies by faster than I want them too!

 

[CTMOM]

We are lucky and are only a few miles from the gym. I have 2 girls on team that practice different days/times.

 

[l.c.o]

Our kids' gym is 15 min from home and 30 min from school, with good road conditions.

DH's job finally found a new location (been searching for almost two years!) so we're looking to likely move in the next six months. While proximity to their school is the primary consideration, distance from gym is also a small factor. Another gym switch is simply not happening (DD in particular would probably literally kill me), and we love their schools. Here's to hoping that we find a place somewhere in the middle.

(Obviously, being under a maximum distance from DH's new work location is the whole point of moving, so he does matter too, haha).

 

[mommyof1]

Gym is just under 20 minutes away from home and school. We recently found a great after-school program that provides transportation to practice. After we get home from work, one parent fixes dinner while the other goes to pick her up at the gym.

I have not routinely watched practice since Tinker Bell was maybe six and a half years old and informed me that she wanted to be dropped off at the curb for all of her activities. I think I have watched two full practices in the past year because I thought there might be issues. If I am doing pickup, sometimes I will sneak in 10 minutes early. I have found that watching practice makes me anxious about her progress and makes me feel like a CGM, but a quick peek every now and then is fun because it's nice to see how far all the L3s have come this year and I also love catching a glimpse of the optionals on bars.

 

[Musicmama]

Oh wow. I'm feeling very fortunate and not minding nearly as much about the closest meet being just over 2 hours away. Dd's gym is only 10 minutes from our home (maybe 15-20 during rush hour if it's really bad), she's homeschooled, and on one of the days we're already practically right next door at the library for park day so I take her straight from there.

Sometimes we run errands while she's in the gym, but most of the time we come home. She's there for 2 hours at a time. I do stay and watch a little at dd's request during the one or two practices per month we're allowed to stay and watch, but I bring books and a tablet to keep me busy when she's waiting around and I count it as some of my "me time" while dh has the other children. I get precious little time to sit and read or write without the children around and I don't have to buy coffee or anything to sit at the gym