Have you ever been turned away because of your kid's special needs?
Amy writes about a mom who can't use her fitness club's babysitting service because of her son's autism
Photo by EvanLovely via Flickr
Recently a story in my local paper jumped out at me. A single mom had been taking her son with autism (now 2.5 years old) to the babysitting service provided at her fitness club while she exercised. But after a year of regular visits, the boy was no longer welcome. Specifically, babysitting staff thought he required one-on-one supervision — something they couldn’t provide.
A tough situation. All parents need a chance to exercise and care for themselves. Many parents of kids with special needs see exercise as a lifeline. In fact, the mom in this story had been advised by her doctor to exercise regularly to combat stress.
Over the long term, stress can put our health at risk. In a 2009 study, researchers followed a group of moms of teens and adults with autism. They measured the women’s hormone levels in order to assess their stress level. Surprisingly, these moms were found to have stress levels similar to those of soldiers in combat.
Unfortunately, there are barriers to stress-busting exercise. Especially if your child has behavioural or medical needs, using a mainstream fitness centre childcare can be impossible, even for an hour. So what’s a stressed-out mama (or dad) to do?
Do you use fitness club or community centre babysitting so you can exercise? Have you ever been turned away because of your child's special needs?
Photo by EvanLovely via Flickr
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Kaori (not verified) says ....
You are rocking it! Look at the slarkpy light you got into that baby's eyes!! Dang girl! Beautiful work! I love it!Miss you! Wish we were closer in distance!MJ
Ayesh (not verified) says ....
Hey! I met you through Ali Hohn a cploue years back at a workshop, not that I expect you to remember:) I am coming to Utah to photograph some engagements, could you tell me where this line of trees is ??? I would be so grateful, I have no idea where to take my clients:) Thanks!!!!!Jennie
Treena (not verified) says ....
When my son was younger, he is 12 now, I ran into that problem quite frequently because of his peanut allergy. Of course now that food allergies are more accommodated, most childcare places have a "no nuts" policy, I would guess that wouldn't be such an issue now, but many people were quite rude to me at the time.
I partially agree with what Anne said in that if I didn't feel comfortable with the staff's ability to deal with an emergency situation, I wouldn't leave my child there. However, as my husband worked out of town frequently, and we had 2 kids 18 months apart, it made it difficult to get any "me" time which I would have liked to have more of at the gym. Also, since I have friends with children on the Autism spectrum, I understand how much more they need a break than parents of children without special needs.
Anne (not verified) says ....
If your child requires special care that the staff at a place are not trained nor able to give, it is totally reasonable for them to turn you away. You would be expected to get tradtional babysitting instead or workout at home, or workout in a way that can include your child.
I see nothing wrong with that.