Play Gym

The headline here is - we love Play Gym!

We have been attending Play Gym sessions since September 2015, at which point Angus was getting to be a confident walker.  He'd started walking in the June.

We go to the sessions at Palace of Art in Bellahouston Park.

At first there would only be a few families attending our session but it's now (March 2017) quite busy.  This makes me feel confident that they won't shut down the sessions!

For your money, you get one hour to play with your child(ren) on all the gymnastics equipment (balance beam, scramble tables, bars, soft play blocks, trampettes), (sometimes) a bouncy castle and a big trunk of balls, bats, scoops, quoits, bean bags etc. on the sprung floor.  One hour is sufficient time to try everything but not long enough to get bored.  Angus is ready to go once our hour is up.  He loves it and I used to get a really good nap out of him afterwards, back in the day.

You do have to commit to playing with your child, you can't sit back a watch or chat (some mums try and it's their children that are absolute pests).  But it's only one hour.

Parking is plentiful for the time of day and free.  If the weather is nice, we park at the House for an Art Lover and enjoy a bit of time in the park afterwards.  There is a toilet and baby change situated next to the hall used, which is very convenient.  The corridor outside offers lots of buggy parking, although people bringing a baby seem welcome to park them in the hall.  Some people choose to get a vending machine coffee and hang out with friends afterwards but if you wanted something posher there are cafes in the House for an Art Lover (very nice, not as expensive as you'd think) and the Ski Centre (untested to date!).  Sessions run throughout the week during term time and they run a restricted timetable during holidays (although you have to be eagle-eyed to find out when!).  It is £2.10 per child plus £1 per extra child and £1 per adult.  It's pay as you go too, which is brilliant.

Sessions also run at Govanhill Neighbourhood Centre (once a week) and Kelvin Hall.  I haven't been to either.  I notice West End mums get charged more for their session and you would have to pay £1 to park at Kelvingrove.  Hooray for Govan living!