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When the weekend rolls around, Andy Robbins leaves his Stamford and Fairfield The Little Gym locations and does the opposite of most people. He ditches the sweats and T-shirts for a nice pair of pants and a shirt.
All of my suits have been in the attic so long they have permanent crease lines on them from the hangars, he says, smiling. Outside his office, young children kick off their shoes and wait for their turn at the balance beam and other activities inside the main room at the Little Gym in Stamford. On the weekends, I dress up because the rest of the week Im already wearing sweats everyday, he says.
Robbins left the corporate world years ago to pursue an opportunity to run the Fairfield County locations of the national chain. He hasnt looked back. Ive definitely seen a reduction in grey hair, he says.
Robbins received training from The Little Gym International on teaching classes and skill building. The staff he hires have a background in child education or have done gymnastics in their past.
His son went through the program early in his ownership. Robbins said he could tell there was a positive benefit to core strength and coordination.
The Little Gym offers a number of active physical programs for young children. They can perform basic gymnastics. The very young have classic coordination activities such as the parachute. All of the activities are meant to work on key skills. Robbins said sometimes the parents dont quite understand that in many aspects he runs a fun gym for kids, not just a playroom.
It really frustrates me when a parent comes in and says, Oh this seems like a lot of work, I just want my kids to have fun. Well, if thats all that matters to you, take them to the mall and let them run around the kiddie area. But it is really beneficial to let your children work on developing these skills and its fun. We call it serious fun, Robbins says.
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