Paolo, My YMCA Strong Kid

I have an active child. A very active child. One evening at dinner he was having a particularily hard time sitting in his chair long enough to make progress on his meal and proclaimed in frustration, “Can. We. Just. Do. Something. Active?!” He needs about 2-4 hours of physical activity a day…and he’s social. Super social. How do I channel that energy, meet his social needs, and still survive? One way is to keep him moving and talking at the YMCA. When he was younger we took advantage of the parent-child swimming lessons and Rainbow Rompers. Now, on any given day during the year Paolo is enrolled in an organized sport at the YMCA; swimming, soccer, and basketball, so far. He has his sights set on flag football and baseball next.  No matter his age it’s been fun, healthy, and social.

Last summer was his first summer participating in the Summer Care program. I was unsure about how it would go, but when I picked him up after the first day, I was convinced that we had made the right decision. He loved the adult leaders, organized and free-time activities, scheduled field trips, and playing and interacting with kids of all ages. I loved that they were super organized, put a lot of thought into caring for and entertaining the children in a positive way, and had them playing neighborhood games I used to play when kids were allowed to roam the neighborhood unsupervised all summer.

The moment I most remember, though, was when I received the phone call that Paolo had been accidentally pushed to the pavement while playing kickball and had slammed his head pretty hard. The staff not only took the proper steps in caring for him, but they had the information the nurses asked for when I called from work to see if he needed to be seen in the ER. It turns out he did need to go to the ER, and though I was scared and worried, I was well-prepared with the details the staff passed on to me about the circumstances of his injury.

I can’t say enough about children’s programing and care at the YMCA. Many children and families can’t afford to take advantage of the resources the YMCA offers. Money raised through the Strong Kids Campaign allows low-income children to do so. If you’d like to make a donation online you can do so on my YMCA Strong Kids Campaign page. If you prefer to be billed later, shoot me an email or leave a comment. I’ll make it happen.