Santa Barbara Family YMCA — Attraction in Santa Barbara

UNSAFE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN:Swim lessons and kids corner.

I love many things about the YMCA. Overall it is a really fabulous organization.... but the Santa Barbara location has proven to be an unsafe location for younger children on more than one occasion and in more than one department.

The Kids Corner seems nice and clean but there are too many children and the staff is too young and inexperienced. The YMCA Kids Corner accepts children as young as 3 months old. So when there are a few babies in there, the toddlers have little supervision. I stayed to watch how the children were treated and interacted with on a few occasions and I would NEVER leave my 1 year old in there. I watched my child put something she could have choked on in her mouth and no one noticed because the two staff members monitoring outside children were on their cell phones while sitting at the picnic table. I even saw a staff member glued to her cell phone while trying to break up a fight between to children. There was broken glass on the ground that day also. And there were young children inside playing with no supervision at all. I feel like it is only a matter of time before there is a serious injury in there.

If they would charge a small fee, they could bring in someone experienced full time to manage all the 18-25 year old baby sitters they currently have who may not always use the best judgement when caring for your child (and 20 others!)

The other safety issue I feel should be addressed is in swim lessons. Today they had 3 classes booked at the same time with over 15 children who could not swim (ages 3-6) all crowded into the shadow end where they could touch. It is really REALLY chaotic and one child was accidentally pushed under by another child. She and her mother left in tears. Although there is a life guard on duty, he sits on the tower monitoring swim team and an adult class in the deep end as well as the 15+ kids who cannot swim. The problem is not the class size, it's that they are all happening at the same time. They are pressed for space. To many 3-6 year olds who can't swim shoulder to shoulder. It's not safe. I wish they would figure out a better way to schedule. Until then, we are finding a safer location for our 4 year old to...

My toddler takes swim lessons at the Y. It was nearly impossible to find lessons during 2020/2021, and I'm so thankful the Y had a great schedule and opportunities for swim lessons in 2022! We've been doing lessons for about six months and had (I believe) five instructors. Some are definitely better than others at keeping the kids engaged, but they've all been good (Ivanka, Carlos, and Cameron I'd call great). The program director (Madison) is responsive to questions and helped me make sure I signed my son up for the right amount of each class to make sure he was ready for the next challenges. I think the classes are the right size and duration for preschoolers attention spans. It's been great watching my son learn a new skill and increase...

A year ago I stepped into a gym and started focusing on my physical health for the first time. For someone who had no knowledge about working out, eating healthy, or how to use the equipment, I'm so glad that I started at the Y. I couldn't have asked for better trainers and staff to support me and my goals. My trainer Mike has done an incredible job at encouraging me to keep pushing my limits, and go for one more rep! Now my summer body is my all-year body ;) I've managed to break a lot of bad lifestyle habits by choosing to hit the gym and mix up my routines with all the group exercise classes they offer.

Thanks SB Y for helping me get my health back on track, and the confidence to...