Children are next to join a gym
TEXT OF STORY
JEREMY HOBSON: Midterms are a week away, and as every political ad on TV will remind you, a good job can be tough to find these days. All this week we’re looking at the sustainability of jobs. Some have much better outlooks than others. Today, Marketplace’s Adriene Hill checks out a career that’s growing almost as fast as its little clients.
CLASS: Stand up. It’s time to exercise. Everyone say exercise.
ADRIENE HILL: Dan “the Man” Levi is helping 3- and 4-year-olds get fit.
CLASS: Warm up your muscles, who’s the fastest?
Watching these awkward, little kids trying to get their bodies to jump and stretch and how adoring their parents are is really very sweet.
BETSY CHASSE: That was amazing, did you see that. That was amazing.
Mom Betsy Chasse and Dad Gordie Grobelny beam as their 3-year-old son Max balances and does a flip with help of Dan “the Man.” They signed Max up to help get him busy and play with other kids. Dan “the Man” Levi says parents bring kids to his class for all sorts of reasons.
DAN LEVI: A lot of time kids are shy, a lot of times their kids are uncoordinated, or they want to give them like a said, an experience where it’s a fun exercise lifestyle.
Healthier kids also, hopefully, become healthier adults. Training tykes to tumble has been good for Levi. He started his business eight years ago, as a mobile gym that took fitness classes to schools. About four years ago, he got his own space in Los Angeles.
ROGER MONCARZ: Increasingly parents are hiring personal trainers for their children and the number of weight training gyms for kids is expected to continue to grow.
Roger Moncarz is an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The kiddie fitness trend isn’t just a upper-crust concern. Some family oriented gyms like YMCA’s are adding fitness classes for little ones. Moncarz estimates jobs for fitness instructors that pay about 30 grand a year will jump by nearly a third over the next decade. That’s a faster rate than many jobs in the expanding service sector…
MONCARZ: It’s not just the adults who have the New Year’s resolutions and are trying to get in shape, they’re trying to impart that wisdom and those values on children as well.
Adults are also looking to exercise to stay healthy, minimize their health care costs, and improve their — shall we say — bottom line. Too bad getting in shape can’t always be this fun.
CLASS: Go find your square and jump on it.
I’m Adriene Hill for Marketplace.
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