Why Ben Doesn't Go to Gymboree Classes

Readers, I am angry at Gymboree. No, not for their overpriced children's clothes; I'm upset at the company for two reasons: 1) They have run a series of ads for their classes that I find offensive, and 2) despite my repeated attempts to contact them via email, no one from the national office has responded to my complaint.

First, here's a letter I wrote to the local biweekly newspaper about the ad Gymboree ran:

Dear Editor:

I am concerned by the Gymboree ads that have been running in the Webster-Kirkwood Times. Today’s ad has a picture of an infant and reads, “Of course, you want her to be normal. Only these days, normal plays the violin by age 7 and has a 4.3 GPA.”

This ad and the one in last week's paper prey on parents’ fears that their children might fall behind others. The implication is that Gymboree classes are necessary for a child to be “normal.” The ads do not describe the positive aspects of Gymboree classes, but instead try to make parents afraid NOT to take their children to Gymboree.

When I taught high school, I was sad to see the pressure students put on themselves and felt from their parents. It sickens me to see Gymboree helping create a climate where this pressure to achieve starts in infancy. Those ads encourage parents to see their children's peers as competitors, not potential friends.

Parents who are interested in finding out what is necessary for their children to be “normal” would do well to read Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn-- And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and her colleagues.

I am new to the area and was looking for a class to take with my 16-month-old son. Gymboree programs may provide a wonderful, nurturing experience, but thanks to these ads, I'll never know. I plan to enroll in a class at the local Y. In the future, I hope Gymboree will think more carefully about the messages they send to parents.

Sincerely,

Tess Thompson

I sent a similar letter to the local Gymboree franchise, and copied Gymboree headquarters. The woman who owns the local franchise sent me a kind email, inviting me to take a free class and expaining the ads were sent to them by headquarters. She said she would no longer use the violin ad, but that she needed to use the other ones.

So the real answer needed to come from headquarters. I emailed them on August 19, and received a reply back the same day, stating, "We will gladly pass your feedback onto the respective parties for further review and consideration." Hearing no further response, I followed up on September 13. A week later, someone named Liz, with the humorous email address of playandmusic_escalation@gymboree.com, assured me, "Your concerns have been email to the appropriate parties who will contact you by email within 48 hours." Now, I don't think Liz was deliberately lying to me, but 120 hours later, I'm still waiting for a response.

I thought Gymboree might have been interested to know that their ads had alienated a member of their target audience. At the time, I was actively seeking a class to take with Ben, and their ads convinced me NOT to go to Gymboree. Now, though, I'm angry because Gymboree headquarters told me they would respond, and they haven't. That's just bad customer service.

So if any of you are offended by the ads (or just bored at work), join in my campaign. You can either email playandmusic_escalation@gymboree.com or use their form here. If they ever provide me a justification for their ads--or even a response--I'll post it in a comment here. Meanwhile, Ben is enjoying his class at the Y, and I'm glad we supported an organization that shares our values.