I had been a member of LA Fitness for approximately 10 years prior to an incident that occurred in the Kidz Klub involving my 7-year-old daughter. During this incident, my daughter was accused of purposely scratching a 2-year-old child. However, the staff member responsible for supervising the children did not witness the alleged event, meaning there was no direct evidence to support this accusation.Despite this lack of observation, my daughter was left unattended in the Kidz Klub with the father of the child who had been scratched. When I entered the room, this individual was yelling at the top of his lungs at my 7-year-old daughter and accusing her of abusing his child. I was extremely concerned that a staff member would allow a young child to remain alone with an upset adult who was not her parent or guardian.Additionally, the explanation provided by the staff member changed multiple times. Initially, the employee stated that the baby had fallen out of her lap. Later, the story was changed to claim that my daughter intentionally scratched the child a second time. After I addressed the situation with staff, the explanation shifted again and the incident was then described as an accident, with the explanation that accidents happen frequently.It is also important to note that my daughter was not the only child present in the Kidz Klub at the time. The staff members child (who is known to hit other children), as well as another child, were also present. Despite this, blame was placed solely on my daughter, who is African American and who, in the six years she had attended the Kidz Klub, had never had any prior behavioral issues or incidents involving physical harm toward another child. I made the decision to not return with my daughter.Following this incident, I later received a call informing me that my kidz klub account had been banned because what was classified as an accident is supposedly not allowed at LA Fitness. When I questioned how this decision could be made when the alleged incident was never actually witnessed by staff, I was told that the company relies on the word of staff members because they were trained.This raises several serious concerns. Should a trained staff member make accusations about an event they did not witness? Should a staff member leave a minor child unattended with an upset adult who is not related to that child? I do not know this individual and have no knowledge of whether he has undergone any background checks that would make it appropriate for him to be left alone around children in a childcare setting.After being a loyal member for 10 years, I am deeply disappointed by the way this situation was handled. The inconsistent statements, lack of proper supervision, and the decision to penalize my family based on an unobserved incident raise serious questions about the policies and safety procedures in place at this facility.I hope LA Fitness will take the time to carefully review this situation and ensure that proper supervision and fair decision-making practices are being followed in the Kidz Klub moving forward.
