The best Parent and Me classes around Shanghai

From kids yoga to arts and crafts, here are five places for that all-important quality time

Photograph: courtesy Music Together
Looking for a way to mix up your parent-and-tot time? Shanghai has plenty of Parent and Me classes on offer that focus on everything from building fine motor skills at a young age to working on building confidence and independence through play. Whatever you're after, these sessions are a great way to spend an afternoon – especially if you're looking for fun indoor activities with kids.

Speckled Frogs
Want to keep things fresh? This baby and toddlers group mixes things up with its variety of classes that range from focused sessions – like yoga to help your kids relax or baby and toddler ballet lessons that introduce your mini ballerinas to the fundamentals of the dance – to the more general ‘Big Leapers’, that concentrates on developing skills across multiple areas via storytelling, music and movement, art and themed play.
Add ‘SpeckledFrogsSh’ on WeChat for class locations and schedules.

Z&B Fitness
As well as all kinds of exercise classes for adults and kids, fitness studio Z&B offers Mami&Me Preschool sessions that encourage tots (and parents) to keep their minds and bodies active. Designed for ages one to three, the classes – which run over an hour and a quarter – are split into different activities including story time, crafts, music and dancing with the aim of building confidence, sparking imaginations and getting exercise.
Z&B Fitness (Changle Lu) 14th Floor, 1219 Changle Lu, near Wulumuqi Zhong Lu (WeChat: ZnBFitness). Changshu Lu. Multiple locations.

Jitterbugs 1
Photograph: courtesy Jitterbugs

Jitterbugs
Operating for a decade, Jitterbugs is well known in the community for its fun classes, split across two programmes. Musical Movement offers 45-minute lessons set to energetic songs with movements, games and toys that will have your little one learning in an informal atmosphere – they’ve got classes for pre-walkers (under nine months) all the way to four years old. The Busy Bees programme gives kids aged one to four a holistic early learning experience to increase confidence and independence, build new skills and get them prepped for preschool.
Jitterbugs (Hongqiao) King Joy Fitness, Third Floor, 2075 Hami Lu, near Pingxi Lu (WeChat ID: JitterbugsSH). Shanghai Zoo. Multiple locations.

Music Together
Feel the beat at Music Together’s intro to the musical world where the goal is to nurture babies, toddlers and preschoolers in a constructive way, all while learning about each child’s natural musicality in a playful, musically rich learning environment. This programme differs from other music and movement classes as they focus on getting kids to explore and create music themselves using their bodies and instruments.
Add WeChat ID ‘anniehsu0808’ or email musictogethershanghaimama@ yahoo.com for class locations and schedules.

Awesome Kids Club x Dragon Space
An organisation that champions fun, exploration and learning for the city’s youngest minds, Awesome Kids Club teams up with family-friendly yoga studio Dragon Space for special Mommy/Daddy and Me Yoga Classes. A space where you and your minis can stretch it out and unwind, the sessions are also said to help develop physical skills, social awareness and encourage a healthy lifestyle from a young age.
Awesome Kids Club Second Floor, Qunxing Bldg, 940 Changde Lu, near Changping Lu (WeChat ID: awesomekidsclub). Changping Lu.
Dragon Space A3, 800Show, 800 Changde Lu, near Changping Lu (WeChat ID: dragonspaceyoga). Changping Lu.

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