I'm on my phone so will try to pop in again later but basically my DD was exactly the same at Gymbaroo!! Exactly!!
I stuck it out and DD did get a bit better for mat time but it was never her favourite area. We did Gymbaroo from 4ish months through to 16ish months (I think!) then I joined a playgroup which suited DD a lot better. It's cheaper and she can 'free play' but it still has some structure such as craft, morning tea and story time.
My DD has always been a very busy baby and I don't bother fighting it. She's learnt how to sit down for morning tea, craft and story time at playgroup and she does have down time when she's ready for it at home. I continue to guide her in the right direction but mat time at Gymbaroo was just asking too much from a busy youngster. My DD loved the equipment, climbed very early and is very much the dare devil. Other kids in her class were very cautious and enjoyed mat time. They're just different personalities and that's A-OK
Sounds exactly like my 11month old!
For me, finding the book Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Kurcinka really helped me in terms of understanding her amazing store of energy and her need to MOVE MOVE MOVE (in the womb we would call her the wiggly worm, and at 11months she is now running!)
In terms of helping with mat time I haven't got any advice as I haven't been in that situation yet, although with other things that involve being in the one spot (car seat, high chair, shopping trolley etc) I have found that if she has something in her hands to play with it helps her from trying to wrangle free and run off. sometimes just saying 'dance, dance' will get her to dance on the spot and that can keep her occupied for a bit too.
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