It's becoming a holiday tradition for the YMCA to raise their membership rates each December. Merry Christmas. Least they could stick their rate increase letter in a festive card or something.

Family memberships are up to more than $60 a month.

On top of that -- they will begin charging members for kid's swim classes in March of 2007. A "nominal" fee, their rate-increase letter says.

Leaving me wondering just what I am getting for all these annual price increases because I have YET to be able to get my daughter into dance class at the Eastside Y -- despite being in line at the Y at 8 a.m. on the morning sign ups are supposed to start. Somehow the class is always full by then (hmmmm...soemthing's fishy there and, really, if it's such a popular class, why don't they add more?)

And, don't even get me started on the fact that they virtually ignore the working parent. Almost all of the kids and mommy-and-me-type classes (with the exception of soccer and swim classes) at the Eastside Y are during the day. How am I supposed to have my child participate in those?

I used to like to swim laps on Mondays -- the one weekday I am off -- but that ended a few years ago when the Eastside Y filled the pool with senior aquatics classes all morning long. Pool is open for laps after 11:30 a.m., unfortunately, babysitting is over at noon.

No laps for me.

No dance class for daughter A.

No preschool classes for daughter B (because they're all during the day).

And now I have to pay an ADDITIONAL fee for the one class I can actually get my children into?

Unbelievable.

Meanwhile, they hand out free memberships to half of Erie county because their "mission is never denying anyone membership because of an inability to pay."

I thought their mission was to be a fitness center. Or, is it a child care now. I'm just not sure anywmore.

For $60 a month ($750 a year ... which more than I contribute to United way, more than I contribute to my kids' college fund, more than I pay for some of my home's basic utilities), the YMCAs are making membership unaffordable -- even for two-parent working families who can't participate in 80 percent of the classes they offer because we're ... well, working.