Soft Play Rage!

[facepalming]

AIBU to think parents should be responsible for their kids at soft play?

I'm sure others have posted on this before but is it really up to me to stop your 2,3,4 or bloody 7 year old trampling my baby in the baby area?!!

With a 2 year old and a 7 month old I've completely ruled out soft play for duration of the summer to avoid braining the next mother that thinks her cuppa is more important than my babies eyes, limbs, future cognitive functions....

[NeedACleverNN]

Soft play is the 9th circle of hell...

Why on earth do older kids insist on playing in the under 4 section?

They have the rest of the okay equipment which is plenty of room yet they still insist on running though the toddler bits narrowly sending little ones flying. Why?!

[PansOnFire]

YANBU and from my (very limited) experience it only gets worse once your DC are able to disappear into the abyss of the giant padded frame where there appears to be no following of rules whatsoever. Getting away without being infected by some horrible cold/snot/cough germs is almost impossible too; seriously, stop going, its not worth it.

[facepalming]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

Who ever decided these places were a good idea??

God help me when mine are big enough for the real bits - it looks like a sugar fuelled re-enactment of the hunger games!!

[Pinkkahori]

I avoid them like the plague too.

The tiny kids playing in the big kid section are equally annoying. My oldest dd is a kind, gentle soul and she was upset for ages after knocking over a toddler climbing up inside an enclosed slide. There was absolutely nothing dd could have done but the toddler got a bad knock and dd felt awful.

[emsyj]

If there are older kids in the baby area then you need to report it to the staff to enforce the rule. Some soft play areas are more vigilant than others. I would personally steer clear of soft play during school holidays anyway as they are inevitably packed and hideous.

[facepalming]

OMG pinkkahori what parents are letting their little ones into that equipment?!

surely they'd be safer to let the kids play with matches at home??! (that ones a joke (ish) for those serious mumsnetters out there!!)

[facepalming]

emsyj I'm sure most places do try to respond when they see or are told about old kids in the baby sections but surely the parents of those brutes bear some responsibility too?

will definitely be steering clear until at least the end of the holidays!

[Pinkkahori]

It was a small local place which has since closed thankfully and there isn't another one anywhere near us so thankfully we can't go to soft play even if the kids want to.

[MoggyMischief]

I have spent far too much time in soft play over the years. I now liken it to war and send letters emails to my dh describing the battle zone. Obviously in a romantic wwII way.

Soft play is hell. Arm yourself and don't give in to the Huns works on two levels here

[emsyj]

Yes the parents are responsible really, but as you've discovered a lot of them don't give a shit. And some of them are aggressive and vile if you challenge their little darlings and remind them, 'this area is for the babies, the big frame is for you' - which I made the mistake of doing once... Never again. Often when you tell the staff, they will come and ask the kids to get out and moments later they will be back. It is 100% down to the parents' failure to watch their kids, but here's a newsflash for you - not all parents are attentive, courteous and pleasant! I now avoid having any interaction at all with parents and kids that I don't know and I just go straight to the staff.

[heatherwithapee]

Soft play is hell on earth, slightly more bearable in term-time.

[NeedACleverNN]

The staff kicked out the older children when Dd was tiny from the toddler section once.

As soon as the staffs back was turned, they were in there like a shot.

I kicked them out after that much to dh's embarrassment. I was not going to allow them to knock her over in a place that was for under 4's!

They were at least 9 so I don't know why they wanted to play in the baby section

[EllieHandMeDownBaby]

I have zero qualms telling off older children who are running through the baby area in the soft play.
I've also been know to question how old some children are and tell them to go elsewhere if they're over the age limit.
Oh, and I recently told children off for running up the slides when people were coming down, having narrowly avoided colliding with one child myself. And reported them to a member of staff.
Supervise your children or I will do it for you.
Yeah, I'm one of those mums

[honkinghaddock]

Ds used to go in the younger section when he was past the age limit. He felt safer in it but was always accompanied so wasn't a problem to anyone.

[WorraLiberty]

My soft play hell ended about 7 years ago as my youngest is 13.

Back then, phones didn't really have internet connection etc, so it was unusual to see parents with their heads buried in their phones, ignoring their children.

But even then it was the sort of place I was glad to get out of, not least because of the heat in there and the stupid prices of cold drinks.

It's one of the few places I don't have fond memories of taking my kids to

[softjellyjunglecustard]

Grr i know, it's like at the park with the swings meant for little ones, 10 year old kids standing in them and swinging because they obviously cant fit to sit down when there's unoccupied grown-up swings 5 meters away, and my DD(2) is stood glowering at them.

[bumsexatthebingo]

YANBU. I'm always watching out for mine in the under 3's/4's bit because it's no place for a game of tag/ball pool fight when there are tiny ones around. I remember being irritated by it when mine were little and the staff don't seem to care. I have to say though the parents that let their just-walking children hang around at the bottom of the slides and toddle about in the main frame to be inevitably flattened are just as annoying.

[softjellyjunglecustard]

Oh and btw there are way too many parents at our softplay who literally leave the gates to the baby areas wide open, even when there's signs saying the gate must be shut after each entry and exit, to stop the babies crawling out.

[PenelopeChipShop]

I wouldn't even consider soft play with toddlers during the school holidays. I don't even do weekends with mine (oldest 4, little one 4 months). Weekday mornings are ok.

Took mine to a farm this week on a sunny day to enjoy the outside bit. DS knows there's a play barn too and adked to go in there. Too sleep deprived to make up an excuse, I just said I couldn't face it. Oddly he accepted that! 😮

[facepalming]

elliehandmedownbaby I'm with you! I don't worry to say something but I start to feel like some kind of soft play warden after a while! Kinda takes the fun out of it :(

It seems to usually be the most unruly kids that's roam into baby area but sometimes i almost catch myself feeling bad when it's a sweet kid - but even then kids are clumsy and not as aware of the danger they pose to roaming babies. I know my 7 month old is dreadful for getting under my feet when roaming around and could easily come a cropper around bigger footed kids!

[minesapintofwine]

I don't mind soft play! As the dc burn off energy

That said I try to be vigilant my Dts are 4 and truthfully they are boisterous, which I don't love, but I keep them out of the baby area and getting in the way etc. Dt2 tends to wander into the baby area as he likes the gentler toys but I do remove him. I don't really like it when little dc go in the bigger area though as I'm worried they'll be knocked over. Works both ways I suppose.

[facepalming]

I would never let mine wander off to the big area - the sight of that scares me enough I wouldn't want to wander in there myself lol!

I agree it's just as irresponsible and totally spoils the fun for the bigger kids to have to be careful of the little ones!

Needascarf I think you are onto something!

[Armi]

It is my biggest fear that I will get stuck in one of the tubes like Augustus Gloop and will have to be cut out by the fire brigade.

[littledrummergirl]

I used to be pa. I would talk to my baby/toddler very loudly about the tall babies who didn't seem to be capable of playing properly in the baby space. Lots of use of silly Billy and how clever my child was to use the equipment properly.

It's amazing how fast they left when being spoken to in the same baby talk voice. Asking an older child when their 3rd birthday was would also confuse them into leaving. If they said they were 6 for example they would get comments about how nice they will find books when they learn to read and that recognising numbers will help with maths.
I'd also apologise to them for mistaking them for babies.