Parents not watching their children at soft play centres.

I let mine play and don't go in with them... but I sit nearby and if I see anything untoward I intervene. I would remove my child if they were in anyway hurting another child too.

Another bug bear of mine is someone who lets their older children go into the toddler section.

A little boy body slammed my LG today and his parents wasn't there to watch him or his siblings..she then had a go at me as I reported it lol even though half of the soft play seen it. Even said I shouldn't be watching her even tho there's a massive sign where she was standing to say watch your kids! She's 2 so yes I will watch her and turns out she didn't like it when I asked where was she? Parents should parent their kids and stop blaming other parents for being annoyed especially when a child was injuried.

Softplay is for four and five year olds barrelling around the place, that's literally the purpose. 4 and 5 year olds shouldn't be in the baby bit, but a 2yo shouldn't be in the bigger ballpit either, that's just dangerous.

It depends on the age of the child. The 2 year old should be supervised but once they get to about 4/5 then the kids get to roam and the parents (mum) gets to enjoy her coffee and her kindle.

The 2 year old should have been under constant supervision.

A well behaved 4 year old should be a le to be unsupervised but clearly not the one you saw!

From speaking to my sister who lives in England I think this might be a cultural difference with Ireland, but adults shouldn't be in the frame. If your DC needs an adult to help them, they're too small for that section and shouldn't be there.

If your DC are prone to misbehaviour you should be keeping an eye from the outside, but one of the main points of these places is to let kids go and play without adult interference in an environment that's physically safe for them.

And also, you've maybe not got to the stage where your child is faster than you. You can't jog after them or stand there bleating 'careful!' all day long.

If your kid is too small to go in soft play structures without an adult, they're too small, I'd say. Don't expect parents of older kids to try to throw themselves through the course trying to keep up with kids, just in case they jump somewhere!

Deliberate meanness is a different question.

Like I say, by the time your 22mo is 5, you might be ready to sit and trust to her judgment rather than attempt to police the whole time.

I agree to an extent, however when your child is 4 you will realise they are still very young and all the reminding in the world isn’t going to make it stick every time when they are running around a soft play!
Ultimately if a baby is young enough to get knocked over then they should stay in the young bit and be accompanied by their parent.

I sit whilst mine are in softplay (6&3) but I always keep an eye on them and have no problem calling a parent out to sort their child if they are not being safe or being nasty to mine. If you still can’t get off your arse then I’ll tell your child to leave mine alone.

I'm probably missing the point but what's the problem with going down a slide head first at a soft play?

Kids will come into conflict wherever they go, it's something they have to learn. The parent might have gone for a couple of minutes to get a cup of tea - that's allowed surely? As long it's not the whole session.

I wonder if you'll see it the same way when she's 4/5!

At many soft plays, you physically can't see kids all the time, even if you did a ridiculous thing of trying to follow them through mazes etc. And if you have two kids, it's not possible to be in the same place at the same time. So to some extent yabu.

The main thing is for the kids to have not been brought up to be little shits in general. They get hyped up and out of view and the bratty ones can be mean.

If you see your kid being a shit, of course you should intervene. Not all parents do a good job, and equally that mother might have been at the end of her tether and struggling so just let them rip.

I just avoid soft play tbh

@fitzwilliamdarcy

That’s true. Same reason I wouldn’t get into it with the parents.

I do semi agree but I also think people with older children need to consistently remind them to be careful and look around them for younger children, and keep an eye on them to ensure they are doing this.

I have a 22mo and so am always accompanying her but so often I've had to grab her out of harms way because a 4/5yo has come barreling at her/into the ballpit right on top of her.

Obviously children get excited and it's great for them to run about, but everybody knows there is a mix of ages in softplays so I do think all parents should be watching closely to ensure everyone is safe.

There should be staff supervising as well tbf and they aren’t great ime.

They're not paid well enough for the abuse they'd inevitably get for telling parents to parent.

YANBU OP. I work with people who boast about how much they love soft play because they can let their "feral kids be looked after by someone else for a change". Naice MC people as well.

My dd loves soft play. She loves climbing and will be literally trying to climb the walls if she doesn’t get enough physical exercise plus she has made friends who are regulars there.
We started going when she was four so she hasn’t been in the toddler part much. Adults are discouraged from going into the main part, no shoes are allowed and they’re not allowed on the top floor at all. I do my best to keep an eye out for her but it can be difficult. Especially because some of the kids are so badly behaved/ not supervised properly.
I’m getting reluctant to bring her tbh. She was bitten by a toddler last time, hard enough that it broke the skin through her t shirt. She has had her cap stolen off her head, been deliberately knocked over by an older boy who was about 8. He was just going around pushing the other (smaller) kids for fun. One time a toddler wandered into their bigger kids section and did a big wee all over the floor. The mother said “sorry she’s potty training”.
Parents obviously should do their best to watch their kids, but unfortunately they often just don’t. There should be staff supervising as well tbf and they aren’t great ime.

L

We don't take our kids to softplay much any more because the coffee is awful 😂 but one of the last times, my 5 year old was pinned to the ground by a girl of about 7. This girl then performed a drop kick wrestling move on a toddler in full view of several parents. My jaw hit the floor. I wouldn't usually condone shouting at a child, but the toddler's grandad (I'm assuming) did not hold back. Nobody could work out who's child it was to alert the parent.

This is my quote of the day! Off to soft play now with my dd as on holiday and its raining. Wish me luck!

Absolutely you shouldn't need to follow them around (although I followed my very nervous and tiny for his age youngest child for longer than most as he always got stuck), but you need to be vaguely aware of where they are in the structure and have an ear out for any trouble or arguments so you can quickly check that your child isn't involved in any bother.

Couldn’t agree more.

The parents with the feral kids (multiple, badly behaved bullies), charging through the baby area, are never watching their kids.

You can kind of see how a particular type of parents makes a particular type of kid!

I think a lot of the time the reality is somewhere in the middle. Sure some kids are feral and have terrible parents, but the reality is 4 year olds don’t need parents following them and climbing all over the apparatus to follow them.
Often parents of 1 year olds are obviously more cautious due to child’s age and think the same level of hands on parenting is necessary or appropriate for older kids and it’s not. The whole point of soft play is for kids to have a bit of freedom.

It was the two year old that was the issue. Under 3.5 they need watching, some a little later.

I absolutely love the last bit….. so true!!