Entitled parents need to keep older kids out of the young section of soft play

I took my baby to a specific under 5s soft play and it was really good for her development of gross motor skills with reduced risk of hurting herself. It was run by SureStart so well policed! @fancyeatingout you are right want to take your kid to safe space without older children invading.

This is something I've recently discovered as a new mum. I like taking my baby to soft play, where he can crawl, stand, learn to walk & explore safely. It gets us out of the house for a bit too.
There are certain times of day I avoid going due to big kids playing in the baby area. I don't go after school hours anymore because I was constantly having to move my baby out of harms way as the bigger kids would be running & jumping around where he was playing on the floor.
I'm too nervous to say anything incase one of the parents gets shitty with me.
Sometimes the staff will ask the children to go & play in the older kids area.

Some parents always take their older brats to younger areas/sessions and it boils my piss too. Shouldnt be allowed as its so dangerous for the little ones and theres no excuse.

Take them for a day out at farm or something like that instead, it’s stimulating as well as the fresh air. Also look to see if you have any play centres near you that are aimed at babies exclusively, we have one near us (South Yorkshire) that opened about 6 months ago, its soles aimed at under 2. I’ve never actually been as I have a 3 year old as well as a baby but it does sound like a good idea.

We do occasional soft play and I only let my
eldest into the baby section when there are no other babies in there other than his little brother or our friends babies. If any others come in I send him back out to play in the big section.

"My older kids are entitled to go in the baby area as they are used as childcare so I can ignore and drink my coffee in peace" 🤣

Then you lack imagination. For toddlers aged like 12-20 months a baby soft play is the perfect place for them to learn to walk and explore. Babies/toddlers that age desperately need this kind of physical development. I lived in a flat and didn’t have the space. I always took my young toddler to soft play.

There’s a ton of other stuff to do with older children, but soft play is one of the few options for toddlers.

This also annoys me at soft play as I have young kids, but at some of the ones local to us I find the labelling is really poor so it’s not always clear which area is just for under 3s. Also the staff should reinforce this but they don’t at all.

OP you aren’t wrong. Of course older children should stay out of the baby section. They have their whole massive own section of the soft play.

It’s lazy parents, and lazy staff, that’s all.

I hated this when mine were babies, and now they are slightly older I always stop them going in the baby/toddler section (even if it means splitting them up as siblings). Because the safety of small babies is important. It’s not hard.

Some soft plays run a baby session during the week for mums to meet and babies to roll about. Other than that I can’t imagine choosing to be there if I didn’t have older children. They are very dirty germy places.

OP spend the money you'll save not going to soft play on a nice robust all in one waterproof like muddy puddles and let them crawl around in the park.

Soft play is filthy and full of bugs. YABU for thinking it is a good place for a child who is just learning to crawl. You've got years yet of soft play fun.

I sympathise with the OP but was always aware, even when my kids were tiny, that the massively reduced rates for under 2/3s at almost all our local soft plays meant they were never going to be the priority customers.
I always operates on the assumption the 2 and under sections or under 2 sections were predominately there for people to have a place for younger siblings when they took the kids of an age to actually play in soft play and to have a bit of a market for term time school days.
Where we live we were fortunate to have one very small soft play and one play cafe that were specifically targeted at pre school kids. I generally found they were a lot better when kids were teeny as even the older kids would have someone keeping an eye on them
and many of the 3/4 year olds were with a younger sibling so good with the babies or told to go elsewhere by their own parents.
While I don’t think you are wrong that bigger kids shouldn’t be in the baby area and I did make it clear to mine they couldn’t once they were too big I also think it’s not something that’s going to change. Being pragmatic you are probably better looking for a venue locally aimed at only very young kids. Places we found worked well aside from that to let the kids explore in a safe space were baby/toddler classes for things like messy play, dance or music and small play areas in a couple of local museums that never had particularly boisterous kids around. Is there anything like that available near you?

She has said other things that are far easier to disagree with.

Soft play baby section is just a recipe for catching every mucous born infection going with a side order of worms if you are unlucky. Swimming is probably a much better activity, or a rug in the park if it’s not raining.

Of course your child should be able to use the age appropriate play area without children who are not that age being in there and putting her at risk.

Some parents are just entitled and lazy, thats a sad fact of life.

You are right, once they are at that awkward not yet walking but wanting to explore stage its hard to find activities in poor weather that are suitable. You cant exactly let her crawl around the park today (or at least not where I am in the midlands, it's pouring, muddy and fairly chilly) and why shoud you when there is a business providing a space aimed at your daughter's age group.

I'd keep on telling the staff and parents of the kids that shouldnt be in there and not give up. There is plenty of space for bigger kids to play in soft play

For goodness sakes soft play is no place for a baby. Soft play is no place for anyone. Honestly your child can't talk so can't ask to go there. Why put yourself through it?

The baby section is for the siblings of kids who nag and pester to go there. I'm assuming you don't have older children due to your attitude towards them at the soft play.

I will say though remember as well babies and tiny tots should not be in the older section with a parent that is also as bad.

How can anyone disagree that a parent who's paid for their baby to use the baby section that older kids aren't allowed in, is in the wrong to not want older kids in it?

No, you seem to feel entitled to judge anyone that disagrees with you, baselessly labelling them as the parents letting children into the wrong sections. "Charmless" is far too polite.

You’ll get better at advocating for your baby.

The OP's posting style may be a bit charmless and blunt, but I don't see how anyone in good faith can disagree with her?

You pay to take your baby to a soft play baby section, where older kids are not allowed, you're fully entitled to think that older kids won't actually be allowed.

And fully entitled to complain when the rules are being broken and staff appear to be doing nothing about it 🤷‍♂️

It doesn't matter if they "like" the baby section. They shouldn't be in there.

It's amazing more babies don't get hurt, it seems like a lot of parents of the bigger kids see these places as a free for all where the rules don't apply to them.

I rarely went to one of these as mine were at nursery three days a week, but when I did I had to put my rule enforcing manner on. I’ve ordered children out of the baby area and loudly demanded to know where their parent is. One mum had a go at me, but I don’t back down easily and the staff member who came over reinforced the rule. It’s pretty much the same in the park play area - unfortunately too many parents scrolling on their phones while their little darling kicks a toddler in the back at the top of the slide. I’ve pissed off a few parents in my time there as well.

Basically you’ve got to be prepared to shout ‘whose child is this who’s kicking other kids on the slide?’

YANBU. Keep complaining.

Oh yeah, super entitled to pay for something and expect use it. In an appropriate and age suitable fashion.

A lot of parents and children are dicks at soft play. It’s like some parents think they don’t have to parent their or make their children follow the rules. At the soft plays near me then ages are clearly stated