Children’s role play village expected you to spend last 15 mins of session tidying up

[L3tti316]

Now I’ve only ever been to one other role play village and this didn’t happen so unsure if it’s the norm or not? But we paid for an hour and a half session and after an hour and 15 minutes they, and this is no exaggeration, blasted a tidy up song and parents and children I’m assuming felt obliged to stop playing and to tidy up. The man who owned it (I think) started tidying up and putting things back too.

I don’t know if it’s just me but I really feel like those extra 15 minutes should be spent playing and not tidying, especially as we’ve already paid for an allocated ‘play’ session. I understand teaching kids to tidy up but we do this at home, we go to these places to have fun. My youngest didn’t understand why the trike he was going up and down on kept getting removed and my eldest has autism and was getting upset at children/parents removing everything he was trying to play with.

He’s very good at being told ‘let’s get our shoes on and go to the car’ he will immediately stop and do so but he does not understand why things are being removed and why everybody is suddenly running around like headless chickens.

I kind of walked out thinking well that was all a bit weird. There’s no right or wrong answer really but I’m just wondering if anybody else has encountered this before as I hadn’t?

@Kalevala you're still comparing lessons, where it might be important to be familiar with the equipment and discipline is part of the teaching to a business set up solely for dc to go and have fun out of the house. Not comparable. At public family swim sessions did you grab a squeegee and clean the poolside or tidy up other people's mess from the changing rooms?

I wasn't referring to a class though. I was referring to places you can go simply for enjoyment. None of the stay and play sessions at places like swimming, trampolining, gymnastics etc around here make you spend some of your allotted time tiding up or setting everything back up for the next group.

At a paid for class yes I'd expect that but there's a difference between something you're paying for for fun and something you're paying for t actively teach your children something.

Would you have paid the same for an hour session or would you not have gone at all?

Church playgroup, children and family centre, anything volunteer lead, friend's house- yes I absolutely help to tidy.

A commercial enterprise? Absolutely not. What next, putting their bins out?

You mentioned gymnastics and trampolining, which are also lessons. Cleaning is not comparable to just putting away what you were playing with ready for the next person.

If you go to a gym as an adult, you put things right for the next person.

I think a gym is very, very different to a fun day out you’ve paid for and planned for your children. These comparisons are getting silly now.

But that's irrelevant. We're talking about a role play village where in lots of people's experiences it's not the norm to have the children put everything away. This one expects that but that doesn't mean the ones that don't are in the wrong it just means they instead prioritise the children's enjoyment and acknowledge that resetting the play space is part of their job.

Honestly I would have just left. 100% tidy up at a church toddler group but not at a paid business establishment.

@Kalevala when referring to trampolining I meant the parks but I suppose I was mistake. To mention gymnastics, however in all the years my dc did that we just left at the end. We did not tidy the equipment

In reality, I don't think we have ever gone to any children's activity where you wouldn't tidy up after yourself to some degree. It's just common courtesy. Also, if things were left in a state so it took more employee time, then that cost would be passed on. As a low income family, I'd prefer costs to be kept down.

I tidy up in terms of putting my cups and plates at the end of the table, any napkins and sachets of sauce or sugar I put in the bin, use a baby wipe to clean the highchair we’ve used, pick up bits of food that have been dropped underneath and tuck the chairs in as we leave. But I don’t think it should be expected for paying customers to tidy up and reset an entire role play village and use their final 15 minutes of what should be playtime setting it up for the next children, in my opinion that’s not fair. You don’t agree with me and that’s perfectly fine too, there is no right or wrong answer.

There's one place that does this in my city, no others do, the staff tidy up (and sanitise as apt) in the break between sessions.

The people who run this one are v grumpy though and completely unsuited to running a kids place (rang a bell to annouce tidy up time 🤯) so I might be being swayed by that

They all do this in my experience, from role play villages to every single play group. It’s frustrating when the children are too young (like 18 months) to properly understand tidying up. I usually had to leave when tidy time started as when DC was little he would just try and get the toys back out and was too young to understand the play session had ended. The play groups are worse because you are expected to tidy, watch DC then sit to sing. None of which DC was capable of before 2.

You don’t agree with me and that’s perfectly fine too, there is no right or wrong answer.

As I said earlier, I agree that it should be stated on the website either way. We would have avoided an activity where DS had to leave without having a time to put things away as it would have confused and upset him when he was very young, say two and a half to four years old. He didn't understand other children pulling things out he had put away, and would become frustrated, so a clear time at the end, where this would not be allowed, would have helped a lot. Communication of expectations would be key though.

Agreed, some sort of signage or it written on their website/Facebook page would be very helpful!

I simply wouldn’t do it and I’d let my kids keep playing, if I’m paying then I’m not tidying up. If it’s a play group in a church hall then I’d happily help tidy up but I’d expect it to be the last 5 minutes, not 15!

I’ve been to lots of role play centres and have never experienced this.

At the very least they shouldn’t be including the ‘tidy up’ time when advertising the length of their sessions. That feels a bit cheeky when they can’t actually play. At my local ones the children continue playing up until the very end of the session.

When I used to take my DC both with special needs to activities put on for them in our area. The last 10-15 minutes was tidying everything away. Yes the first time they did get upset. But after the first time it just became part of the routine. They used to love putting everything away in the cupboard. Mainly because they knew they would have a snack and drink after.

Also if we went to a soft play if they threw the ball's out the ballpool I encouraged them to put them back. They soon learnt the balls stay in the pool.

An autism expert actually told me it's better to have the same expectations you would have if an adult. Things like them stripping off you have to be firm tell them it's not acceptable. It's too confusing for them to think they can do it until a certain age. Then tell them they can't. It's much easier to get the behaviour under control when their smaller.

My son does really, really well with a lot of things but unfortunately with how delayed and behind he is with his receptive language he doesn’t understand why people are taking the toys he’s enjoying playing with away from him. I can try and try to explain it to him but he just doesn’t get it and honestly I can’t blame him if I’m being truthful.

This is the first time we’ve ever encountered it too. He understands somewhat to tidy up at home, at school etc. but he’s been to plenty of soft plays, play cafes and now a couple of role play villages and it’s never been a requirement at the end of your paid session to FULLY put away all the toys, equipment etc and set up for the next paying families. I’m not going to begrudge the kid for getting a little frustrated when all he wanted to do was sit peacefully counting the fruit and vegetables he had in a trolley and for getting upset at children taking them off him to tidy up. I am his parent, I will prewarn him when the session is coming to an end, I will help transition him from playing to putting away what he’s currently got and then leaving.

Also, I think special needs or not, I’ve come to realise this isn’t the problem here.. he had an extra 15 minutes paid for for a ‘play session’ the poor kid should have been allowed to play during those 15 minutes. He can continue learning at home and school, if I pay for a family day out I don’t want to be doing those things. I tidy up enough at home as it is, we go to these places to have fun. Not to have a very obnoxious tidy up song blasted at us and 15 minutes of a paid for session completely wasted because the staff that are paid to work there can’t be bothered to do their job.

Abu because for children, tidy up can be part of play.

having said that my children have SEN - and after 2 minutes of tidying they would make a mess so I would need to finish early

If you’ve read the entire thread you will see my eldest does have additional needs.

Whenever we go somewhere new I read the reviews, I read their Facebook page and I read their website. It’s something we have to do in order to make sure any place we’re going to is suitable for him.

Had it been mentioned anywhere at all that they require 15 minutes of your session to tidy up I wouldn’t have gone or at the very least would have left early. But if truth be told, I just wouldn’t have gone. I don’t think you should pay what is advertised as a ‘play session’ and spend 15 minutes at the end setting it up for the next lot of children.

I get what you are saying in principle.

There are a couple near us. Only one does tidy up time, and that one is the most expensive by a long way. But it’s always the best. There’s no point going to a village if non if the loose parts are there.

That expensive one isn’t just tidied at the end it’s also tidied continuously throughout by a few fairies. It’s honestly blissful compared to the other villages.

They do have a 15 minutes after that between sessions. But that’s for a quick cleaning not tidying.

Yeah there is another near us and they leave 15 minutes in between their sessions (it could be half an hour actually) so they can reset the village and clean it properly.

I’ve said on here I wouldn’t actually have minded maybe 5 minutes at the end without the loud obnoxious song playing and maybe you’re only expected to just put away what you’re currently playing with. But 15 minutes? That’s quite a chunk when you’re only paying for an hour and a half. The parents and children were running around like headless chickens and with the song blasting your ear drums it was chaos. Not fun at all.

Well that’s great. So just go to that one?