Soft play?

[Welllllllnow]

Would you voluntarily go to soft play if you didn't have to? Or to meet friends?

Not in a million years.

Depends on the soft play - we have some smaller ones run within cheerleading academies which are much nicer and aimed more towards under 8s

I hate monkey bizness only go there for parties

Hell no

Depends

There's some soft play locally I won't set foot in again for love nor money. Small, dirty, echoes with a million screeches

Most are alright I guess

One I would go to on my own without the kids 😅 the coffee is the best

I would often promise my two little DC we could go to soft play then when we pulled into the car park I just couldn’t face it. 😱

That’s how bad it is.

So no.

What do you mean by "if you didn't have to?"

No one ever has to 🤔

If you didn't have dc and met a friend

I voluntarily take the kids, it's not my best day out but it's fine. I wouldn't go there if I didn't have kids.

I've never been forced into a softplay!

We have a tiny soft play here that has a 10 child limit and is very expensive. It's the only one I have ever suggested a meet up in. The massive warehouses are dreadful!

Yes because my child likes it. There are several things I do because my child enjoys them, not because I actually want to.

We have one that does very good cake, gets it in from a fancy cafe in town. I'd go to that one without kids just for the cake

I assume the friend has small DC and this isn’t just two adults deciding to meet in soft play?

I have a couple of close childfree friends/family members who I know wouldn’t mind meeting my DC and I at a soft play. I’d still try and find somewhere else though and soft play would kinda be ‘last resort’. I’d pay their entrance and coffee!

Most people though, no I wouldn’t suggest it. I’d suggest something else and ask if they mind my DC being there or change the day for when I am able to be child free.

My dp took our dc to a soft play area today and I got off work early so as I knew they'd be there, I popped in only to find a female friend of his there too. She doesn't have dc so it struck me as a strange place to meet lol

Why didnt you just say that in the beginning

And what was there response to seeing you?

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Yes this is a bit weird. On a lot of levels.

Because I was asking if people would go there by choice

Think you’re asking the wrong question

It is strange on a number of levels.

What do you mean?

Not if I had to provide hands-on supervision. Once they're old enough to reliably run around and not need me to run interference if there's a little dispute, and can find me in the seating area when needed, I could spend hours there in solid headphones with a good book.

The answer will vary depending on the context.

Really close pal he hasn’t seen for ages who happens to work round the corner from the soft play and decided to pop in for half an hour? Not weird at all.

Random woman from work or the gym you’ve never heard of or met? Weird.

I'd ask your DH why she met him there? It is a bit odd. I'd definitely not let it go.

I wouldn't meet friends there though, unless for a birthday or a special event for the kids. You'd not be able to hear one another speak.

Isnt it obvious what she means OP?

You're worried about your DP meeting a female friend

In answer to your question I do find it slightly odd but I wouldn't rule out meeting a
friend at a soft play. Before I had children I met my friend at child friendly places