soft Play hell

[alisonsmum]

ok so ive taken my dd 2.1 to soft play places before a few times, never found it easy n feel i have to watch what dd was up to but she does love to go play. I dont know how some parents can sit n chat n look relaxed because tbh i find it hellish.

anyhow this last week or so we have ventured out to soft play a few times, now i have ds 10w and dd with me and im on my own (needed to get out the house) and ive pushed n pushed myself to relax n sit back a bit but i just cant...i find the whole experience awful n stressful. especally now i usually end up with ds 10w screaming to be fed while dd2.1 demands my attention too and no longer seems to go off and play so easily

arghhhhhhh...just got back from another afternoon at soft play, am hot n sweaty n tense n feel soooooooooooo stressed. should i not bother in future or keep at it?? does it get easier?

i seem to have mastered the supermarket with them both in tow and the park and the shopping centre even its just bloody soft play...

I prefer the smaller ones.

Go at 10am or 4pm.

ExquisiteCake- i also hate the germs lol....always wash her hands after we get home and she always has a bath the same night. mmmmmmmm def def not seeing why i bother now

Go as soon as it opens (10am) with other mums. It should be fairly empty then, and your mum-friends should also be able to help if you are feeding your DC2 at the same time as your DC1 gets stuck somewhere!!

I'm not a huge fan of soft play, but it was a godsend when DS was a newborn and DD was going stir crazy in the house. I'd sit feeding DS and sipping tea/eating cake/gossiping with friends, whilst DD got rid of all her energy. Everyone was a winner!

Its crap now we can only go after school, weekends and on holidays! Far too busy ALL the time.

Check out your local leisure centres if you can. When my dcs were small there were a couple of places that did under 5s play sessions that lasted for an hour of so (which was plenty!) on weekday mornings. They usually consisted of bouncy castles/climbing frames/slides/soft toys/mats etc being put out in a hall for parents and children to use, and were cheaper than proper soft play places but crucially much less manic as well. There was more space, no ballpit full of wee, less closed-in hard-to-see areas and it was much easier to play with dd but still keep a close eye on ds in his pram. later on dd would find herself some little friends to play with and I could spend time with crawling ds (and yes, read a book if he was asleep!) . It was a great way of tiring them out on a rainy day for just a few pounds. Of course the only coffee was out of a machine in the corridor but it was a small price to pay!

I never liked them.

Mainly because of the behavior of the parents