to think it would be a good idea if large supermatkeys provided a creche to enable busy parents to do their grocery shopping?

[SoleSource]

I used to use the gym creche for my disabled baby at Fitness First gym. They were great, clean, trustworthy and cheap. A whole two hours of man ogling :)

*supermarkets

free?

Asda near us used to, don't think they do anymore. I would think that security would be a headache, kids wouldn't be used to the workers/environment and be unsettled??

ASDA used to have soft play areas. I didn't like them, I didn't trust the staff. Plus it must have been impossible to clean them properly with so many kids all day. I don't know why they stopped having them.

They thought about this. Or at least one did. I was on the proposals team as part of my uni project.

It was vetoed because of health and safety. Big issues with where it would be, who would be there, how much it would cost, how many kids it could hold. OFSTED hated the idea - the woman put me off working in childcare. She was utterly dismissive, and said people shouldn't sponge their children off at every opportunity.

Instead they opened a very luxurious learning centre. You can buy one-off, weekly or monthly passes, and there is sensory rooms, computers, tutors...it's for older children, I think 6 and above, but it's lovely and the kids never want to leave.

Free or very cheap. I imagine they might be popular if dedigned,/managed correctly. The gym creche was about £4 for two hours.

YANBU. I think one of the best things about IKEA's business model is their creche - it works in business terms too because I'm far more likely to browse (and impulse buy) without the kids. When I've got the kids with me I get exactly what I came for and leave as quickly as possible.

That said, I do all my grocery shopping online anyway, and I'd do my IKEA shopping online too if they bloody delivered to me. I'd pick online shopping over in-store shopping any day of the week

Ikea manage it! I'm sure Tesco used to have one too, but not now.

IKEA do it! Tesco and Asda both dabbled in this by providing large playareas but they disappeared a few years ago, I'm not sure why. Probably because they used valuable selling space and weren't cost effective. I agree that it would make shopping crashing in the Costa much less stressful, fill in a suggestion card next time you're in store.

Safeway used to have one before they were taken over by Morrisons. I used to do all my shopping in Safeway

Fabulous idea - I'd pay. But what would stop people just using it as a babysitter service and not actually do their shopping??

In theory it would be great but it would be a nightmare. Years ago I worked for a Sainsburys which had a play area in the cafe and parents would leave the kids in there and go off around the retail park for the day. You would get a toddler crying and the parents would turn up 4 hours later having done all of their shopping.

They have introduced these in Spain in Carrefour - looked fab! Although I can imagine it's a logistical nightmare to manage and I wouldn't feel great about leaving DD in one.

Or children can be involved in the shopping like actual members of the family. Crazy I know! Surely there's a value to choosing ingredients, weighing out veggies and generally just taking part in family life.

They do this in Ireland (at least they did when I was growing up) for one of the supermarket chains. It was a god send for parents and they got a lot more business based on it alone.

Some might like that youcanring.

I used to work near to a Safeway (has since changed to an Asda) that had a creche.

Just use online shopping?!

A lot less hassle and worrying in terms of health, safety and child protection.

The Safeway where I used to work had one, they closed it because people used to just leave their children there and go to town!

I've used the Ikea one, I felt uneasy at first about leaving dd with strangers but she insisted and now always asks to go in. Our local one isn't very well managed though - I don't know if they're all the same but you have to queue 3 times - once to book a place, then when you come back to drop your child off (which once took up a third of the session ), then again to pick them up. I did ask why they can't have separate queues for people dropping off and people registering, she said it's because there's only 1 computer .

Safe ways did when my now 19 and 16yr olds were small. Closed by the time th 13 yr old was old enough thouhh

The issie of parents leaving their children and going off the supermarket site. I wonder if this is one of the reasons why the creches are not very common?

At the gym it was swipe card in and out.

It's a lovely idea yousank but unfortunately it doesn't translate into reality for me - it's fine if I only have one of them (sometimes DS2 and DD together are fine too) but DS1 plus either or both of the younger two is a nightmare.

You do know you can do it online!

It wouldn't be free, they would their prices up so everyone would end up paying for it, including those of us who managed to shop with our toddlers before the days of online shopping!

would be ok as long as it isn't subsidised by other shoppers

Amandine ours doesn't use a computer, but you do have to fill in a form with all your details once per child which is a bit of a PITA. You have to queue once to drop them off and then go back to the other side to get them back (so separate queues, but they're manned by the same person). £1 per child (donated to charity) is a bargain for an hour's care though, so I have no complaints.