Happy to be told that I am.
Took ds (2) to softplay yesterday and was in there with him (hoying myself down the slide and getting stuck in the rollers which aren't built for women like me) helping him to climb etc
2 mams came into the toddler area with babies, both women had their boots / trainers on.
I caught the eye of one and said 'excuse me, please could you take your shoes off? There are babies crawling'
One said 'yeah, in a minute' her friend said 'I've got no socks with me'
There were no staff - it's in a leisure centre and they were over the far side behind barriers
I told them that they could have anything dog shit on their shoes so could they please take them off.
They both flounced out and 1 took her boots off and came back in whilst the other made a phone call and loudly told the person on the other end of the line about the 'mardy cow at softplay who'd made her take her shoes off'
Wibu and petty to insist when it really wasn't my place?
AIBU?
about these Mums in soft play?
BobPatandIgglePiggle · 11/05/2014 15:55
YWBU for being in the in the first place - there's a reason that the equipment isn't built for women like you 
Parents in the soft play is once of my big annoyances for various reasons mentioned in PP's! If your LO is too small take them to a playgym where they aren't!
HOWEVER, YWNBU regarding the shoes! Common sense really!
wobbly my MIL used to take a packet of antibacterial wipes to the park and wipe the slide, climbing frame, swings etc before she would let my DD go on them. 
I had to point out to her that both DH and myself had been to plenty of playgrounds as children yet by some miracle had made it to our 30s without dropping dead through having touched a climbing frame.
This from a woman who complains that people bath and wash their hair far too often because 'no one did that in my day and we were all far healthier'. 
YWNBU, but I would probably have made passive aggressive tuts or something 
.
As an aside - since this thread has gone this way (!) I don't let my 17 month old on the equipment alone - not because he can't. But so he doesn't beat up your kid, snatch their toy and make them cry, or just completely disappear off the radar. There are too many exit points for him to escape from .
Toddler DS is something of a Houdini. There are several soft plays in our area, and pretty much all of them he can escape from out to the carpark. He hasn't made it outside yet, but only because I am constantly stalking keeping tabs on him. I've got to him past the gate that hasn't been closed from fucking knobheads other parents coming in or out. He could easily escape. Also, he moves so fast, and is below table/adult height. I can't get to him fast enough sometimes as others are in my way. He honestly has no sense of danger or fear. He has never stopped and looked around for me.
I regularly can be found legging it after him, removing him from behind counters and kitchens also - which is dangerous in itself.
Sorry, but if he gives me so much trouble when I am actively following him around, can you imagine what would actually happen if he was supervised from a distance. If I couldn't actually see him, I'd shit myself he'd got out.
On Saturday he disappeared between the pretty packed out tables. He didn't appear again, I started going after him, couldn't see him or find him. I headed towards the exit, because that's my first port of call when he goes missing - to stop him escaping.
Anyway. Yeah. I stay with my toddler for many reasons. Until he has any sort of understanding it will stay that way. He appears to have very little understanding of anything yet, other than 'clap hands', 'ta' (give me that dangerous object right now little child), and 'all gone'. He snatches toys - because he hasn't understood that isn't acceptable yet. And he won't understand it unless I stay with him, remove said snatched toy, give it back to other child, remind him that we don't take things off others, and apologise if the other parents are there. You know, setting a good example to him. Teaching him right from wrong.
So forgive me for going on the equipment with him, but really, it's in your childrens best interests.
I'm pretty sure my older child didn't need this level of supervision, but then we didn't use soft play til he was 3. We've been going since toddler DS was 7 months old and crawling. I am assuming by 3 he will have mastered some sort of control over his behaviours. Perhaps not. We shall see!
No, fair enough, I've never heard of a soft play with carousels etc, that would probably count as a theme park round here My DC would love that...
The only ones I've ever been to have been a sort of warehouse type setting with a main climbing frame/slides etc which is more or less the the height of the building and a separate toddler area which is not connected to the main climbing frame.
And they all have signs up saying no one over the age of 12 is allowed on the equipment. (Or in the case of one of them, no one over the age of 8). I promise, I'm not making it up - adults genuinely couldn't fit into the toddler play area in the one that I most often go to. I love the fact that it's all toddler sized and they can safely play without adults standing waiting to catch them.
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