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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cynicism at soft play excuse!

26 replies

Cockbollocks · 26/09/2015 07:55

My local soft play has banned All outside food from its premises. Ok, it's a business they sell food and want you to buy their own.

However, their reason for the food ban is to protect children with allergies.

Aibu to be irrationality pissed off, at what is frankly a crock of Shit excuse to increase profits?

Btw my son has a severe nut allergy.

OP posts:
RoganJosh · 26/09/2015 07:56

It's pretty standard policy.

Andrewofgg · 26/09/2015 07:57

It's no different to a restaurant. YABU to expect to bring your own into either.

insancerre · 26/09/2015 07:59

Yabu
Its their soft play, they can set their own rules

Blueberry234 · 26/09/2015 07:59

Seems to be the same everywhere which I have no issue with except they need to sell something appropriate other than offering a pouch or jar for my 14 month old. Getting bored of offering him a cheese sandwich or sharing a jacket potato with him. A total first world problem

LooseSeal · 26/09/2015 08:03

The policy is quite standard, it's disingenuousness that's annoying. It's like that sign that crops up in most hotel rooms, the one telling you to reuse your towels for the sake of the planet. While it's perfectly true that reusing a towel saves energy, you can bet that if the frequent laundering of towels didn't cost the hotel any money they wouldn't be putting up PA signs about it.

TheWitTank · 26/09/2015 08:04

Yabu. It's a perfectly valid excuse -perhaps they have had a parent complaint along those lines or have had a health and safety audit. It's not unusual in these soft play places for kids to take a swipe at left overs on tables (I've seen a toddler stuffing sandwich crusts from a used table in at our local place while Dad was oblivious). Maybe it IS to keep profit in the business, can't say I blame them! It's a cafe, how many cafes do you know that would let you take a table and eat your own food using their cutlery/napkins?

LittleBearPad · 26/09/2015 08:07

It's a fair policy an not uncommon but the reasoning is spurious.

Rubygillis · 26/09/2015 08:07

I don't mind it, when there is decent food for children available. One local one to us is great, sandwiches, wraps, pots of reasonably priced carrots and the like as well as the normal chips and things but one we go to (which my boys love) really only has nuggets and chips and burgers. So for that one we have something big before we go and then I sneak in a banana for half time..... They did ask me not to have it once so I really politely said that if they had some fruit I could buy, I would be happy to and they didn't.

starlight2007 · 26/09/2015 08:10

I wouldn't mind if they charged reasonable amounts £1.50 for a bottle of coke when I buy them from B&M for 49p is a ridiculous amount of money.. That is why I resent it.. I tend to take kids drinks in bottles and sneak snacks in.

TimeToMuskUp · 26/09/2015 08:13

The three soft plays near to us all have this rule and enforce it quite firmly. Understandably, really, given small children's propensities for dropping bits of food all over the place and other small children's propensities for picking stuff up and putting it in their mouths.

Friends of ours have DCs with quite severe allergies and, having seen one of them flare up and need hospitalisation because of a mix-up in a restaurant, I think the rule is entirely fair.

Original poster
Cockbollocks · 26/09/2015 08:14

I have never taken food in. Just so you know.

I just don't see how you can be telling people you are allergy friendly, making such a big thing of it when there is so many allergies. Surely they are opening themselves up to problems as it is just not possible for a kitchen to be completely allergen free.

Factory's have to go through incredibly expensive processes to be deemed free of an allergen so how can that work in soft play.

OP posts:
Original poster
Cockbollocks · 26/09/2015 08:20

I get the dropping food argument, but, they still serve bread, eggs, milk etc etc all can still be swiped by a child

Again I would like to mention I don't take allergy lightly, we carry epipens everywhere.

OP posts:
insancerre · 26/09/2015 08:22

Its about risk management
They can manage and risk assess their own kitchen. I do, I run a nursery and have to check and list all ingredients
Its impossible to do that if people are bringing in their own food.
For example , if parents bring in birthday cake it has to be in a sealed box from s shop with a list of ingredients. I'm then confident in giving it to the children
If its home made then no way would I give it tovths children as I don't know the ingredients and wouldn't know when it was made

Original poster
Cockbollocks · 26/09/2015 08:27

And yet when it's school everyone comes on and says the schools are unreasonable for banning a food type!

OP posts:
BerniceB · 26/09/2015 08:39

Perfectly reasonable to ban outside food. Absolute bollocks to claim it's for allergy reasons.

I don't know about your soft play, but here the staff are mostly bored looking teenagers who couldn't describe an allergen if their life depended on it.

BerniceB · 26/09/2015 08:42

In fact last time they struggled to list the veggie options for a friend, never mind provide an ingredient list.

whatasTink · 26/09/2015 08:44

New allergen legislation was introduced in December 14. Lots of businesses are still catching up. Many business owners are no longer allowing food to be brought onto their premises as:
• they can no longer state that they don’t know if an allergen is present
• They can no longer state that all foods “could” contain allergens
• Environment Health Officers enforce the regulations, non-compliance results in large fines

There is a much greater responsibility on businesses to vouch that food consumed on their premises is safe (in terms of allergens). Therefore it is easier for businesses to only retail food prepared on their own premises where guidelines have been followed.

ovenchips · 26/09/2015 08:45

Oh well! I wouldn't let it spoil my day or nowt.

megletthesecond · 26/09/2015 08:49

Yanbu, it's nothing to do with allergies and everything to do with profit. They'll still have milk, egg and wheat based products on sale. My ds is allergic to raw apples, so they'd have to get rid of all the healthy fruit options too.

Lightbulbon · 26/09/2015 08:53

In a soft play's business plan the food sales generate at least half of the revenue.

If most people didn't buy food/drinks they'd either have to substantially increase their door price or close down.

The food sales isn't some extra add on.

hibbleddible · 26/09/2015 08:58

Perfectly reasonable to ban outside food.

Silly to claim it's because of allergies though.

vvviola · 26/09/2015 09:02

I wouldn't mind if they then made sure that they had suitable food for allergic children. Most soft plays I go to are a nightmare for getting food for DD2 (dairy and egg allergic). So if they are doing it to protect children with allergies, then they'd want to have options that the children can eat....

Snooksbury · 26/09/2015 09:04

It doesn't always help children with allergies though. If a child has multiple allergies it's likely they won't be able to eat at the cafe anyway, therefore that child is even more excluded from their venue. Letting children with allergies bring their own snacks so they can eat alongside their friends seems a lot more allergy friendly and shows a lot more awareness to me

Snooksbury · 26/09/2015 09:06

Haha, cross post Vvvolia I agree!

lljkk · 26/09/2015 09:40

And yet when it's school everyone comes on and says the schools are unreasonable for banning a food type!

um, do they? I thought there was lots of MN poster support for nut bans in nurseries & primary schools especially.