Re soft play...

[FrasierCranium]

Do most parents find they come out of the soft play with sky high blood pressure?? Or is it just me??

My daughter has not long turned 1 and she's a teeny wee thing. I find it difficult to think of stuff to do with her when the weather is bad. She's at a stage where she's too young for loads of stuff but gets quite fed up with a day in the house.

There is a soft play centre not far from here. It's big, and it has a lovely little cordoned off area for babies and toddlers under 2. DD loves it and as she's just learning to stand/walk unsupported it's great for her to practice.

However, I am absolutely sick to the back bloody teeth of parents allowing older children into this area. There are signs everywhere saying that kids over two (including older brothers and sisters) should not be in this area, but no one ever says or does anything. There are two huge areas for kids from 2-4, as well as another massive area for everyone else so it's not like there is nowhere else for them to go.

Today we were in there with one other mum and baby. Then a group of girls (I'd say they were about 4, I would guess starting school in August) ran riot through the baby area. They jumped around, stood on all the stuff, throwing the big bits of soft play "furniture" around, they chucked the balls out of the ball pit etc. No idea who they were with, didn't seem to be a parent in charge anyway. I took DD out for some water as I didn't feel she was safe in there with them. I took her back in when they had gone but they just kept coming back in. They were climbing the netting to get in.

This seems to happen every time we're there and it is so bloody frustrating. I can live with the odd older sibling who comes in with a younger one and is strictly supervised by a parent. Nothing is ever enforced. Aside from the safety aspect, they're ruining all the stuff. I have also experienced older kids trying to lift my DD up out of the ball pool to play with her, which I don't like.

Would I be unreasonable and pfb to complain to the centre? I'm not a complainer, and I hate confrontation, but this winds me up no end. However, I know I get anxious about DD being safe so if I am being pfb then I can accept that and try to let it wash over me.

We had a four yr old throwing large logo bricks at a group of one year old. When asked to stop for a third time he spat at the adult requesting. He went on to try and pick up my one year old and when I was close enough to tell him no he chucked her backwards. I'm by no means a precious mother but that got me and I told him he was not allowed to throw other children and where his adult in charge was. Needless to say we never saw a sign of his parent or adult in charge and had several parents complaining about him but none seemed to bother trying to do anything. Just moved their kids away.

I feel sorry for the boy that he hasn't been taught how to play nicely and so is missing a chance to actually have fun rather than a string of being told off and children running away from him crying.

That all said I still enjoy soft play and won't let other children or adults spoil it. You will always get arseholes in life no matter what activity you choose to do.

Older kids in the baby/toddler areas drive me nuts. I'd never allow my dc's in an area of the soft play that they are too old for.

We haven't been to soft play for a while now since dd started pre-school and is quite tired in the afternoons, but last time we went there was an older girl (must have been about 5) who dd1 was playing with/following around (was 2, nearly 3 at the time). In one section of they have those cosy coupe cars for the kids to ride in, and the girl pushed dd over whilst she was sat in one not once, but twice, I was angry because that could have resulted in quite a bad injury. Told dd to stay away from her as she's not a nice girl but she ignored me. She pushed her over elsewhere on the play frame too, at which point I had had enough. The parents were obviously taking absolutely no notice, dd is petite for her age so was getting knocked about quite a bit, so in the end I said something to the girl along the lines of "excuse me, don't push her over. It's not very nice". She didn't do it again after that, but she did go running to her parents as if she was the victim and every time she went past us after that she would glare at me.

It's hell, I keep thinking I should take dd again soon but I'm dreading it.

As an owner of a soft play centre and a mum I see this from both sides. Its not possible to have a member of staff monitoring all areas at all times but we do try to watch as much as possible. Saying that, it is the responsibility of the parents to watch their children. If this ever happens we do encourage parents to talk to us as we are more than happy to speak to the children and if necessary their parents.

In the busier periods ie half term we open one of our party rooms to non walkers only. This room has toys etc for little ones and a gate on the door meaning kids can't just run through.

I must say one thing I have been shocked at since owning a place like this is how much parents think they don't need to worry about their kids. I've had to break up so many fights / arguments and have returned so many upset lost little ones (under 2s mostly) to their parents. Even had to break up a few fights between mums!

the 'i can do whatever i like attitude ' demonstrated by the cc who push babies is seen anywhere they can get away with it . In the schoolyard , in a gated area for the youngest cc with notices all around saying'no dogs on school property' a year 3/4 girl opened the gate and allowed her dog to run in -she did not come in so i guess it was to free her from being with the dog. Not being aware that she had the gall to do this and therefore not watching out for dogs coming near my gs,who is deathly allergic to them, we were scared shitless by this dog suddenly jumping on my dgs. I yelled to get the dog out of the play area and my dgs is allergic. She took her time coming forward as the owner and as she went past with her dog, spitefully yelled ' are you happy now?'

bathshe that's your problem, not mine. I can drive, so can drop and leave. My son has friends who's parents can't drive. In that case they would usually ask someone, and I'd surely be happy to give a kid a lift.

Also, I certainly wouldn't choose to go to a soft play. But if it's between going to a soft play party or my son missing that party then I would choose soft play in that case although I'd be secretly judging anyone who holds a birthday party in a soft play