Soft Play Etiquette

[Waltermittythesequel]

Just pondering.

Woman with baby who looks around 1 - 1.5 years allowing baby into over 5s area where older children are playing.

Is she being U? And if baby gets hurt, accidentally of course, WSBU to be annoyed.

Second question!

Adult man, walking two toddlers up the giant slide in over 5s area, with his shoes on.

IHBU?

I take dd 18mo in the 5+ area, but I don't go when it's busy such as after school/ weekends/school holidays, I move her out the way so older children can pass and if she gets hurt by another child I accept that is because I take her in the big section. She does not like the toddler section at all and gets bored. If I'm paying £5 I'm getting the most for my money.

There etiquette at soft play?!?! Has anyone told the kids?!?!

The one local to me allows a group of young adults with SN come in and use the equipment, whilst still open to small children! Really not appropriate imo. We tend to leave as soon they arrive, it's an accident waiting to happen!

@ Lamu

What a lovely thing for the soft play centre to do. Wonder what this says about tolerance in society

Man going up the slide with children was U. No one should go up the slide.

Woman with the toddler was OK but her fault if they get hurt by children playing normally (i.e. just running past or whatever).

I went to soft play one time LOL never again

I can well imagine the abuse these parents dole out.

Ds is only 5 so I've years of it left.

Weather should improve soon but then it's the same shite with playgrounds!

Ds is 9 .5 months I have no idea when is the right time to take him these threads don't help 😀 yanbu though.

I broke all etiquette once... I told someone elses kid to get out of the under 2s area.

Actually, I used my best teacher voice, looked him in the eye, pointed to the gate and said 'Out!'... he left.

But his mum came over and started waving her arms... I pointed to the sign, she said her kid couldn't read it my response was "Well you can" at which the slowly advancing member of staff clapped his hand over his mouth, turned and walked ran away

I quite like the challenge of them, if I'm honest, and miss having a child small enough to take!

It's a real bug bear of mine, kids being in the baby area.

FFS. There's rarely even much in them!

And I'm on a diet so couldn't even have a cookie to soften the blow

Enjoying this thread - not least for the use of the word "gobshite"

Toffee, are you sad and angry about my comment about adults with SN?

I stand by it. It's a lovely thing for the soft play to do, that is until you have an adult shoot down the slide and land on your four yr old! Two children colliding is very different to an adult and child doing the same. IMHO they should not allow the SN sessions to take place whilst still the center is still catering for younger children.

Enjoying this thread - not least for the use of the word "gobshite"

Both unreasonable. Hate soft play centres! If I was to take my 15 month old I think I'd go on a weekday when big kids are at school! I don't like them though, too loud, too hot and too chaotic for me. I'd want to follow my dd around until about age 3. I'd rather take her to the park!

You're giving me flashbacks to the time I got told off when some woman brought a 9 month old into a soft play room that was heaving with 2-3 year olds and then gave me a right dressing down when DT1 tripped over the baby while I was catching DT2. Aside from the daftness of putting a crawler in with a bunch of bouncing toddlers what really got me is that she had ONE kid to watch! One! I've got eyes like a shithouse rat from trying to watch two kids at the one time from day one but with the best will in the world it is not always possible from second to second to have your eye on both of them... there, I said it. I'm not fucking magic.

Thanks for starting this thread OP! Feels good to get that off my chest.

I'm enjoying everyone's purging. It's healthy, I think.

I must say I like soft play a fair bit more now that my kids are nearly 4 and they are confident enough to accept a bit of jostling and stuff while remaining small enough never to be suspected of being rotters themselves. Also, we live in Germany, and in Germany most of the soft plays are converted ice hockey rinks that retain a drinks licence and therefore serve wine. They actually do. I've only ever had it the once but... just the idea of it.

Germany knows what it's doing! So jealous.

Soft play serving wine! I'd be there every day.

Ds is only 5 so I've years of it left. What? Get out, OP! 5 is really old enough for real parks and you are allowed to point blank refuse any more soft play. No no no, 5 year olds have to earn soft play, offer it as an occasional reward for 2 h peace or something.

Well that's what today was, it my naive, innocent, stupid-fuckery.

It's school holidays here, you see and the weather was shite.

Plus we're in the arse end of nowhere, where we live so the options are very limited.

Soft play during school holidays, is hell on earth! I forget because mine aren't at school yet and on the odd occasion I've turned up only to realise, I've bundled the kids back into the car and left.

There is something about soft play that makes kids go haywire. Babies will straight away want the big slide, primary schoolers want the baby ball pit...

And they are rank. I saw a child wee from a high platform, it trickled down the maze, I found a turd in the ball pit and I saw chewed food everywhere . Not a surprise of course since there are a dozen ill supervised (see this thread and many others), often not yet toilet trained toddlers in there at all times. They are not very accessible to grown ups for cleaning. Licking the rim of a pub toilet would be less hazardous.

I haven't often seen parents quite as weird as many described on this thread, but it has re-enforced my conviction that they are hell holes.

Incident 1 - it's fine to take your little ones in the older ones area, so long as you accept responsibility for keeping them safe and dont go off on one if your little one gets knocked over by older children.

After your update it sounds like the mother wasn't prepared to accept that responsibility. So she wbvu.

Incident 2 - you shouldn't be embarrassed for telling tales. Firstly he shouldn't have been wearing shoes in the actual soft play area. Secondly no-one should climb the slide - not safe with lots of other DC about who may just slide down without really thinking about it/looking. Thirdly he is an adult so should behave like one and set a good example. Fourth he's a complete and utter wanker not to be able to see what an unreasonable twat he was.

what I hate, hate, hate most about those places is about how it's ALL about the massive cafe area, with a gazillion tables (serving hideous and expensive food) and the actual play areas are all squeezed around the sides. Horrible places!

Sadly, kids love them.