To just want to go to th park and not pay £55 a week for soft play

[bestteacherinwales]

That's it really. We live in an area of natural beauty. With wonderful parks on our doorstep but my group of friends much prefer going to soft play.

It costs £4.50 entry. £3.00 for kids lunch with drink and £5.00 for an adults meal. Not including coffee and a drink. I spend £20 every time I go.

I now eat my own meal before leaving but I still spend £55 a week going to soft play as we go three days a week.

I understand when it's raining or cold but on a beautiful summers day or even when the weather is dry and reasonably warm I think it's better to go to the park.

We could have a picnic. Ham sandwich, cheese string, bottle of juice, little cake,fruit. Maximum of £5 total cost for a few hours and food for both of us.

AIBU to think soft play is a wast of money when you can go to the park?

I do know what they mean. They said in th have park you have to watch the Children as they could wander off while in soft play you can relax knowing they can't get out and it's more relaxing as a result.

I agree and love soft play because I can read a book while having a latte 😁

But I think three times a week is excessive and we could spend some times at the park. It's better for them to get fresh air anyway.

AIBU?

So, who are these soft play lovers then? And why?

Go to the park. Take a picnic. Make new friends! I have friends whose kids were homeschooled so my dd got to make friends with kids she'd never met and they're still friends. I think I've taken mine to soft play about three times in total as its so horrible.

I go twice a week and if I can I add a third. I have a 2yo and a 4yo, I feel safer because if they run to different areas I know they cannot leave the place. It gets them tired and they always ask to go there. We walk there, so there's also a good 20 minute walk each way. I don't see why parks are do much better, I have a garden and my kids are outdoors most of the day when it's not raining. Soft play gives me a rest, tires them out and my kids love it. Don't get the going to museums thing unless they have dinosaurs or is interactive. My kids need a lot of running or they are jumping on the beds /sofa all evening. The park is actually too hot at the moment and I have to run after one whilst worrying the other one might go to the road. Again, if you have a garden and plenty of outdoor time, I don't see why the park is that much better than the soft play. On the money, yes, I agree that if you cannot afford it, it's pricey. Check if there are any in your area that might offer a pass or discount certain days, and avoid having lunch there. Pop in after lunch time and take your own water.

Wow. If the softplay were free, you still couldn't have made me go to softplay more than once in 3 months.
In the lovely warm weather we've been having over a number of weeks, I can't begin to understand why anyone would

Soft play is great in the cold wet weather!! But on sunny days you would be mental not to go to the park or woods or beach!! With a lovely picnic and a big blanket to sit on. Just put your foot down and tell them you want to stay outside on sunny summer days!! Not sitting indoors, remember the kids get more worn out playing in the fresh air!! Happy days

When my dds were little it was all about the soft play amongst my group of friends. I put my foot down as it was costing the earth and I hated it Decided parks or even heaven forbid they play in their room with each other on a weekend was the way to go . I was ostracised and seen as anti social but it was totally empowering . No regrets .

I bloody hate soft play (although some are definitely better than others!). I take my two there on really rainy days first thing in the morning and then escape at lunchtime just as it starts to get seriously mental. Other than that, there really is no need to go.
I met loads of nice people in the park. Do that instead 😀

We go to soft play fairly regularly so I don't think it's the hell that some people do. However we do tend to keep it to either rainy cold days or when it's too hot outside. I wouldn't go when it's an average summers day.
I'm guessing the OP does other things with her DC too. Soft play can't take up more than 2-3 hours max a time leaving plenty of hours for the playground, pottering about outside, crafts etc.

FFS, why don't you have a membership for the soft play place. I used to pay about £25 a month for my 2 kids.

Softplay is my wet weather back up plan! But now that DD is starting school we'll avoid it even more as weekends and school holidays are always packed! I used to take her on our day off if the weather was crap but we'll find other stuff to do instead!

I can't imagine anything worse than going to soft play on a rainy day, the one we discovered recently has a toddler morning during term time which includes lunch for the kids for less than a fiver. We've been twice in the past 3 months, both times on a glorious day and pretty much had the place to ourselves. The capacity for the biggest bit is 139 children, sounds like hell! There's never been more than 10 kids there and it's lovely, the kids are excited to go because it's different, surely the novelty would wear off of you went the same place 3 times a week?

I can't believe that those mums take their kids to soft play in beautiful weather. It's a real shame the kids don't get the fresh air and vitamin D they need. When it's nice weather we always prioritise going out, there will be plenty more days in England for dreary wet and cold weather for them to go to soft play

Why does soft play = no fresh air or sun ever? Don't you have gardens? My DC (2 and 4) play outside a good couple of hours a day, the door to the garden is always open in nice weather. When I go out, I favour soft play because the park around here is not properly enclosed and they need help with 70% of the stuff. I can't do a lot of carrying, pushing, bending. Soft play allows me to sit down and have a coffee whilst they go mad in the slides. I also know they can't run away and it helps me relax a bit. My soft play area is nearby, small and nice, though. Very rarely crowded. I'm on edge in the park because the kids are much older and not the first time one of mine have had a bump with an older kid coming up or down the slide without looking, or them falling off onto the concrete floor. They definitely move and run a lot more in the soft play. I think it depends on the age of the children and the soft play area you visit.

I wouldn't go that often but I do like soft play. As someone who has had a bolter, going to the park was a nightmare at a certain age. There is no way I could sit and chat or get distracted. Ds would have been off and away or in the road. Some of the mums with easier kids didn't get it. I didn't until I had a DS that would see running off as a game for a number of years and had no sense of danger.

you could see if there's a local meetup.com group for you and even put up your own weekly event? Or Single Parent Travel Club on facebook. There'll be lots who feel the same I'm sure :-)

yanbu
kids are supposed to hang upside down from a tree every now and then. make mud pies. smell the plants. walk some distances for exercise. breather oxygen ruch air.