AIBU - to be annoyed with adults at soft play?

[HLBug]

Your child is fine. Absolutely fine. Not a wobbly toddler but a properly capable bounding 4 year old. You helicoptering and following them around inside the climbing frames is not necessary and now you're just causing a massive obstruction for all the other kids. There is also a high chance of you getting stuck. Please, go and sit down.

If you are sitting down though, please remember it's only 11.10am. That is not an appropriate time for you to eat a large bowl of chips. It's just not. No chance of DS wanting those apple slices now!

It's raining and it's the school holidays...what the fuck possessed me to think soft play would be a good idea?! But it's the adults that are seriously getting on my wick. AIBU??

I would rather that than a 4yo who is dominating everything, not letting other toddlers get a look in (seen it before) while their parents do nothing to intervene. Could be that.

YABU about the chips although I can understand your annoyance about it temping your DC when you'd rather they have fruit.

Helicoptering or just playing with their child?
DD is 3 and perfectly capable of navigating soft play alone but won't go in alone.
Unless any friends/relatives are there it usually results in me or DH going in for the first 10 minutes until she finds someone to play with.

Soft play is hell on earth.

I only go for the chips.

YANBU But...
I hate soft play and I hate being perceived as a helicopter parent. DD (3.5) on the other hand will only climb around if I go around with her for 10 minutes first. I consider this 10 mins hell before 90 minutes peace and tea time. I've tried everything to get out of the initial climb ... nothing works. She would rather go home than face the unknown (very known and local) soft play on her own. This is not an option if I've just paid a fiver for entry.

That parent may not be enjoying it either.

i would rather that than a 4yo who is dominating everything

Also this ^^ . I also frequently ordered 5-7 year olds out of the baby section.

Some parents see soft play as a babysitter and completely ignore their unruly children for two hours.

Our soft play says an adult has to go in with younger children. They are allowed into the big area of our soft play, but only with an adult.

We never go in school holidays though . It's bad enough when it's quiet.

I get the helicopter problem, but I still think I'd take that over the 'I'll just kick back and let soft play do the parenting' attitude. I've seen some pretty poor behaviour from dcs in soft play because they aren't being supervised at all.

I was that parent only this morning and could feel looks of annoyance! No chips around though which was a shame.

My daughter is just 2 (last month) but would probably pass for 4. She is physically very able (and bloody tall) but mentally still needs me close by.

YABU
I'd rather climb with my DC to supervise and also have some fun with them than sit on the side and be bored. Where I go, a lot of the climbing frame is not visible from the sitting area so you can't properly supervise sat down.
I have never seen parents block the children though, more like make sure older children are not blocking younger ones...
I would be a bit annoyed re the chips (or anybody having unhealthy food) as it is making my life harder BUT this is 100% my problem and I wouldn't dream of saying anything.

I like the idea of adult only time at soft play - wish our local one did that Gorgo.

I quite liked having my nervous 2.5 YO as an excuse to go into soft play

This is why I love the soft play that I take my kids to. No adults are allowed on the equipment, and you'll be asked to leave if you do. The staff supervise the kids. Works like a dream. No fisticuffs amongst the kids and no scary parents shouting at each other saying 'your kid started it'.

If only staff had been supervising mine there would have lots of hit and bitten children.

You have to follow my 5 year old nephew around - he has dyspraxia and if not watched closely might be liable to accidentally trample a smaller child!

I am the parent following her child around in the sodding soft play. I don't want to be, I want to be able to sit down and have 5 minutes to myself like all the other mums but my dd won't go on without me. It's that simple. She is nervous around other kids and struggles to play anywhere near kids she doesn't know. I wish she was more confident and would go and play but she won't. I have also never gotten stuck! And the slides are pretty awesome

YABU. Eat some food and chill out.

Oh god CHIPS (drooling). I'm low carbing :( spinach will never give me a hug like a bowl of hot chips.

DH always gets into the softplay with DS, I think he enjoys it more! They just enjoy playing together, I wouldn't call it helicoptering.

OP there is a place not far from us which does regular adult softplay nights and serves alcohol too. I cannot imagine the carnage

I don't understand some of these posts. If your child can't do soft play with just a minimum of supervision WHY are you going to soft play?

It's not mandatory

Mine isn't old enough to go in alone yet (nearly 2) but I imagine there will be a crossover time where she's physically able to do all the things, but if she hurt herself won't be old enough to cope with it by just coming to find me. Some kids must be like that even when they're a bit older.

The chips part got on my nerves, partly because the one near us doesn't do chips... what?! And partly because it reminded me that the other day a woman told me off for giving DD a biscuit because it made her son want one, and he's only allowed to eat healthy snacks. We were at the park fgs, and it was a bloody Organix mini gingerbread man, not a freakshake.

I'm one of the parents chasing their kid around the place, especially if DS doesn't find other kids to play with.

I'd like to have staff supervising at times, but I can imagine that gets quite pricey, treaclesoda?

I should probably add I don't understand why anyone would choose to go to soft play at all.

It's not my favourite place

YABVU, always time for chips. How do you know their child has not got SN, that they have to keep tabs on them.

smudged and others - I must admit I didn't think about it that way, thanks.

It's one of the places you can go when it's raining and they can run off some energy but I have three children, only one of whom would make it out in one piece.

In my experience at soft play parents are either constantly with their child or completely ignore them. Those children that are ignored are the ones causing problems and potentially being a danger to younger children.

Chips are always acceptable no matter what the time and if you brave soft play, especially a rainy day in the summer holidays, they are even more enjoyable!

I think yabu. What other people eat and when is nothing to do with you at all.
Also about the parents. I can't stand parents who just sit on their phones, treating the place like somewhere to ignore their children. Nothing wrong with parent child interaction at all.