Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Ball pit/play cafe on a canal barge - mad idea or not?

53 replies

TheCatThatDanced · 02/07/2019 16:45

My DB has an idea for a soft play centre (ball pit?) cafe in a very trendy area of London which apparently doesn't have many of these.

He has a venue sourced but not necessarily a huge amount of money to fund this but has a friend who builds playgrounds, has lots of money and funds businesses sometimes.

this friend suggested putting the soft play on a barge/canal barge - they're very near canals.

Is this a mad idea or not?

Me being me can see an accident happening, e.g. child overboard on barge etc and someone else mentioned not much space for buggies on a barge. I do know there is a kid's theatre on a barge in Little Venice but I think the age going there is slightly older than toddlers, babies and under 5's.

OP posts:
returnofthecat · 02/07/2019 17:47

Children on a barge in a trendy area. It happens: www.puppetbarge.com/Controllers/findus.php

User8888888 · 02/07/2019 19:27

I think it’s insane and potentially very dangerous. But surely also too small anyway for softplay unless it was a really shit softplay. Also what would the parents do. I’m sure most of the time softplays make more money from food and parties than the actual softplay. You wouldn’t have space for a cafe area as well.

familycourtq · 02/07/2019 19:29

It's a mad idea and most of the things you're all calling Barges are Narrowboats.

RussianSpyBot · 02/07/2019 19:31

Really fucking stupid idea. Has he actually ever spent time with a child?

Nautiloid · 02/07/2019 19:55

Sweet Lord no.

Cremeegglove · 02/07/2019 22:50

God no Confused

My child is a climber, always has been, from the moment he could toddle around he wanted to know what was on the other side of things, fearless and strong, I wouldn't dream of putting him near water to play, giving me anxiety just thinking about it!! He is now at the age that he loves soft play and running around, he loves the freedom of being able to climb things and jump off things, I take him there so he can play with his friends and me and the other mums get a few minutes of peace (not very many minutes!) I would be on tenterhooks constantly if he was near water!

Jamhandprints · 02/07/2019 22:57

No way on earth. But I like the idea of using an old bus.

inlectorecumbit · 02/07/2019 23:00

soft play is an old idea.
Think of something else for the kids to do on the barge. The barge idea itself is good but not soft play/ball pit.

GruciusMalfoy · 02/07/2019 23:03

@AgentProvocateur I was going to mention that place! It sounds like my idea of a nightmare, I'd be having kittens every time a child went near the exit

EskewedBeef · 02/07/2019 23:04

Even if it could be made safe enough to insure, imagine how claustrophobic it would be. I've been on a barge with a couple of adults and it was just about bearable. Add in a ball pit and the padded cell effect plus however many kids you'd be allowed to pile in there... No thanks Grin

Poppins2016 · 02/07/2019 23:07

Cafe - great. I've been to a few and they're brilliant.

Soft play - nope! I'd be too worried about safety, plus how to get on/off with a stroller (and then where to put said stroller).

KitKatCHA · 02/07/2019 23:14

Terrible, terrible idea. Normally with soft play they're gated so the kids can't escape and you can relax a bit. No chance of relaxing on a barge.

angelikacpickles · 02/07/2019 23:19

Insane.

PawPawNoodle · 02/07/2019 23:23

I live in a part of London with a canal and I fucking hate it, it stinks and you nearly get knocked into the water by rude cunts enthusiastic cyclists should you dare to wander down the very narrow towpath. Add children the mix and I'd just throw myself in with the intention of never resurfacing.

Awwlookatmybabyspider · 02/07/2019 23:26

Surely he'd have to have planning permission and it'd need risk assessing which I highly doubt and hope would not be passed in any case. A good idea inself but not near a canal.

TheSheepofWallSt · 02/07/2019 23:26

Ummmm I lived on a canal boat with my son (he was born aboard) and there are literally hundreds of parents with young children living aboard across the country. It’s perfectly possible to manage children in a boat. Provided the parents are sensible and safety conscious. That tends to be the weak link in the chain...

WhatsInAName19 · 02/07/2019 23:28

100% would not take my kids to a soft play centre on water. Nope. He's going to slash his market down to almost zilch with that choice of premises.

LaurieMarlow · 02/07/2019 23:28

It’s perfectly possible to manage children in a boat. Provided the parents are sensible and safety conscious. That tends to be the weak link in the chain.

Yes but there’s an enormous difference between looking after one child in your own boat and supervising many who aren’t used to boats.

stiffstink · 02/07/2019 23:37

Urgh, the noise, the sweat, trying to clean off all the poo/wee in the balls - those places are for running off energy and you'd just have loads of crying children bashing into each other in a tiny area.

If he's serious about it, he needs to contact a proper soft play manufacturer (presuming he isn't just going to chuck 10,000 balls on a boat) and get advice on the cubic area versus maximum capacity and see if his financial outlay is going to stack up with the income (a few quid per child) based on his maximum capacity - if he can get insurance.

My main thought remains "urgh the noise."

EskewedBeef · 02/07/2019 23:45

It’s perfectly possible to manage [a couple of] children in a boat [that is also their home].

Whack a load of excited toddlers into a ball pool on a narrowboat when they've probably never been on a boat before, and you're going to get a slightly different vibe to 'chilling at home with mum'.

RezCowgirl · 03/07/2019 01:11

You'd never get the license in central London. The waiting list is enormous and the mooring fees are astronomical.

Oh and the safety thing.

Original poster
TheCatThatDanced · 03/07/2019 11:01

Was busy last night and this morning.

Thanks for all your comments which I'm showing DB who has a just turned 1 year old.

His friend also has teenage boys but is one of those wannabe Bear Grylls types who saves bears etc... all good.

I was wondering about insurance or not and have encouraged DB to look at the lease of the building they were interested on which is on dry land.

and I don't give a F if there are already successful businesses on canals - I can see disaster!

OP posts:
Original poster
TheCatThatDanced · 03/07/2019 11:05

RussianSpyBot - yes DB has a child and so does his friend!

However DB would love to live 'off grid' with his DS - not gonna happen if his DW has anything to do with it!

inlectorcumbeit - soft play - e.g. ball pits is what DNephew and my own DS when he was young liked a lot - my DD not so much... Hmm - there's a really cute one in a theatre in Bath (with the Egg theatre) which DB happily spends hours in with his BIL and their kids whilst the DW's browse Bath's shops minus their offspring - SIL and her DB are from Bath and their parents live there.

OP posts:
HorridHenrysNits · 03/07/2019 11:08

I wouldn't want to go because of the safety issues. One of mine was a climber.

It also seems impractical. Barges aren't usually very big, and soft play needs quite a lot of space as activities for small children go. If he were going to do something it'd make more sense for it to be a craft venue or whatever. Even then it'd still have to be completely secured.

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 03/07/2019 11:13

Absolutely not - not enough space.

There are Playbuses (eg the Hackney Playbus) but they work by pulling up in a park and basically exploding stuff over a half mile radius. Children can go on the bus, but rarely spend time inside it.

The reason there aren't enough good soft plays in trendy London areas is that they require lots of space, and the economics only work if they are located in cheaper areas.

He could possibly make a barge work in other ways (overpriced crafts, poncey storytelling for socially suitable families etc) but not soft play.