To not understand why so many parents hate going to Soft Play?

[BlueMoon1103]

I’m at soft play with my DS (9 months) and I actually love bringing him! There are loads of nice soft play near me with baby areas and smaller versions of the big soft play the older kids use. I guess we’re lucky to have so many nice ones to choose from where I am but so many parents say they hate soft play and I don’t get why, both me and my DS think it’s great fun!

Interesting that most (not all) of the soft play defenders here are the ones who let their children run riot while they sit and read the paper oblivious. If you can't see your child how do you have any idea what they are up to and how they are behaving around other kids? I get that kids need independence etc but these places are supposed to be supervised.

When I have taken my son with gritted teeth to soft play I don't feel I can relax at all if I don't know where he is. He's only 4 so maybe in a couple of years time I will be letting him run riot while I supervise his little sister while she gets crushed by the bigger kids. Unfortunately my son absolutely loves soft play

Interesting that most (not all) of the soft play defenders here are the ones who let their children run riot while they sit and read the paper oblivious. If you can't see your child how do you have any idea what they are up to and how they are behaving around other kids? I get that kids need independence etc but these places are supposed to be supervised.

I think it's weird that you associate children playing without an adult hovering with 'running riot'. The soft play I used to take my children to didn't allow adults in the play equipment so if I had attempted the sort of supervision that people seem to expect on these threads, we'd have been asked to leave. I find it strange that in an age of paranoia about strangers, people feel that having adults crawling around confined spaces with other people's children is somehow desirable. There's not a chance in hell I'd have allowed my children to play in a soft play that was full of adults.

The ill ness that follows a day or so later. They really unclean places.

@Kanga83 @HipHipHippo
It's called goose. But like I say it's not a traditional soft play, there are a couple of slides but it's more about creativity. Google it and see what you think. Mine are 4 and they love it but imagine if they were older it might be a bit dull?

However if you're heading up that way and weather is nice - tree tip nets at ripon, so much fun for adults and kids.

@Mabbers, thanks. My oldest is 4 so definitely something we will try!!

Call me fussy, but I prefer somewhere without vomit, poo and ketchup smears.

It’s also noisy, expensive, hyper, and a lot of kids seem to be totally unsupervised.

The children love it, so I usually cave in during the holidays and take them. But my older one asked ‘why do I always get a sick bug after softplay?’ So we’ve not been for a while.

It's a novelty when your child is 9 months old. Come back when your eldest is 8 and update us with how much you love it OP.

Disgusting places.
There was a "naice" one near us where all the football players WAGs used to hang out. I thought that was fairly clean until DS stood in a mushy rat that was buried under the balls.
Yes an actual dead maggoty RAT.

Love Bewilderwood.
If only there were more of them.

I went to a ‘nice’ one last week.
Smelt poo. Was clearly the poo next to me. Dad ignored it. Finally he checked his sons nappy by pulling back of trouser band. Clearly the shit was everywhere as he had left it for ages and the boy was rolling around soft play. The dad got a big bit of shit on his hand and then preceded to wipe it on the soft play floor- where all the babies lie. 😱😱
I had to go and ask for it to be cleaned

With respect, your baby is nine months old. I’ve now been talking my DC to soft play areas for thirteen years. I didn’t mind them at the start, either.

You’d get less for murder, as they say.

I took my 3yo to one today; I work from home, he's not back in nursery, so I spent a bomb on entry, food and sweets so I could work relatively undisturbed for a few hours. I do this a couple of times a month when needed; it's not perfect but it works until he's a bit older.

£4 to get in £1 for some smart price juice, £3 for a cup of instant coffee. £5 for a toastie. Piss all over the toilet floors, understaffed over loud, hardly ever cleaned ball pit germ factory.
We had a lovely one near us when dd1 was born. By the time dd2 arrived it was out dated, dirty half the stuff was broken and manned by 16yr olds that didn't have a clue what day of the week it was let alone how to clean up when one of the little darlings had thrown up/pissed/ or drawn blood from another child.
Enjoy it while you can. When your dc get to the bigger stages and the other kids won't take turns/push them down the slide backwards and their parents don't give a rats ass, I'd like to know if you still love it!

Also, when you enter the realm of soft play parties, you'll find yourself at soft plat at 9am on a Saturday, cursing the noise and bad lighting, forced to make small talk for 2 hours with parents you've met once at nursery.

It does get better when the kids get to age 6 or so and you can drop them off for parties. None of the parents stayed for our 6yo's party. DH sat with our ear plugs in 😁

Every time I go there are a high proportion of:

• Unsupervised children (generally not behaving well)
• Toddlers with pooey nappies wandering round stinking, parents don't seem to notice for hours.
• kids with food or sticky juice bottles spilling all over the equipment

Even the cleanest soft play is just a breeding ground for filth, DS got chicken pox after a soft play party. I can cope with normal germs but I've seen vomit & poo cleaned in the most cursory fashion at one of the soft plays near us.

Perfectpretender
"So I could work undisturbed"... right and who was supervising your three year old? It's impossible to properly supervise a child that age and work meaningfully.

Well, undisturbed is a relative term.

*£4 to get in
*
I wish! My local one is over double that, plus adults have to pay £2.50 for the privilege too!