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!

We only go if it's a party. DS isn't bothered and wouldn't ask to go otherwise.

They are noisy, mostly filthy and often a bit dank and depressing. I would rather be outdoors with him on his scooter or playing football. Did I mention the noise?

My daughter went yesterday with my friend and her child. I just hope she doesn't start with the plague now. Just think of how many kids have been in there with colds, coughs, less than a few days after norovirus. Blurghhh. I haven't taken my son yet. He's two. I try find cleaner places or take them outdoors.

Also they are noisy and irritating. If you have bags and coats etc you have to carry them around whilst trying to supervise/help.

Because my 4 year old refuses to go in alone!

They serve a purpose I guess. And that purpose is usually so rude parents can look at their phones while their even ruder children run amok. They manage to muster the energy to look up occasionally and yell/swear at their own kids or someone else's.
I was in one last month where staff were looking for the parent of one injured toddler for twelve minutes. She'd gone outside for a cigarette evidently.
They are certainly an eye-opener. It always amazes me how many school-aged children there are in them on school days. Makes me wonder if they are off school ill and parents don't know what to do with them so they take them to soft play to spread around whatever illness they have.
I swear there's turds in the ball pits.

The primary colours, the children screaming, the smell of unwashed stuff and fried food, the kid friendly music on a loop...I find it's an assault on all my senses simultaneously

Haven’t rtft -Your baby is 9 months old, you’re a relative softplay newbie. Give it time ...
Soft plays are LOUD ,full of screaming kids knocking smaller ones out of the way while the parents sip lattes and ignore them.
They all smell of cheesy feet and they’re either freezing cold or boiling hot .

No natural light or fresh air, and noisy.

YABU, to not understand that different people have different likes and dislikes.

I dislike soft play because they are too noisy (even when I take my hearing aids out), they're too smelly, the food is too expensive and crap, too hot or cold depending on the time of year and worst of all are the parents (not all parents) that ignore their children when they are deliberately hurting other children.

Also like a PP said they are not as safe as we like to think they are. DD2 ended up having emergency surgery on her hip after attending a birthday party at a soft play. She slid down a slide, the right way, not being silly about it or anything. There was a drop of almost 2 foot between the end of the slide and the cushioned floor! 6 months later she is still using a combination of a wheelchair, crutches and a child's sized Zimmer frame with more operations on the horizon.

Unfortunately the hip operation was operation number 13 for 10 year old DD due to other congenital issues she was born with. Operation number 12 should have been the last for a few years but unfortunately soft play scuppered that. Plus the amount of time recovering and being off school means she may need to be kept back a year.

ABSOLUTE.HELL.ON.EARTH

There's 2 near to me. One is lovely, pretty new and acceptably clean. The other is a cesspit full of feral demons that I avoid like the plague!

The other is a cesspit full of feral demons that I avoid like the plague!

Best description yet

BlueMoon1103

you replied to

doublebarrellednurse

with

"unnecessary"

Interesting.

Lots of posts here explain why people don't enjoy taking their DCs to soft play (but may still continue doing so because - in my case anyway - the misguided DC wanted to go sometimes) rather than "love bringing*" them.

But you choose a post to which to object that said: "I'm just not as awesome a parent as you".

Why was that the one to which you objected? Were you worried you might have sounded a bit smug?

Anyway, there are lots of people who don't "love" taking their child to Soft Play.
Why do you "love" doing it? Is it just the pleasure on his adorable face or do you get something from it too?

*Do you mean "taking"?

Because its hell on earth for any sane adult

I loved going when DS was 9 months and needed to play with him, get in the ball pit, take him on the slides (big kid in me!) and that kind of distracts you from the noise/other people.

But once he was old enough that he wanted to go play with his friends I used to sit in the corner on my own like a spare part listening to everyone else's kids screaming, fighting, having tantrums.

Hated it then.

"do you get something from it too?"

"else from it too".

You know.
For you.
A nice biscuit or something.

Because he'll is other people's children.

There’s a lot of variation in SP places.

We had a fabulous one near us where we lived in London. Not too big or overwhelming. Amazing coffee and food.

Some are hellish, yes.

My daughter is sick with impetigo! That she picked up from soft play last week

Wonderful place!

Non that I know of are deep clean more than twice a year

The amount of sickness bugs is unreal!

I used to hate them when DS was young. Noisy, dirty, dangerous, unhygienic places where the worse of human behaviour is on display.

No windows.

The infuriating etiquette where you can’t tell off another child (even lightly) without incurring the wrath of their self-righteous parent. Even when they’re beating seven bells out of another child.

When another child snatches a play item from yours, all you can do is tell your own child it’s time to share.

Glad DD is at the age where she is getting a little old for them, though we still go because friends do mass play-dates there.

Id like them if we had sole use of the place. I hate them because
1.too loud
2.all other kids in there seem to be very naughty and boisterous

1. All other kids in there have snot pouring out of their noses

4.my kids ALWAYS end up getting hurt

1. The places feel dirty

I know this sounds very judgy but I cant help it. We still go because my kids love the places but they're getting older now and there are less parties so I don't have to suffer quite as often!

It’s loud and full of screeching kids running around, I think it’s absolute hell. Also a massive germ pit.

What's a good one? There's a posh one in Harrogate which has polenta and Prosecco and it's nice but still very loud. Also it's possibly not a proper soft play.

I've been to 20/30 soft play centres, noisy and often short of natural light with crap coffee and food. I dream of having a nice one to go to when it's cold and wet.

I’m with you op! I take my 2 year old to one every week without question (it’s free and there’s free toast and juice before 12 too) and he roams the place whilst I have a hot cuppa and read my book. There’s normally only about 5 other kids in there and we know all of them and the kids are good friends. There has never been an incident in the toddler mornings and I’ve been going for over a year now. The food is lush too, really nice jacket pots and salads, gorgeous chicken “nuggets” (which are baked, rather than fried) and some lovely snacks (such as beetroot cake and zucchini bread)

@Mabbers what's the one in Harrogate? We are going up that way to Ripon to catch up with friends at Easter. Polenta and Prosecco at a soft play sounds just about doable.