To ask what your experience is with soft play

[aw1212]

Taking DS to soft play centre for the first time this afternoon.. I've heard a few horror stories on here and it has made me wonder what I should expect 😬

AIBU to ask for your experiences?

When you have a non school age child they are ace. You can go early morning and they are quiet and almost empty.

When I was on mat leave I used to take my toddler and baby. Baby would sleep, toddler would play and I would get scrambled egg on toast and a brew and sit and read my kindle. It was blissful.

Now both my kids are school age and soft play is like the seventh circle of HELL!!

You’re brave going on a Sunday afternoon. It’ll be packed.

Choose wisely. I have a lovely one near me that is clean and if you go early, you can be the only ones there which is wonderful. There is another one that recently shut that was a proper germ fest and grimy and I refused to go as everyone I knew always got ill after going.

Nearly a black eye.

Smelly feet.

Pee in the ball pool.

MUUUMMMYYYY! Come and get me!

—no you’re in the top level—

So glad dd is nearly 7 and I think we’re over it. Party today is in a pub!

Hell!

It's fresh hell

Hoik that is a fab synopsis but you forgot 'My child crying with a bump the size of an egg on his head within five minutes of getting there' every single time!

I'd rather chop my own hands off

You'll come home with a sick bug

There’s also always a toddler walking around with a honking nappy and you can’t work out who they belong to.

I took my DS and his two cousins this morning. It was okay as the bacon butties are amazing but eldest neice’s friend was in there and they ran off screaming whenever the other two tried to play with them. This meant I had to interact with the little niece and my son more than I wanted to on a Sunday morning when they’d dragged me out of bed way too early.

Stupid people who throw their delicate eight month old in the big kids ball pool, alone. Then get annoyed when my massive three year old runs around shouting and scares her. Or even falls on her.

Take her somewhere else- and stop dressing her like an 80's bog roll cover.

They can be great - there was a big one near us and kids loved it. Best for 4-9 year olds - many have 12 as cut off but really after 9 they are eirher too big physically or it's boring for them.
Always keep an eye on them - if crowded they can get pushed about some though we never had any problems. There was a separate toddler section which is helpful. A godsend on a rainy day.

They are hell on earth.
Be patient, be kind.
I’ve been that mother with the child who hits - I soon abandoned soft play as clearly neither of us were getting much enjoyment as I spent my time shadowing him and apologising profusely if he managed to make contact. Most parents lovely - some act like my child is a monster.
I’ve also been the mother of the child who plays beautifully makes friends and potters about happily.
Then you have the smell of an unchanged nappy, dribbling noses of children with the cold and all the other stuff.
It’s not for everyone . When the weather is good I wouldn’t go, it’s a final resort if we’ve been trapped inside for too long.

A lot depends on the individual soft play - they come in a wide variety of sizes, usually the bigger ones are better for older children - but in general, my DC love going to them.
Although I’d avoid busy times like weekends and school holidays with a pre-schooler if possible.

From an adults POV, they get better once the DC are old enough to not want you by their side every minute.

Once when we went there was a kid there who was having a proper punch up with another kid.

We've been to a couple of other, bigger ones though and there were no problems. It used to be one of my favourite places to go when it was hot outside: everyone else was out in the park or on the beach etc so the place was almost empty. My kids got to play and run about, burning off plenty of energy and I could sit in a nice, cool, air conditioned building with a brew and leave them to it.

They saved my sanity when DD was a baby and DS was a toddler. I'd sit and feed DD while DS ran around with other children and blew off some steam. As they got older they could both run off while I had a coffee and read my book in peace. I loved them and think it's a shame that they're a bit too old for them now. We go to trampolining places instead now but they're more expensive and tend to have time restrictions (unlike the soft plays I used to go to where you could stay for hours if you wanted).

Cigarette lighter in the under 3s ball pool.

My 3 year old picked up and dropped down a ramp by a much bigger kid.

Guaranteed vomiting bug or cold after going.

Mine seem to just want to go on the bloody machines.

It’s definitely a last resort for my family.

I opted to be the one who dressed up in a Dolphin costume that smelled of death, despair and decomposing camels, rather than be one of the members of staff who had to search the ball pit for shit and used nappies nightly and were expected to work from 11am - 9pm doing that, then 10pm - 5am wiping turds, bits of fish finger and vomit off each individual ball, cushion, slide, protective bumper (climbing up and hanging off the equipment to reach them), armed with two J-Cloths and a bucket from the equipment used to clean the toilets.

Hate HATE them, I avoid them at all costs but of course DC love them.

The baby area is terrible over the weekend or in school holidays, people don’t monitor their children so older children go in there which is dangerous and against the rules. I’ve witnessed older children throwing the big blocks about in there before, no parents in sight.

It’s also a safe haven for pretty much every bug going so expect your DC to get sick.

Full of shit parents sitting on Facebook letting their feral children run riot. No rules. Usually have to intervene and remove your child before they get hurt, especially if they're young (under 1.5y).

I'd only ever go during the mornings on a weekday. And not in winter because there's too many bugs about.

It's a shame because DD liked it when we've been, but it's not worth the risk of injury or illness as she's only a year old. I'll probably take her more often when she's bigger and can stand on her own two feet.

They always bring out an urge in me to don a full hazmat suit and get in there with a spray tank full of neat bleach...

We try to avoid the bloody places as much as possible, although occasionally I get pestered into going... and inevitably spend the next few days on high alert for yet another bug! 😷

I used to quite enjoy them. My DC loved them and I usually got to sit down with a friend and chat. However I can't say I'm devastated now my DC are too old!

Ha ha, loes of the flies doe u10s sums it up for me. Too loud, too dark, food and drink overpriced.

I used to dress DS in a football top that was fluorescent yellow. I could spot him a mile away in all the chaos of the equipment with no issues.

Until the day I accidentally followed the wrong brown haired little boy wearing the same top.

They’re bloody brilliant when the ground is sodden outside, your toddler lays down and screams when you attempt to put her in a puddle suit and wellies and you can’t face staying at home all day.