Soft play. Lack of supervision

[mysterytoddler]

I take my 19 month old DD to soft play most weeks since they’ve reopened. I’m 7 months pregnant with DC2.

I’m so sick of parents not supervising their kids properly. Today was a classic. Another mum with 2 boys, at a guess I’d say that the oldest was 7, youngest 3. Both really boisterous kids. The mum spent most of the time sat at her table on her phone. She checked on them now and again but mostly left them to it. At one point she even took the toddler to the toilet and left the older one completely unsupervised.
I took DD to the large bit of the soft play that’s recommended for older ones which is my own doing but DD is really headstrong and finds the baby bit really boring now. But they were running all over the place and she got knocked over twice.

I also don’t understand why the 7 year old wasn’t at school. Part of the reason we go on weekdays is because it’s quieter and usually full of toddlers. I wouldn’t go on weekends cos I accept that there will be school age kids there.

I’m just sick of it. I manage to clamber all over the equipment and supervise my toddler despite being heavily pregnant. I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for others to do the same

I used a gents toilet once because I didn’t fancy the ladies. I was outraged that there were men in there using the urinals! They could see I was a woman and that I was in there too. Some people! They just aren’t raised properly!

A lot of soft plays don't even let parents into the bigger section.
It doesn't sound as if these children were misbehaving, it's not like they were in the toddler section.

@Rosesarere

You took a toddler into the section aimed at older children, soft play is divided into different sections for a reasons, to stop the big ones unintentionally hurting the smaller ones. Im sure you would be the first to complain if the older children had come into the toddler section...

This!

@Rosesarere

You took a toddler into the section aimed at older children, soft play is divided into different sections for a reasons, to stop the big ones unintentionally hurting the smaller ones. Im sure you would be the first to complain if the older children had come into the toddler section...

I agree wholeheartedly with this.

Eh? There's an area for young children (where your child should have been), and an area where older children can safely run around with little supervision. You took your young child into the area that was not designed for them, but was actually designed for older children to run around with minimal supervision. And then complained that the older children were doing exactly what they were supposed to do in the area designed for them for them to do it in, because it interrupts you doing taking your young child in the area that he is not supposed to be in.

They were using soft play correctly.
You were abusing the facilities and using the inappropriate section.

Stick to the area you were supposed to be in, and you would have no problems. Let the older children use the area designed for them in an age appropriate way (as they were). The whole reason why your child is not supposed to be in the older area is because they might end up getting hurt, because older children's play isn't appropriate for babies/toddlers.

My son is 2.5, since he's a toddler I supervise closely at soft play, partly because he's likely to push others or get knocked over himself - but I'm relying on letting him run free age 7, and I fully intend to enjoy the peace then!

The point of soft play is to allow unstructured, minimally supervised play in a safe environment which allows them to test their own limits, positive risk taking and negotiating social situations.

You seriously expect a parent to run up and down soft play with a 7yo? Give your head a wobble.

It’s not an inset day in my town

INSET days are specific to schools, not towns.
They are often mid week, mid term due to training purposes.

Likewise, school could also be closed for a range of reasons: power fault, water supply loss, etc.

@kindaclassy

If you can't teach your 7 yo not to knock down a toddler in a soft, you are a special kind of lazy parent!

Even worst when they have a younger sibling themselves.

I am all for leaving kids enjoy themselves, but unfortunately lazy parents means very unpleasant children.

But OP said it was the 3 year old who knocked over her child at 20.22 and not the 7 year old

So you've judged someone for letting a 3 year old in when it's for over 5s whilst you took an 19 month old in whilst heavily pregnant. Crikey. And then you judged her for being 'young'.

Stop OP. I get you're frustrated but people don't agree with you. Move on.

How do you know she wasn't working on her phone? Also you said it was the 3yo that knocked your kid over. Most kids that knock others over do it accidentally, you can't really teach dcs not to do things by accident.

I think OP is on the wynd up

Gosh these lazy 20 something mums. How dare they take five minutes to sit on their phone at soft play. Yawn. Every comment you make just makes you sound worse OP.

Interesting how the girl is "headstrong" and the boys are "boisterous"

Area wide under days aren’t a thing, different schools do their own thing.

Having 5 minutes peace on your phone while your children run around in a safe environment is literally the entire point of going to soft play.

The 3 year old was closer to being the right age to go in the over 5s section than your child is.

7 is completely old enough to be unsupervised at soft play.

Lazy? DFOD

Under=inset

We went to a new softplay this week. It was the first time the kids have been to softplay in two years and they were excited. I am 30 weeks pregnant so didn't go in with them (wouldn't have fit) but my dh did to get them started off. Once they were confident he came back and forth. I went over to check on them periodically. My ds is boisterous, dd isn't and she can sometimes be hesitant so needs encouragement. I wouldn't expect to stand over them once they are aged 7 but I would still periodically check on them. My kids are 5 and 3. You should be supervising your children if you let them go in an older age group part. Maybe try taking your kids to a smaller softplay or one that is less busy.

I’m proudly lazy then. I go to soft play so I can be lazy.

I shout a ‘be careful, try not to kill anyone’ warning and shove them in.

I’ve done my time crawling around kids play areas in the toddler years. I’ve earned my lazy time :)

I will try hard to look concerned in future when some idiot woman takes her teeny one into the big kids area and then gets all precious when it gets knocked over. Well I will if I take my nose out of my book long enough anyway.

I take my almost 7 year old to soft play and let her loose, I tell her where I am but she mostly plays alone, thats why I love it so much. There's wifi and I can have a cup of tea!

Sorry your DD was knocked over but YABU to think a 7 year old needs supervision in a locked padded building designed for them to play in.

Children don't need a constant handhold or supervision and if you think a 7 year old does in a soft play you have a lot to learn I'm afraid.
Teach them to be independent - clambering all over a soft play the entire time you're there whilst you are pregnant is not doing you or your kid any favours! Get a drink, sit down and chill out a bit!

I kind of get where you're coming from OP. I took my two year old to a soft play once and a child, about the age of seven, grabbed his head and headbutted him to get a piece of portable soft play off him. Could I find the boy's parents? Nope. Sort of wish I'd headbutted him back. I mean their absent parent would never have known .

I'm also a parent that occasionally has to clamber like a fat bear, or whatever the comparison was, because my three year old and five year old want me to brave the great heights of soft play with them the first time they attempt it. I didn't realise so many other parents are judgemental of parents helping their kids

Loving this thread.
It’s totally fine for anyone to be on their phone while their kids are playing at a play space designed literally for that purpose. Soft play and parks are fucking boring. Playing with young kids is fucking boring.

OP, you are immensely entertaining, so please continue your mad posts.

Soft plays are basically palaces of neglect. They are such awful places to hang out, the only people who take their children are those so utterly sleep deprived and exhausted they’re willing to suffer plastic padded hell just to switch off for half an hour. Don’t go if you want a nice day out and definitely don’t put your tiny toddler in the over 5s area unless you’re happy for them to leave with a fat lip. They serve a very good purpose but you aren’t the target market, go for a nice walk instead.

I didn't realise so many other parents are judgemental of parents helping their kids
It's soft play. For kids. How much help could they need?

Sort of wish I'd headbutted him back

I’m not sure I’d have gone that far