To think soft play is utterly hideous?

[roarfeckingroarr]

I've just taken DS (10 months old, he's standing, cruising and crawling) to a small local soft play with my friend and her baby. It's a very expensive smart newish one with a small amount of basic stuff and a cafe - not a jungle gym with slides etc suitable for bigger children

Dear Lord it was hideous. Parents on their phones not supervising or even vaguely keeping an eye on their children, our toddlers nearly getting trampled despite keeping them to a small corner away from the more grown up bits. Boiling hot and sticky. And the screeching.

Never again. Never.

Thank you for confirming my decision to put off taking my 16 month old 🙈 I wont be in a hurry to go now, ha!

Oh fgs.

Wait until you have a child the correct age for soft play.

Or find a better soft play

@roarfeckingroarr

I've just taken DS (10 months old, he's standing, cruising and crawling) to a small local soft play with my friend and her baby. It's a very expensive smart newish one with a small amount of basic stuff and a cafe - not a jungle gym with slides etc suitable for bigger children

Dear Lord it was hideous. Parents on their phones not supervising or even vaguely keeping an eye on their children, our toddlers nearly getting trampled despite keeping them to a small corner away from the more grown up bits. Boiling hot and sticky. And the screeching.

Never again. Never.

A non-walking 10 month old isn't a toddler either

@whistlers

Oh fgs.

Wait until you have a child the correct age for soft play.

Or find a better soft play

It was suitable for babies and toddlers, we checked. We also kept to one small corner and still the totally unsupervised kids bashed into ours.

I find softplay appeals to a certain kind of parent, and is therefore best avoided at all costs.

YANBU OP. And I say this as a mother of two children who are now prime soft play age (3 and 5).

I hated it when they were tiny, I hate it now and I make DH take them on the odd occasion that they want to go because I won't. It's the fucking skanky pits of hell. And I completely disagree that parents should be able to just ignore their children on their phone. No, they don't need you to be on top of them when they're older like mine but you still need to be keeping an eye on them and most people can't be arsed. It's not coffee and relax time for mum whilst your children act like feral little beasts, thank you very much!

Ugh.

Whilst soft play can cater to babies and toddlers, it’s better for older children. The whole point of soft play is a safe area for them to let off steam without parents being overly at all involved

Babies and toddlers are better off going during term time when all the older kids are at school

Much quieter

It's summer holidays, it's like this every year

Us old timers had to do it, now it's your turn. Them's the rules, each new line of parents take the baton as it is handed to them.

Your baby isn’t really old enough to benefit from soft play. The point of these places is for kids to run around, have fun and play. Unfortunately very few suit kids under about 2 years old unless maybe in school time when they are quiet.

I have 3 kids and avoid these places in school holidays. Very excited, bored kids combined with some parents who stare at phones, ignoring said child and generally have the not child they wouldn’t do that attitude make them a recipe for tears and tantrums.

Sorry your first experience wasn’t great but maybe go in school time next time and find one that has an under 3 areas which the staff enforce.

I wouldn’t take a 10 month old to soft play unless it was one that specifically catered to under 1’s.
I have 3 children and have spent a lot of time in soft play. I would say it’s best for children over 4 who can manage the equipment themselves.

I think yours are a bit little for it tbh

I don’t really like soft play and have only been a handful of times, but I think regardless of what age it said, 10 months is a bit young. The first time I took DD was right at the end of my maternity leave so she’d have been about the same age and she was too little.

Also it’s school holidays. If you’re going to take a baby that young, it’s best to go when older children are at school.

Our soft play has an under 2s area closed off with a gate for the very small ones. We just went today and DD 2.5 had a whale of a time! It's definitely much better for toddlers and up.

Yes, it is. Germ cesspools. Even the name, soft play, is like nails on a chalkboard.

I agree that he's too young, but it is advertised as suitable for babies and toddlers. I thought it would be a good place where he can crawl and practise standing alone without risk of hurting himself.

I'll try again when he's 3. Maybe.

@Soubriquet

Whilst soft play can cater to babies and toddlers, it’s better for older children. The whole point of soft play is a safe area for them to let off steam without parents being overly at all involved

Babies and toddlers are better off going during term time when all the older kids are at school

Much quieter

Exactly this.

Soft play is great when they can go off themselves and explore in a safe environment and you can encourage their independence by sitting down with a coffee.

It might be better to try again in about a year/18 months.

See I was dreading it thanks to previous mumsnet threads/ sneering but I took my dd a few weeks back (when she was 11 months so similar age) with a friend and it was perfectly fine. I did go to one that had a specific section for under 3s and it was whilst they were still limiting numbers due to Covid so maybe that helped, or maybe it was just a particularly nice one.

The food was even ok - not great, but ok.

We always go to a pub with a soft play bit for my nieces and nephews’ birthdays and that one is indeed hideous.

AIBU to think the parents should've intervened when their little thugs smashed into mine (well, into me because I kept between them) for the third time and made him cry?

I think you have to try a few and then decide which you would go back to, as in my experience they vary quite a bit. I would say that under two it's probably not worth it for your stress levels, whatever the venue claims is the age range though.

We've been touring our local ones recently and all I can say is that they vary massively in quality and cleanliness.

We went to an absolutely lovely one this weekend that was nothing like you described. Lots of parents were working in pairs and tag teaming eachother in or each going around with one child each. We also had some chats with other parents whilst we were supervising DS.

They're not all like that though, keep trying different ones. You might also find different times of the day attract different types of parents. We tend to go for the earliest session of the day 🤷 not sure if that makes a difference.

I probably wouldn't take a 10 month old though tbh. Until they're up and walking/toddling confidently (so at least a couple of months after they're walking unaided), I don't think it's the kind of place that really does cater to them. We didn't take DS until he was 23 months, but I don't think he'd have been properly ready for it until he was at least 18 months anyway.

Ah the sweaty soft play areas 😂 don't miss them at all
But when they are older they are better

Go in term-time when toddlers have free rein over everything! I took my little boy when he was two and we had so much fun climbing and going down the big slides! Would be horrendous in the hols, can't wait til school starts and I can take my other DC. Ten months is just too little to enjoy it to the max.

I forgot it's school holidays. Every day / week blurs during mat leave.