To want to avoid soft play?

[Wrenifly]

DS is 16months. So far, he’s been to soft play twice and has been ill both times so after the last time when he was around 9 months, I thought to myself, never again!

The trouble is a lot of my mum friends have started meeting at softplay once a fortnight and so far I’ve never been. They’re meeting again on Wednesday and tbh I’m running out of excuses. I do see them at other places so it’s not like I need to go but DH made a comment tonight about how DS would love soft play now he’s older (he would I know) and it’s a shame to deprive him of having fun with his toddler friends due to us not wanting the germs.

I know he’s right in that DS would love it. He also pointed out that DS is in nursery every week anyway now and comes home most weeks ill at the moment so will one session of soft play make much difference?

Is it possible to go to softplay and not get ill? I think the fact he was ill both times after has really put me off. I’m also aware that as he’s getting older and with winter looming, indoor things like soft play are probably going to be more popular meeting points with my mum friends.

I think that was bad luck and probably because he hadn’t had much exposure to germs at that age. Nursery is far worse than soft play and mine have been ill maybe once after 6 years of soft play. Take hand gel or wash hands before they eat

Soft play centres ( most ) are a huge germ 🦠 🤢 cesspit…

I couldn’t think of anything worse to take my children to than one of those places so I never did.

They are now aged 12 and 9 and I can honestly say they’ve never missed out because I never took them to soft play 😂

He's 16 months, he'll catch everything going and actually he needs to. Take him to soft play. Any activity place for kids will be a germ hive, it's all part of the fun.

Why make excuses?
"I hate soft play! Can we meet at the park after?"

His immune system is likely better now than when he was 9 months old. He's also being exposed to lots of bugs at nursery so he might be ok now

I have an untested theory that young kids need to get all these sniffles virusses once before they build up enough resistance. Every parent I know sooner or later complains about roughly a year where their kid catches every virus going. In my opinion it's best to get it out of the way before they go to school to prevent them from missing too much school.

Ugh I'm with you OP. My nursery-going DS got ill from soft plays too. Some were worse offenders than others - I had no issue with saying I don't like soft plays and will meet them at the other times and places.

I hated it especially as I’ve worked in infection control but you can’t stop kids from playing. I avoided the awful pub type ones and only went to the reputable ones which always seemed cleaner. I always went early in the morning too as I did with swimming.

We are regular soft play attenders and we are not ill after every visit. We have always mixed at lots of groups though so dd has a robust immune system. I would try to go to soft play, especially if you value the friendships.

16 months is a tricky age with mum friends, naps start getting erratic, people go back to work, kids get on the move and start trashing the house and the maternity leave bubble starts to pop. You also have the cold weather drawing in and park outings or outdoor outings are less attractive. Hosting playdates at home is great for a max of 3 kids when they get into toddlerhood. Getting to groups as a big group starts getting harder as work days clash and naps start shifting.

In our group the ones who went out regularly to different places are still in touch but the few who didn't or blew off with excuses lost touch after a few months. From the original maternity bubble of 12, I regularly playdate with 7 of the mums - some more frequently than others. The group outings of more than 4 stopped around 18 months as people lost touch. I picked up a couple of mum friends whose maternity leave bubbles popped at the local playgroup.

Soft play and play cafes are a great meetup venue as there is no hosting and there is enough space for everyone. Plus coffee and cake.

Totally understand where you’re coming from. We last took my daughter to a soft play centre in April and we all picked up the worst stomach bug (I actually ended up crapping in my own pants while visiting my mum and dads a couple of days later… never thought this would happen to me in my adult life). Had to dial 111 for DD because at one point, she was unresponsive and was so dehydrated! Absolutely vile.

We tend to opt for outdoor type play villages now. She has just as much if not more fun and I’ll continue this until she specifically asks to go to soft play. For me, it’s just not worth it when you spend 1-2 weeks following a visit either dealing with streams of snot, sick and/or shit.