To hate soft play centres

[regularmumnotacoolmum]

I really dislike soft play centres and avoid taking my kids there as much as possible. Today I attempted it again as the weather was rubbish and the toddler had lots of energy. I tried a new one about 30 mins away from where we live. The reviews said it was really clean etc etc. Mid way through the play session a boy aged about 4-5 pulled down his pants and began to pee, spraying it everywhere around the exit which leads to the 'outdoor' area.... he had no parent in sight nor did he seem to think it was out of the ordinary. Later I did see a parent with the child and they were teaching him how to go up the slide so that he didn't have to climb up the entire frame to have another go! Said child was also not wearing any socks. I notified a member of staff to explain what had happened with the urinating incident as kids were walking through it to play between the indoor and outdoor areas but didn't want to approach the father as he looked rather intimidating. AIBU to think that all soft plays come with these sorts of issues and they're not nice places to be? What alternatives would you suggest that are similar but perhaps not as unruly?

I spend half my life in soft play centres and I’ve never seen this.

Some can be a bit grim in the cleanliness stakes but most are good. I think you’ve been unlucky!

I love soft play with my little one (it's one of my happy places with her at the weekends) and have never come across this kind of incident - the child peeing out in the open!
I do see lots of children trying to climb up the slides though...after a while there's usually an announcement over the tannoy for parents to remind their children that they can't climb up the slides (there are already several signs telling children not to do this though).
In my favourite one, you can almost always find a member of staff with a handheld hoover going around tables getting crumbs etc off the floor. Can't fault it really!

Agree with a PP's comment, I think you've been unlucky.

I wasn't that keen on soft play either, when we did go I didn't ever witness anything like that though.

I don't have kids so I've never been to one, but surely there are few, if any, adults who actually enjoy taking their kids to them?!

I don't think I've ever heard any adult say a good thing about soft play centres other than that their kids love them. Most adults seem to agree pretty universally that they're absolutely hell-holes for anyone over the age of about 7.

We found different soft plays attracted different families. Most were fine, but one attracts a lot of rougher families. DS (aged 5) got his head stamped on by a much older kid and the parents laughed. Never been back.

I'm somewhat relieved to hear that today's experience isn't typical and that I've just been unlucky in the ones I've visited so far. I must admit it was really nice to see my little one totally out of the usual comfort zone and trying big slides, climbing difficult bits without asking for help etc etc. Just wish the places were a little cleaner and more civilised. 😅

I don't do soft play centres. Urgh they are SO germ ridden. All kids putting things in their mouth, kids of different ages going into areas not meant for them, people not supervising.
My baby goes to baby classes and there is an absolutely lovely soft play in there and you get X hours free depending on how many classes you buy. They are pricy so you get a different type of crowd there and the kids are around the same age too. I love how it is run and you can see the entire thing is very clean.

I mean they aren't my favourite but kids love them and it does tire them out. If you have a toddler try to find a place that's aimed at under 5s. They tend to be smaller and more chilled.