Entitled parents need to keep older kids out of the young section of soft play

[fancyeatingout]

I go to soft plays with three sections:
Babies
Under school age
Older kids

My baby is immobile, while the baby section at soft play is tiny it's still bigger than the space at home and so a space place for her to learn to crawl and the different textures, alongside the sights and sounds, is great stimulation for her. I go first thing on a Sunday to try and go at a quiet time.

Everytime I go much older kids come into the baby section, I understand, they're young they don't understand, but I've had several occurrences where the parents seem to encourage the older children. Last week one such parent asked me to remove the soft crocodile propping my baby up, today a dad told his kid, "you can play in here as long as you play calmly" as he encouraged the older child in, only to then stand and watch as he constantly dive bombed in the ball pit, meaning no babies could play in it. I had to be THAT person and ask staff to intervene twice to remove older children today.

I recently saw a TikTok where a SEN parent of a 7 year old filmed and criticized the parents of babies for not being more understanding when her kid entered the baby section and proceeded to throw large toys at the babies. I understand the child's needs, but given the parents would have known their child couldn't adhere to boundaries, could they not have gone to a specific SEN session.

Am I unreasonable to expect parents to leave the baby space for babies? Everything in it is available in the other sections and it is the only space parents of babies can go.

Soft plays are the opposite of clean 🤢

Your comments about disabled children needing to only attend in special sessions are unpleasant.

Soft plays are a breeding ground for bugs and germs so it’s not exactly clean. Think of how many babies have drooled on that floor and it’s not been thoroughly cleaned.

YANBU about older children running around in them though. We had it recently, this little girl was absolutely determined to hit the group of babies with the soft building blocks. Mum sat shouting if you don’t behave your out of there…. Repetitively with zero effort to remove her little darling. She then grabbed my babies oxygen tank which was sat beside us and again Mum sat watching doing nothing. At that point I told the child to put it down and go into the bigger area. Called her mum over and asked her to remove her, mums response was she just loves babies 🙈

Little angel was also encouraged by mum to nick juices and chips from tables and treated to a massive cake for her good behaviour 😂😂

Good to know you're fully in the sit-on-my-phone camp while you're toddler charges around unsupervised 🙄 I've never felt that an adult, following a child around the hell that is soft play, is performance parenting.

Yes because that was said anywhere...

@fancyeatingout I was referring to this delight in your OP

I recently saw a TikTok where a SEN parent of a 7 year old filmed and criticized the parents of babies for not being more understanding when her kid entered the baby section and proceeded to throw large toys at the babies. I understand the child's needs, but given the parents would have known their child couldn't adhere to boundaries, could they not have gone to a specific SEN session.

I agree with you in principle but think you have a stinky entitled attitude yourself. I wouldn't take a small baby to a filthy soft play during peak hours, and also wouldn't let my bigger children play in the wrong area.

It's called parental supervision. Or decent parenting, not many about clearly 😅

And yes, hypocritical that you can't possible make it during off-peak hours, but SEN parents should only take their kids during the spurious SEN session times.

@Ohthatsabitshit what's that got to do with a sweeping statement saying disabled children should only be a special sessions? I know you're here for a debate where you accuse me of being unpleasant, because you want to tell the world they are all evil. But it clearly wasn't a sweeping statement, it was to say that children who cannot adhere to safe boundaries, ie ones that go into a baby section and then throw large objects at babies, should go to sessions where they won't hurt a young defenseless baby, by doing that. You disagree with that do you? You think that large strong children should be allowed to throw objects at babies do you? And that anyone that doesn't allow them to is unpleasant? Go and find an appropriate source to spread your hate and leave this thread for what it is.

Yes it's so entitled to want to use the section that is specially made for the age category my baby falls into.

YANBU. Sometimes it’s totally fine, other times it just becomes unsafe, and I’m fed up of seeing parents not actually watching their children as it happens.

I wouldn't take a baby to softplay where there are older children. Too dangerous.

I first went to soft play when they became popular around 30 years ago, and this was a problem way back then.

As always, the staff need to keep an eye on the baby sections and make sure the entitled parents adhere to the rules.

They shouldn't have to but it is essentially part of their job.

Great so all I need to do is find a soft play where there aren't older children, any idea how to find such a place.

This used to drive me MAD. I understand. DD is now 4 and still wants to go in the baby section. However i only allow it if there's no other children in there and explain why.

The number of times when she was pre walking and older kids stampeded in and out drove me mad. I remember one particular incident when a group of school age kids were climbing and jumping over the little house in the baby section and the mum saying to her friend who pointed out it was for under 3's "oh they're not hurting anyone" as they then proceeded to nearly jump down ON A BABY and other parents were forced to try and keep their uoung child away from her jumping kids.

Parents in softplay are 80 percent entitled twats. 20 percent are ok.

Go in term time weekdays. Otherwise you'll cause yourself alot of stress.

I don’t have any “hate” that would honestly require a lot more investment in your situation than it warrants. If you can’t be arsed to take your child at a time where there aren’t loads of bigger children or supervise your child closely if there are WHY do you think that already disadvantaged parents of disabled children should be able to do it with even less options? What exactly is the problem with sitting next to your baby and saying “can you okay over there, this area is for babies only?”

Where should she have to avoid? She isn’t the problem!

Lol!

Soft play is good opportunity for children to play independently of parents and learn how to get on with others, share, take turns etc. Other children can feel intimidated with parents constantly following kids about in soft play.

You can supervise your child without following them around constantly, if you can't, that's on you.

Oh yeah, super entitled to pay for something and expect use it. In an appropriate and age suitable fashion.

A lot of parents and children are dicks at soft play. It’s like some parents think they don’t have to parent their or make their children follow the rules. At the soft plays near me then ages are clearly stated

Because this doesn't actually work, of course I am supervising my immobile baby all the time! But larger children running in, throwing things, dive bombing the ball pit, a baby will get injured because they appear out of nowhere and are boisterous. They don't listen when I tell them, they are too old for this area and to go to the other area, when they are encouraged in by parents, it's even harder. The only way to actually get them out is to constantly ask staff to help, who will loudly announce they must leave and shout for their parents to come over to remove them when they don't listen to them.

YANBU. Keep complaining.

I rarely went to one of these as mine were at nursery three days a week, but when I did I had to put my rule enforcing manner on. I’ve ordered children out of the baby area and loudly demanded to know where their parent is. One mum had a go at me, but I don’t back down easily and the staff member who came over reinforced the rule. It’s pretty much the same in the park play area - unfortunately too many parents scrolling on their phones while their little darling kicks a toddler in the back at the top of the slide. I’ve pissed off a few parents in my time there as well.

Basically you’ve got to be prepared to shout ‘whose child is this who’s kicking other kids on the slide?’

It doesn't matter if they "like" the baby section. They shouldn't be in there.

It's amazing more babies don't get hurt, it seems like a lot of parents of the bigger kids see these places as a free for all where the rules don't apply to them.

The OP's posting style may be a bit charmless and blunt, but I don't see how anyone in good faith can disagree with her?

You pay to take your baby to a soft play baby section, where older kids are not allowed, you're fully entitled to think that older kids won't actually be allowed.

And fully entitled to complain when the rules are being broken and staff appear to be doing nothing about it 🤷‍♂️