To sit at someone else's table at soft play?

[Crapola25]

I've come to a big soft play this morning, it's first day of half term (abroad) and out of 70 tables they are all taken. By taken i mean coats and bags draped over the chair. I can see one table of 4 with a coat on the chair and notebook on the table and 2 pairs of shoes so presumably 1 adult and 1 child. Would I be unreasonable to sit there (I'm 1 adult with 1 child) until asked to move? Lots of tables are "empty" as in noone sat there just belongings on them. Otherwise nowhere else to sit and I want to do some work.

Definitely approach someone sat at the table not just sit at a table with no-one there. It could also cause confusion for a child that comes back to where their parent was and finds a stranger and a laptop.
I do think getting your laptop out on a shared table is a bit much though.

On the unsupervised comments, my daughters 6 but disabled so I have to accompany her and whilst I understand there isn't room and its not feasible for all kids to be constantly surpervised, in an ideal world there'd be some method for parents that are in there to press a button of some kind that informed you your child is being a twit, bully and/or needs your help that would set a buzzer off on your table.
I want credit if anyone invents one haha

@Fizzy89 oh yeh that would be brilliant. I have been to another soft play and always seem to encounter some kid that is running feral and their parents are on the other side of the room engrossed in their phone but I think most parents should have a pretty good idea of their kids temperament. I've seen kids running loose attacking other kids and there's no way that's a one off. And every time I've had to intervene, go and find the parent.

How fats your arse that you need 4 chairs ???

My kids can also pay unsupervised they are well behaved kids unfortunately its inevitable that there will be some feral kids there that aren't supervised even when the parent knows precious jonny is a little tw@

Yes for little kids but once they are older you get to enjoy your kindle and cake

They are still at the tightly wound PFB stage 🤣

My view has always been that you occupy a seat by sitting on it and not by leaving your possessions and wandering off. These are fair game to be set aside at another table. No one is going to remember the exact table they left their coat. This also applied to sun loungers in hotels. Bums on seats is what counts.

Erm, play with your kid?? It's not a babysitting service.

Soft play, for children big enough to use the main area, is for children to play by themselves. Adults are often not even ALLOWED in, much less encouraged to go in.

I’m so glad my DS is fully grown and I don’t have to navigate soft play politics

This has reminded me how ANGRY those women reading books in the playground made me when mine were tiny. They really seemed like they were showing off. Thanks for the reminder that I'm not sure to see the back of some things about having small children as opposed to teenagers who never want to engage with you unless you have dared to leave the house and then they seem most indignant.

My nephew is 3, my dc are 14-17. We go to the park and my bil cannot understand how we ever had the energy for 3dc… we weren’t 40 when ours were little 😂 I love seeing them for a weekend but after that I’m ready to parent teens again (although I admit I feel wildly under qualified to parent an almost adult!)

With my child.

I like my own space.

Anywhere very busy like this I would expect people to ask to share tables. It’s not like someone is asking you to budge up a bit when you’re out having a romantic meal for two.

I would either ask to share a table where someone was sitting but not using the table itself. Or I would sit at a table where people had dumped coats and when they returned say something like “sorry I was just perching here while you were away as there’s no spare tables…will I be in your way here or shall I move?” It might be easier to hop between unoccupied tables if most people have just used them as a base for coats.

I like my own space. I also like not being deafened my a cacophony of screaming kids. Neither of these things is a reasonable expectation in a packed soft play.

Okay?

I don't agree with OP going there to work anyway. Even the nicest kids need watching occasionally.

Typo? Or 13 yr olds in softplay!

Plenty of people go and read a book or chat with a friend, not watch their children like a hawk. Unless she’s presenting on a zoom call (good luck with that!) then it’s perfectly possible to check emails etc while still keeping an eye on what is going on with your DC.

Go get yourself a coffee and cake and sit at a table, us mums needs to support each other through a soft play experience!!!! lol 😂
To the people saying it’s weird…. It’s people like you who are unfriendly and make people feel like crap! Grow up!

Hell no! Nothing worse than oversized adults blocking up the soft play, getting in the way and stopping the kids from charging their way round and enjoying some independent play. The odd adult, fine, I get that some kids need more supervision due to additional needs or might be nervous or whatever but if every adult went in there with their kids it would completely ruin it for the children. There are places to play together and places where it’s better for them play independently. Soft play is the latter.

OP I’d just find someone sat alone and ask if they mind if you share their table for a bit or borrow a chair and then move it into a spare space and put your laptop on your knee. Most people won’t mind. I wouldn’t just commandeer a random table as that seems a bit rude, like they could be waiting for friends to join or you might confuse their kids if they come back looking for their parent.