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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I just don't get on with soft play centres!

47 replies

electra · 31/03/2009 22:25

Everyone I know with young children loves these places, but I must say that my experiences of them have not been all that great!

I never take my children to them, and never have although I suppose they are well past the peak age at which they are useful - ie - 7 and 5.

Today I went to one with a friend. Great I thought, lovely and clean (for a change!!) My friend informed me that many of these places smell of wee and poo because the children have accidents and nobody notices. My dd ended up hurting her wrist because she fell somewhere in the maze of stuff! (although in spite of this she wants to go again)

I don't know, to me they just seem so.....overrated. I would prefer to be somewhere else (especially for the cost as many of them are very expensive although the one today was not).

Perhaps soft play centres are just allergic to me and my children

OP posts:
nametaken · 31/03/2009 22:30

Did the soft play centre smell of shit today?

minxofmancunia · 31/03/2009 22:31

I don't like them but I do take dd sometimes when it's bad weather, she'd 2.6 so we can go in school time when it's quiet.

They ARE filthy though, yesterday when I was there at leat 5 kids had accidents on the equipment (all supposedly "potty trained" ). Dd who's mid potty training but by no means all the way there had an accident but not on the equipment thankfully, had she doen I would have cleaned it myself and let the staff know.

All the other Mums of said kids just took their jeans off, dried their pants on handdryers (they had no changes for their trained children whereas i had 3 for dd!) and let them carry on! Pretty minging, has put me off TBH.

Original poster
electra · 31/03/2009 22:32

No - not at all! My friend told me she goes there because it's the only one near us that is actually clean...

OP posts:
nametaken · 31/03/2009 22:33

Sorry for the sarcasm it's just that I don't know whether to take you seriously or not, your post seems, well, a bit contrived.

MrsMattie · 31/03/2009 22:35

They're so shite.

You spend the whole time trying to stop enormous ruffians from crushing your PFB to death in the ball pool. Then almost overnight, it would seem, your PFB is the enormous ruffian and your life is at risk from Lioness first time mums who are ready to draw handbags over the most minor of scuffles. It's stressful!

Plus, the only point of them is so you can have axcapuucino in peace in bad weather, and apparently, you are a Bad Mum if you do that.

So fuck it. Don a mac and go to the park, I say.

hester · 31/03/2009 22:37

They are the work of the devil. Avoid.

YaddaYaddaYadda · 31/03/2009 22:38

Personally I hate them! I can last about 10 mins before I start getting a migraine due to a combination of the awful lighting and the high pitched screaming of hordes of kids. Luckily DH shares DD's view that soft play centres are fabulous fun so I've delegated all future soft play centre trips to him

cherryblossoms · 31/03/2009 22:40

After some years taking my ds to a very deserted little soft play centre we moved and I took him along to another one.

It was a sort of padded adventure playgound for the terminally feral.

The parents weren't allowed on the equipment at all, but were herded into a sort of "cafe", where you were force-fed pretend coca-cola and some organic compound that was almost-but-not-quite-like chips. And you really were force-fed; you could only stay in the cafe if you bought something.

The soft-play was full to bursting with screaming children of assorted ages, many of whom were forming into gangs and battering other children.

Eventually, a child came down and complained to her mum, who went to complain to another mum, who stood up, along with a large gang of her friends and ... yes, a huge fight broke out. Punches, tables knocked over, the lot.

I rounded up ds and snuck out. The experience kind of put me off softplay centres.

TheCrackFox · 31/03/2009 22:47

They can be quite handy if you are in the zone of "I am ready to kill my DCs, it is pissing it down and it is only a 2 min walk from my house".

If you do not fit my strict criteria then avoid like the plague.

cherryblossoms · 31/03/2009 22:47

Ha! no-one can raise me the soft-play parent-fight - thought not.

I think MrsMattie's right - no-one does much like them but they're dry, can be fun for the dc and at the OK ones you do get a cup of coffee.

NeedCoffee · 31/03/2009 22:49

ooh I love them, wont go to the crappy baby ones though, the slides aren't fast enough for me

Bubbaloo · 31/03/2009 22:54

I love them,aswell as our ds's and we go every week-sometimes more than once.We have been to many and have never smelt any foul smells,or seen any accidents at any of them.
Infact,the only think I dislike about half term,is the fact that we don't go to any soft play centre's,as its too busy.

Original poster
electra · 31/03/2009 22:56

omg - I'm not surprised cherry blossoms! I just don't really get them - the lack of windows, the fact you can't even see your dc sometimes. Ah well, each to their own I guess.

OP posts:
Doha · 31/03/2009 23:18

I love soft play centres and so does the DC's. The one we go to is well run, DC's are well supervised by the staff on the equipement and it is bright and airy-warm in wineter--and doesn't smell of piss or poo .

My only gripe is the food whic although okay priced is a bit boringbut we dont need to eatcoffee and a cake des me fine.

Rollmops · 01/04/2009 11:04

nametaken, were you trying to be sarcastic? Seemed like a perfectly reasonable post

CMOTdibbler · 01/04/2009 11:10

I hate them - but with a very active DS, if it is raining or too cold for me to want to stand around in the park (he doesn't mind, I do), then they are the better alternative to just letting him run round in the DIY shop.

All of the ones we can go to are a drive away, so can choose the clean one that has OK food. Although DS still just a bit too small to be left to his own devices

Gentle · 01/04/2009 11:22

I think they're horrible too, but agree with TheCrackFox that they are sometimes the lesser of two evils if it has rained for 3 weeks and your little ones are bouncing off the walls at home.

I used to go to a village hall playgroup. They had barely any toys and the toddlers spent most of the hour running around the hall in one direction and laughing for no reason. I much preferred that, and it was only 20p for a proper piece of cake and a cuppa.

SoupDreggon · 01/04/2009 11:25

I love them because my children b*gger off and leave me in peace with a cup of coffee and a magazine. What's not to like??

Bucharest · 01/04/2009 11:25

Of course you don't get on with them. You're not 4 are you?
T'is a sacrifice of parenthood. I loathe the bloody things, but my god, does dd love 'em.
They'll grow out of it. Then they'll be wanting to go to nappy-nights at the local "club" and we can reallystart to worry.

mamadiva · 01/04/2009 11:42

And here was me actually chuffed to bits because DS 2.9YO finally went in and played without screaming yesterday

Although we went to the one at our local Brewsters/travel lodgey place so free apart from cost of a drink so £1.95 for me and DS gave him about 3 hours of non stop running and best of all they have no ball pool

I am not particularly keen on them but they are fun for the little ones and the look on DS's face was well worth the mankiness

Gorionine · 01/04/2009 11:46

My Dcs love them but they only get to go when they are invited to parties in them as I seem to suffer from "soft Play" allergies myself!

OrmIrian · 01/04/2009 11:47

You don't have to get on with them, you just have to endure them. Or not.

Shoshe · 01/04/2009 11:48

We go to a brilliant one in North Dorset.

it is not to big, so with all mindees under 3, it is great.

It is always clean, food is all home made (The owners Chocolate cake is to die for)

When we asked if it was possible to have fruit instead of crisps at snack time, she got in what we asked for and makes up snack bowls for us.

we always go on a Tuesday, and at times like Christmas she phones me to tell me if there is a school trip party coming in, and would it be better for us to come on a less busy day, and works out which is the best day.

She phoned me when the road was closed and talked me through a quicker diversion ( I and very good at getting lost)

And best of all she gives all childminders a discount during the term time.

ithinkimtallandblonde · 01/04/2009 12:24

YANBU but It depends where you go. Out of the 4-5 i've been to there is only one, which is in the posh part of town that i like. It serves excellent coffee and has mags like Elle and Vogue that i never buy anymore for me to read. It does cost me a fiver per child though but sometimes worth it for peace and quiet and it has wifi so i canmumsnet work.

At our local one which i also use for my sanity on a rainy day, the coffee is vile, every thing is fried and i once saw two mums having a screaming argument over their preschoolers behaviour but sometimes needs must my ds is like a big dog who needs excercising so i find these places a lifesaver.

Supercherry · 01/04/2009 12:26

The one near me is nice and clean. The children are generally well supervised by parents and there is a baby area where my 14mth old can play without getting squashed by the bigger kids. DS loves it, he can roam safely, to his heart's content. I can drink my coffee and watch from the sidelines, intervening if necessary. The food is fresh. It is quite expensive though. I wouldn't want to go all the time but it's good if my friend and I, with similar aged DSs want to chat while the DSs can play safely.

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