most places are free for under 1s but i think it should be free for under 2's. i really begrudge paying the same amount as older children who can use the whole centre when my little boy can only use the baby area and even then he can only really sit in the ball pit and with those shape things. ours is free for under 1s, 1-4s are £1.50 and over 4s are £2.95. ours does have a thing though where you pay full price for the first child and each additional child is only £2. another good thing is recognised groups and childminders get a discount and the prices don't increase in school holidays or weekends. you can get a yearly pass for £50 and there is also a loyalty card where after 10 visits you get a free one.
every morning and afternoon up until 3:30 is parent and toddler group which £2.50 and you get 2 rounds of toast, a hot drink, squash and biscuits or toast for the children and every afternoon where the adult gets a hot drink and a cake and the children get squash and biscuits. also every afternoon they have a different activity on which includes free play after. after 3pm you also have the option of paying £3.50 and you get tea and squash included.
mondays is dancing
tuesdays is pottery and painting
wednesdays is music group
thursdays is baby signing
fridays is story and rhyme time
unlimited play is best unless it is really busy then i think a 2 hour limit would be good. partys are a good idea too. our local one does laser parties where they go around in the dark trying to shoot one another.
ours has a bouncy castle and an indoor sports area. every saturday they do a soccor group for 1-5 year olds in there. they hire out their sports area to local 5 a side teams and tennis and basket ball clubs too.
oh and also ours has a pool table and air hockey which the older kids love and it has some of those rides where you put 50p for the younger children. it also has one of those mini grabber things where you can try and get a prize.
instead of horrible plasticky seats ours has big sofas to sit on and they serve gorgeous (and healthy) food like wraps, paninis and baguette amongst other things. magazines and newspapers a good idea along with some kids mags and books.
another thing that i hate is all these places have horrible flickering lights. would it kill them to put a few windows in so we could get some natural light?
it also has beauty rooms which are a great hit with the mums. they offer a creche service so you can go off and get pampered or go and do your shopping whilst your kids go and play.
someone told me about one in australia with a little train than ran around it. that would be fab!!
staff who don't just spend the entire time chatting and ignoring the children would be nice. ones that get involved and help them and play with them would be fab.
a bit of music is fine obviously but not blaring!!
i love it cos there is no height restriction so i can go up too!!
agree an outdoor area with ride ons, a paddling pool a sand pit etc and air con would make me more likely to go in the summer.
in cardiff there's a place called cafe junior which is a play area with lots of wooden toys. They have a brio train set, a wooden noahs ark, dolls, cars, castles, kitchens, dogs, rocking horses, animals, push alongs, bricks, slides, play houses, books, prams, costumes and much more. i wish our play centre had a little area with stuff like this cos sometimes by little boy is too tired to go climbing and sliding and just wants a quiet play with trains and cars.
i agree 3 areas (0-2, 3-7, 8+ or something like that) would be good but i would make it so younger children can go in the older area at their parent's own risk but older children can't go in the younger areas. my friend has a 2 year old who gets bored in the toddler section but is too little for the older kids bit so something in between would be good.