Softplay.. what do u love.. want to see.. do better at.. hate at indoor play

[Missismumto2]

Myself and my sister in law r at the very start of opening up our softplay/indoor play area and i want to know what you mums love, wish it had, do better at in these areas.. please help us out in any advice you guys would have 😊 Thank you

Love -
One to serve decent coffee
Doesn’t charge for adults
Is clean

Hate - the fact my dc comes back having caught illness each time

Yes. I wouldn't pay to go in.

Separate areas for big kids / little ones. this needs to be enforced and big kids in baby /toddler area booted out This is the reason I don’t go to our soft play.

Decent food / drink. Doesn’t need to be a thing fancy, if can just be cake / sandwiches, but decent ones please

I'd appreciate a present staff member who lightly polices what goes on.
For example, if there are 7 year olds tearing about in the baby area the staff member sorts it and moves them on.
Actual adult staff who care. My local large centre seems to be run by 17 year olds who stand around with their arms folded without a clue.

Make sure your areas are actually accessible to the age group using them. My local one out a cargo net on the only access to the slide in the toddler area. Literally no toddler is willing to go across it because it scares them. Another one has steps up to the toddler slide that my 5 year old struggles to climb.

Healthy food choices and snacks, especially for children. Comfortable seating for adults! Nice music, not loud pop music, after all the kids are having enough fun, I want to relax a bit too!

And no machines you have to out money into!
Ooh and clean toilets

Do not have those air guns that shoot foam balls, the noise does my head in.
Have a secure entryway to stop kids escaping
Ideally a play frame with entrances on one side only (like a rectangle). Multiple exits is a nightmare for watching kids.
Turn on the heating.
Tell people how long the wait for food is before they order.

Cleanliness is a huge problem. My kid gets norovirus every single time. We’ve stopped going because they obviously aren’t sanitising the equipment every day. I also resent paying full price for a small child who can’t access the majority of equipment which is designed for bigger kids.

I agree with lots of the point above.
I will happily pay for food but I want decent options for my dairy free child and dairy/soya free me. Sell snack plates of fruit. Stock oat milk. Have staff bring glasses of water to breast feeding Mums. Have enough seats/tables for people. Don’t charge full price for 1 year old siblings who can’t really access much are who are going to be asleep most of the time anyway.

No music, it has to be super loud to be heard over the kids and the areas near speakers are deafening.

Cleaned regularly

Natural light

Nice place for parents to sit, some kind of policy to deter table hogging

Good coffee, my local soft play has a machine but it tastes worse than instant

It's nice to be able to see the children, maybe a 360 design.

Specific sessions, toddler mornings etc.

Relatively good food

Separate baby, toddler and older kid area.

Best of luck to you, a good soft play is a wonderful thing. We had a really good one nearby but it wasn't popular due to price (about £8 a child) and closed down. I expect it's all about balance.

Staff who care and don't just sit on their phones all day. Basic maintenance - batteries replaced in baby toys etc. Rules enforced - big kids in toddler areas etc. Decent parking. Open early enough in the morning to fit around naps etc.

Oooh I’m so glad you asked!

1. Slides big enough for parents to go down (and alternative routes so we don’t have to go through rollers as someone upthread says!)
2. Decent toilets with a low sink and hand dryer.
3. Staff who actually monitor what’s going on and tell the 8 year old to get out of the under 1s area and tells little Jonny not to climb up the slide from the bottom
4. Decent food.
5. An area for younger kids.

Ear plugs! Seriously have a session each week for neurodiverse kids or a session (can be more expensive) where numbers allowed in are smaller, dd found it too loud and overwhelming (autistic). Also had issues because one of us had to accompany her and not all centres allowed it then (she's grown up now so a while ago)

Enough seating. Went to one the other week and had to share a chair with DH. I'm pregnant and just wanted to read the news and have a coffee!

I hate everything about soft play. There's a play village thing that just opened near me with kids food stalls, shops, vet surgery etc (think biggleton) which is much better.

Soft play - the smell, the noise, the hyper kids, the terrible food, the other parents, everything is sticky... I hate it. The colours and jumping make kids hyped up and more likely to bash each other. Plus as a parent it looks like somewhere you could relax with a coffee but in practice you can't, which just rubs it in.

Healthy food options. Hyper sweaty children do not need a large cup of haribo type sweets for a snack!

Clean toilets in working order.

Staff that supervise, not in place of the parents, but just make sure the rules are followed.

Have a limit on numbers at peak times to keep it safe.

Have play equipment and toys checked regularly and broken ones removed.

Nothing you have to pay extra for like toy/egg machines and £1 rides.

No hand driers.

Access to play equipment for children not part of a booked party. Our local one has parties booked a lot at weekends and individual children just get swept aside by a herd of kids.

A more interesting offer e.g. sensory area with bubble and lights, and a decent toddler area not just a few coloured foam shapes in a cordoned off area. Decent car parking

Have a look at goose play in Harrogate. It has an online booking system for tables. Amazing food. Not too big and always clean.

I would agree with most of the comments above apart from one that stands out( why do you need alcohol at a child's activity)

However I fear that money would be a huge obstacle in offering all that has been suggested.

Light light and more light.
There is a soft play 100m from where I live, but I avoid it and drive 20 minutes instead because it has no natural or unnatural lighting so feels horrible.
Also cleanliness, so many soft plays are clean.
And if possible, a big slide that adults can go on with their children as when they’re 1/2 they want to go on but not big enough to be independent.

Clean, secure, reasonably priced coffee, ample seating, baby change loo with a toilet too. If I'm thinking of my dream soft play also an area for breastfeeding as in our local soft play I've had to sit with strangers and breastfeed or been stared at, neither of which were pleasant experiences.

Me and my friend both foster and take kids to lots of soft play centres so will list what our fav features are:

Separate area for under twos. With a high gate so that parents can open and close it and can't be reached by older children. (It's horrible when you have a newly walking baby and older ones push them out of the way to get to the toys for little ones!)

Comfy sofas and clear view of play areas

One play centre we go to charge £1.50 per adult but give you a ticket for free tea/coffee.

Good food, we go in the morning and love a bacon/sausage sandwich. Lunch times we like baguettes/wraps.

Dairy free options, my little one is df and it's hard to find a decent dinner for her that isn't just a not sure answer.

Kids especially love ball pit areas and get excited when they have a ball blower.

One playcentre offered free squash for the kids.

Term time toddler sessions, one we go to charge £2.25 during term time school times.

Another centre we go to offer a snack plate which has cucumber cheese tomatoes etc.

Clean toilets and a small toilet and low sink for the children to use. Decent baby changing facilities. A proper changing table instead of one of the fold down ones.

Hope this helps and best of luck with your new venture 😁

Oh yes good point on good allergies. My DD is DF and GF I appreciate it's a huge pain but just an option of a gf roll with some ham is welcome!