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

Clean
Decent coffee
Don't charge adults

The alcohol one is also a bowling alley. I've never drunk there but it has a kind of Brewsters feel about it.

Heating, our local soft play is the only place I'm always consistently cold.
Staff who aren't afraid to enforce the rules - especially keeping bigger DC out of toddler area (unless they are playing carefully with a toddler that is)
Cheaper entry during quiet times
No machines that need money. It costs enough to get in as it is.

Thanks everyone for your responses.. all these things sound great we are really interested in doing a sensory room as there is none around our area and also to do quiet times for autism as it is close to our hearts. We will take all these on board.

Clean

1 entrance/exit to the play area is a winner for me. I have twins and multiple exits terrify me if they decide to go in opposite direction!

Not too huge, but a good range of different equipment.

Actually enforce the age limits of each area. It's really awkward as a parent to have to ask older children to leave the baby area!

My favourite local one has a small ball pit with air blower (small enough that it's not a major effort for staff when a child inevitably wees/pops/throws up in there), and under twos section with small slide, foam shapes, mirror and miniature ball pool, a double slide, a tunnel, a roundabout, a giant ball room, and the usual ramps and steps to get about.

Oh and yes to a secure gate on the under twos area!

@Missismumto2 good luck with your venture. Can I just say that as a mum of a child with severe LDs but who isn’t on the autistic spectrum (but who is very physical and loves soft play) that if you were to offer a quieter additional needs session, please don’t label it as being for kids on the spectrum. It’s so hard to find things that my DC can access because quite a few services are advertised as autism-friendly it for kids with ASD etc.

A small thing, hope you don’t mind me banging on about it!

• or for

Keep the grown ups out of the soft play area. If your kids can’t do it alone put them in the baby section.
Grown ups block and stop the fun.

Dislikes:
So grubby
So noisy
Bullies
Hot food and dronks
Lack of visibility some areas you cant see whats going on. I want to be able to see my dc everywhere easily.

@Laurendelight

That’s interesting to hear your point, as I only visit soft plays where the adults can go on as with a 18 month old he is too big for the baby area but too little to go independently on the older area

@Laurendelight when i go to soft play places I go into the play areas. That's because I want to actually play and interact and spend time with my children/nieces and nephews rather than sit on my phone ignoring them behaving like little shits as most parents do when ever I go to these places.

Real food and coffee
Doesn't stink of fried food
Challenging areas for all ages of children including older ones, with a secure area for under 5s
Staff on the soft play equipment who manage behaviour
Clean with clean toilets
Enough seating for the parents of the number of children who are allowed in - not much point having play equipment for 100 kids and only a few chairs and tables for parents

One of my favourite places I used to take my kids offered a kind of ploughmans lunch for kids with ham cheese bread carrot sticks and a variety of fruit on a plate
I’d live to see something like that

• Kept clean and well maintained

• Areas separated by age

• Staff who are on top of really poor behaviour (bullying) when parents clearly don't give a shit

• Not charging for adult entry (even if it means upping the kids' prices a little) or a very minimal fee. I feel quite angry having to pay to be somewhere I don't want to be, sit on an uncomfortable chair surrounded by echo-y screams, with my coat on because it's freezing. I'm not getting anything for my money.

• Small (healthy) snacks at reasonable prices for if they don't want/need a full meal. Eg cheese cubes, crudites etc. I'm happy to buy a drink or snack on top when prices are reasonable (including entry). When it is already costing an arm and a leg I am much more likely to sneak in snacks and all stick to tap water. In places that are well priced all round I usually spend more overall as I actively won't spend on food if I'm feeling ripped off!