Usually, when I take the four kids out, I encounter the following obstacles:
- Parking issues. I need to be able to park as close as possible to the planned venue, or it just gets so hard herding the big kids along. I would also prefer not to pay for parking but I will fork out the money if it means convenience.
- Toilets. These have to be nearby and accessible for the pram. I need to be able to get there in a flash if Miss P announces that she needs to go.
- Does the pram fit where we want to go? I really try to avoid mass furniture re-arrangement just to accommodate the pram, I hate all the fuss.
- Where is the coffee? This needs to be at said venue, or we are all screwed.
- Overall amusement factor. Is there enough to keep the big kids happy for a decent amount of time? After all the hassle of getting there, the place has to keep us all sweet for a good couple of hours.
Here are the other reasons why I find play centres so darn good:
1.
The kids
can burn energy like crazy. What’s not to like here? Busy, live-wire kids
like mine need to run, jump, slide and bounce. Even better, 90% of the
structure is soft, so hurting themselves is hardly an issue.
2.
The Café.
Serves. Coffee. It’s not brilliant, but it will do. The café at our local place
is also pretty good for healthy food, so it’s easy enough to get the kids some
food that isn’t god-awful. Equally, it provides perfect fodder for bribery, which is useful if you need some bait to get them to leave without
throwing an embarrassing tantrum.
3.
There are
toilets for everyone. Including baby change facilities. And they’re RIGHT
THERE. No roads to cross, no stairs to commandeer, no queues to wait out. We
used the ‘family toilet’, a.k.a. the disabled loo, which is the only one I can
get the double pram in. But we all squeezed in and went about our business,
stress-free….
4.
Magazines
and music. I love this touch. A pile of donated magazines and newspapers
for relaxing mummies and carers to casually leaf through, while sipping their
coffees and glancing over at the kids every now and then. In the background,
some sort of smooth music loop plays songs that are uplifting and great for day
dreaming.
5.
Other
mums. It’s a great place to chat with the other mums. I made two friends
yesterday and came away with a new kids clothing website (Baby Boden) and a new
view point on the benefits of early childhood reading lessons.
It was actually a bit of a crime when we went there yesterday, as it was a glorious sunshiney day, but I had to go with the overall convenience option. We wouldn't do it every week, but for once or twice a month, it's worth every cent.
* My tips for play centre visits:
·
Avoid
school holidays and weekends unless you want giant children trampling all over
your precious cherubs.
·
Arrive
first thing. The place is as clean as it's going to get and most families don’t seem to arrive until
mid-morning. Also, depending on the parking options, arriving early means you
get the best choices.
·
Put
brightly coloured clothes on your kids so you can easily spot them from a
distance. You don’t want to have to keep leaving your magazine and flat white
to check on their welfare.
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