- The children love it.
- Because they love it, it can be used for bribery purposes ("Harry, if you stay in bed tomorrow until the sun comes up on your Groclock, then we will go to soft play").
- The children burn off so much energy that an afternoon nap for Mia is a given and there's a good chance that Harry will be happy to sit quietly on the sofa in front of the television for a bit too.
- It's indoors so not weather dependent.
- If you arrive as soon as it opens then you have a good hour and a half before it gets too busy, and that's usually plenty of time for us anyway.
- I can drive right up to it and park easily outside.
- At our local one, if you buy a monthly pass and use it then the cost isn't too bad.
- It's good exercise for the adults too (I actually quite enjoy climbing about myself!).
We go soon after breakfast and take snacks for the journey home, so we don't stay long enough to need any food (which admittedly doesn't look particularly appealing), and our local one always seems clean enough to me, perhaps because we tend to visit in the morning.
I don't mind it either. I quite like the climbing, although it won't be long before N doesn't need me anymore :( although that does mean it'll be easier to chat to any friends who're also there.
ReplyDeleteMost places I've been to have had quite good food, although it does end up being pricy. And parking right outside is a definite bonus. Our local leisure does Baby Bounce - basically up to age 5 and it's so busy, and lots of horrible violent kids. It's cheaper than soft play, but once you've factored in the parking, it's more expensive, and you can't get a decent drink there (and you have to sit on gym benches!)
Mine still need me to follow them about, I'm looking forward to the day that I can take a book along!
DeleteI virtually live in soft plays. There's one in our town, and about 3 or 4 more within a 20-minute drive. The kids love it, and I usually find I can meet up with a mummy friend and enjoy a cappuccino and a chat. Don't understand why so many mums hate them.
ReplyDeleteThey are great, I don't understand it either!
DeleteI hate them so much! We only ever go to them if they're invited to a party in one. Probably the youngest is happy enough to go but the rest of them were never fans of them, they always preferred the park. But I can see how they are godsends for people in the cold weather.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'd enjoy it so much if we were going to a party, we usually try and leave before they get going!
DeleteI like soft play! I've never taken both girls together though as their ages mean I couldn't easily supervise them both myself. We went with my mum and dad over Christmas and everyone had a good time (Jen, you should have seen Dad go up the playframe with Laura). And I've taken Emily by myself while Laura was at school. I'd take them every week but for the cost.
ReplyDeleteI think adults have just as much fun as children! It is expensive, we are lucky that a monthly pass only costs a little bit more than a single visit.
DeleteThat is very good value, the one we go to doesn't do anything like that or we would be there much more often!
DeleteTotally agree! You make a great point about getting there when it opens - me and my little girl always get a decent amount of (relatively) stress-free time if we get there early enough.
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