Soft Play Centres – Heaven or Hell?!
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Family
This is my first ever Blog so please bear with me, not because this is my first ever blog, but because while writing this I also pretending to be a patient at my 2 year old son’s doctors surgery, otherwise known as my lounge. So here I sit with my laptop open, a plastic thermometer rather roughly shoved in my mouth (my son wins no prizes for his bedside manner!), a plastic bandage on my finger, having intermittent reflex testing on my knees with a plastic hammer! “Hmm, it’s not looking good,” comes a little voice at the side of me, not sure if that’s my son’s verdict on my “mock illness” or the sight of me at the end of another jam packed day with a toddler!
This week is half term in our area which means for us Mummies with Pre-School age children a long week without our lifeline, otherwise known as Baby & Toddler groups. In the last 2 nearly 3 years since having my little man these groups have kept me sane. To start with I hated them, being forced to talk to people who I didn’t know at a time in my life when I was in a baby induced haze of sleep deprivation. I persevered because I needed to get out of the house and now they make up the best parts of my week with my little man between working part time & keeping on top of housework – well trying anyway.
So with no groups on today I had to find a way to wear out my lively (understatement) 2 year old. So....... off to the local soft play centre it is then. For those of you who frequent these places with a toddler you will sense my distinct lack of enthusiasm at this prospect! My little man is at that “inbetweenie” with a lot of things at the moment, he thinks he is big enough to do almost everything “all by my own Mummy” but in reality he still needs me there in the background, soft play is one of these things. So while he is running around thoroughly enjoying himself jumping through holes, over scrambles nets & down slides you will find me 2 paces behind him (actually make that 10 paces, he is very quick for a 2 year old), huffing and puffing with perspiration beads trickling attractively down my forehead into my eyes! Seriously, they should use these places as Adult Exercise Boot Camps, I always thought I was relatively fit for my age but after 2 hours at one of these places I feel like an old women!
The highlight of today’s soft play visit has to be when my spirited, some may say bossy, little man decided that it would be fun to do “ring a ring a roses” in the middle of the baby section of the soft play area. “Off you go then,” was my response to his request, “no Mummy” he says with a frown, “you and your friends too”. Now I know that I am the adult and am supposedly “in charge” but at times like this it sometimes just easier to do as I am told rather than endure the inevitable terrible 2 style paddy that could rear its ugly head at any moment. So there we are 3 thirty-something Mummies, my little man, a ten month old & a 6 month old dancing round the soft play to the tune of “ring a ring a roses!”, not once but 3 times! All very well if it wasn’t half term, jam packed with school age children and their Mum’s who were rather smugly enjoying a sit down and a chat while their children who are out of the “inbetweenie” play nicely. I have to say I think I spied more than a couple of raised eyebrows as I was swinging round in circle!
Soft Play Centres = Toddler Heaven but Mummy Hell!!
My blogs are regularly featured on http://www.tinytoesbabyshoes.com
This week is half term in our area which means for us Mummies with Pre-School age children a long week without our lifeline, otherwise known as Baby & Toddler groups. In the last 2 nearly 3 years since having my little man these groups have kept me sane. To start with I hated them, being forced to talk to people who I didn’t know at a time in my life when I was in a baby induced haze of sleep deprivation. I persevered because I needed to get out of the house and now they make up the best parts of my week with my little man between working part time & keeping on top of housework – well trying anyway.
So with no groups on today I had to find a way to wear out my lively (understatement) 2 year old. So....... off to the local soft play centre it is then. For those of you who frequent these places with a toddler you will sense my distinct lack of enthusiasm at this prospect! My little man is at that “inbetweenie” with a lot of things at the moment, he thinks he is big enough to do almost everything “all by my own Mummy” but in reality he still needs me there in the background, soft play is one of these things. So while he is running around thoroughly enjoying himself jumping through holes, over scrambles nets & down slides you will find me 2 paces behind him (actually make that 10 paces, he is very quick for a 2 year old), huffing and puffing with perspiration beads trickling attractively down my forehead into my eyes! Seriously, they should use these places as Adult Exercise Boot Camps, I always thought I was relatively fit for my age but after 2 hours at one of these places I feel like an old women!
The highlight of today’s soft play visit has to be when my spirited, some may say bossy, little man decided that it would be fun to do “ring a ring a roses” in the middle of the baby section of the soft play area. “Off you go then,” was my response to his request, “no Mummy” he says with a frown, “you and your friends too”. Now I know that I am the adult and am supposedly “in charge” but at times like this it sometimes just easier to do as I am told rather than endure the inevitable terrible 2 style paddy that could rear its ugly head at any moment. So there we are 3 thirty-something Mummies, my little man, a ten month old & a 6 month old dancing round the soft play to the tune of “ring a ring a roses!”, not once but 3 times! All very well if it wasn’t half term, jam packed with school age children and their Mum’s who were rather smugly enjoying a sit down and a chat while their children who are out of the “inbetweenie” play nicely. I have to say I think I spied more than a couple of raised eyebrows as I was swinging round in circle!
Soft Play Centres = Toddler Heaven but Mummy Hell!!
My blogs are regularly featured on http://www.tinytoesbabyshoes.com
