Play centres are the ideal place to go if it’s a rainy day and you need your child to let off some steam, but...
Play centres are the ideal place to go if it’s a rainy day and you need your child to let off some steam.However, with so many other children and parents all doing the same thing there are bound to be some awkward scenarios arising.
Climbing the steps
There are countless issues here, the small children not climbing fast enough for the big children, the kids trying to come down at the same time everyone else is coming up, overtaking and adults trying to accompany the little ones without stepping on any hands. It’s a relief to get to the top with all the chaos!
The pile up at the bottom of the slide
Most children understand that you wait your turn to go down but problems arise when they don’t move out of the way once they land at the bottom. If the first child doesn’t move, then the next ones trapped and before they know it a third child has bumped into them. Unfortunately if the kids involved are on the sensitive side there’s going to be tears aplenty.
Bad behaviour in the ball pit
Once they’re safely in the ball pit all sorts of behaviour commences that wouldn’t normally be allowed including throwing the balls at each other and jumping from height. The trouble is that children have different tolerance levels and while some might find it hilarious to try and bounce the balls of each others heads others will feel like they’re being attacked.
Wrestling matches over the popular toys
There’s always one toy that everyone wants and whilst they wouldn’t normally pay it any attention, once they see how popular it is with everyone else they will do anything to get their hands on it. May the tug of war commence – parents will be on referee duty.
The musical rides that no one pays for
Every parent knows that it’s wise to be conveniently out of cash when children are looking for a go on the musical rides. Even if you wouldn’t mind paying for it every so often, if you do it once your little one will want a go every time. On the occasions that other parents give in make sure your little one is distracted!
Musical chairs
It’s lovely when all the children sit around for a story or activity however the peace and quiet will last for about 30 seconds. One will get up, then another, then someone new will join in, then two will leave but three will come back and before you know it there’s too many people, not enough seats and a very unhappy version of musical chairs going on.
Eating each others snacks
Whatever little snacks you pack you can be assured that your kid will be more interested in what everyone else is having. If you’re lucky then they’ll approach another child have a good nosey and that’ll be it, if you’re not then you’ll be frantically hopping, skipping and jumping over to them (your route is unlikely to be obstacle free) and snatching someone else’s biscuit out of their mouth.
Who dunnit?
Worst of all is when children emerge from a tunnel or a little hideaway both crying but with no witnesses to work out what’s happened. They’ll both look like they’re the victim when the likeliest scenario is that it was tit for tat. As long as they both get lots of cuddles it should all be forgotten in minutes but just hope that the other parent is as ready to forgive and forget as their child…#Awkward!
