Eight Ways Twitter Destroyed My Indoor Playground Without Me Noticing
That is a question I have asked quite often when I tell folks that I have a play café. "Is that like an indoor play gym with both slips and rock climbing structures and trampolines?" I guess that's what happens if you introduce a totally new idea to your city.
Indoor playgrounds have been around for a little while, and there are lots of of these in our city of Burlington and neighbouring cities of Oakville and Hamilton. They're the places you take your children to when they want to burn off their energy if it's too cold outside to visit the park, or when you don't want them to tear your house apart. They are the places where your children can run around through mazes, climb ropes, and slide down slides and let out all of the mad!
It was actually at an indoor park the idea of Chickadee Family Cafe was born in my head. I'd taken my afterward two-and-a-half year old into a popular indoor https://www.kidsplaycenters.com/ play area within our hometown Burlington and tried to keep him up as he raced down slides and through mazes. I crouched into tiny corners chasing my little man around and came out completely exhausted (go ahead, insert jokes about just how out of shape I am here).
When I emerged in the play structures, I looked around me at the other parents. Many were standing around trying to keep a visual on their kids' whereabouts. Some were phoning their kids' names, trusting that they weren't stuck in a maze...'trigger c am on, most of us know no adult wants to need to climb all of the way up those arrangements to retrieve a crying child. Mostly, they seemed bored and exhausted. Perhaps their children woke up at 6am too.
Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of laughter and giggles. I had fun with my son, which had been the main aim of going to the indoor playground, but at a place full of other moms and dads around my age with kids around my son's age, there was a massive chance for building relationship with my community that I believed was completely missed. However, the atmosphere did not actually lend itself to using a real conversation.
I started to research what else was out there to get some superior mommy -- son time which didn't require me to crawl on my hands and knees and squeeze my butt through a tunnel fit for a toddler. I discovered drama cafes. Play cafes are comparatively new to Canada, but are around the UK, Australia and the US for several years. A drama café combines the requirements of both parents and children, fueling parents with carbonated drinks while supplying ample play area for children to explore and have fun.
Play cafes accept the community-focused approach of a café and incorporate a play space for children. In Chickadee Family Caféwe supply that coffee shop atmosphere which you're utilized to sipping your latte in as well as a fun child-friendly environment full of creative and toys based play activities. Once the play area is closed along with the kiddos are in bed, our space can quickly transform in a day assembly space for parent workshops, a couples' date night or a meeting location for mompreneurs.
While most indoor playgrounds either don't offer food or serve up fast food options or vending machine snacks, a play café is a full sized café with espresso based drinks along with a hearty menu of healthy snacks and lunch items.
A drama café is a bridge between an early years' center and your local trendy café. Most play cafes provide child and parent classes and parenting supports through workshops and support groups, many things you can anticipate at Chickadee Family Café.
I expect that helped to clarify the difference between an indoor park and a drama café.
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