Eight Indoor Playground Secrets You Never Knew

That is a question that I get asked very often when I tell folks that I have a play café. I guess that's what happens when you introduce an entirely new idea to your city.
Indoor playgrounds have been around for a while, and there are lots of of them in our city of Burlington and neighbouring cities of Oakville and Hamilton. They are the places you take your kids to when they wish to burn off their energy if it is too cold outside to visit the park, or when you don't need them to tear your house apart. They are the places where your children can run throughout mazes, climb ropes, and slide down slides and let out all the mad!
It was really at an indoor park the notion of Chickadee Family Cafe was born within my head. I had taken my then two-and-a-half year old to a popular indoor playground set play area within our hometown Burlington and strove to keep up with him as he raced down slides and throughout mazes. I crouched into miniature corners pursuing my little guy around and came out utterly exhausted (proceed, insert jokes about how out of shape I'm here).
As soon as I emerged from the drama arrangements, I looked around me at the other parents. Many were standing about trying to keep a visual on their own kids' whereabouts. Some were phoning their kids' names, hoping that they were not stuck in a maze...'cause c am on, most of us know no grownup really wants to need to climb all the way up those arrangements to retrieve a crying child. Mostly, they seemed exhausted and tired. Perhaps their children woke up at 6am too.
Don't get me wrong, there was lots of laughter and giggles. I had fun with my son, which was the major aim of going to the indoor playground, but at a place filled with other moms and dads around my age with children around my son's age, there was a massive chance for building relationship with my community that I believed was completely overlooked. But the air did not actually lend itself to using a real conversation.
I started to research what was out there for a few quality mother -- son time which didn't need me to crawl on my hands and knees and then squeeze my butt through a tunnel fit for a toddler. I found play cafes. Play cafes are comparatively new to Canada, but are around the united kingdom, Australia and the US for years. A drama café blends the needs of both parents and children, fueling parents with caffeinated beverages while supplying ample play area for kids to explore and have fun.
Play cafes take the community-focused way of a café and include a play space for children. At Chickadee Family Caféwe supply that coffee shop atmosphere that you are used to sipping your latte in as well as a fun child-friendly environment filled with toys and imaginative based drama actions. When the play area is closed and the kiddos are in bed, our space can easily transform in an evening assembly area for parent workshops, a couples' date night or a meeting location for mompreneurs.
While most indoor playgrounds either don't offer food or function up fast food options or vending machine snacks, a play café is a full-service café with espresso based beverages along with a hearty menu of healthy snacks and lunch items.
A drama café is a bridge between an early years' centre and your local trendy café.
I hope that helped to clarify the gap between an indoor park and a drama café. We can't wait to open our doors and invite you to experience the difference for yourself.