That is a question I have asked very frequently when I tell people that I have a play café. I guess that's what happens if you introduce an entirely new idea to your town.
indoor playground equipment playgrounds have been around for a little while, and there are lots of of these in our town of Burlington and neighbouring cities of Oakville and Hamilton. They are the places that you take your kids to when they wish to burn off their energy if it's too cold outside to visit the playground, or whenever you don't need them to tear your house apart. They are the places where your kids can run throughout mazes, climb ropes, and slide down slides and let out all of the crazy!
It was really at an indoor playground that the notion of Chickadee Family Cafe was born within my mind. I had taken my then two-and-a-half year old to a favorite indoor play area in our hometown Burlington and tried to keep him up as he raced down slides and through mazes. I crouched into tiny corners pursuing my little man around and came out utterly exhausted (go ahead, insert jokes about how out of shape I'm here).
When I arose in the play arrangements, I looked around me at the other parents. Many were standing about trying to maintain a visual in their kids' whereabouts. Some were calling their kids' titles, hoping that they weren't stuck in a maze...'cause c am on, most of us know no adult really wants to need to climb all the way up those arrangements to retrieve a crying child. Mostly, they looked bored and exhausted. Perhaps their children awakened at 6am too.
I had fun with my son, that had been the main aim of visiting the indoor playground, but in a place filled with other moms and dads around my age with children around my son's age, there was a huge chance for building relationship with my community that I felt was completely overlooked. But the atmosphere did not actually lend itself to using an actual conversation.
I started to research what else was out there for a few superior mommy -- son time which didn't need me to crawl on my hands and knees and then squeeze my buttocks through a tunnel fit for a toddler. I found play cafes. Play cafes are comparatively new to Canada, but have been around the united kingdom, Australia and the US for several years. A play café combines the needs of both parents and kids, fueling parents with carbonated drinks while providing ample play space for kids to explore and have fun.
Play cafes take the community-focused way of a café and incorporate a play area for children. In Chickadee Family Caféwe supply that coffee shop atmosphere which you are used to sipping your latte in as well as a fun child-friendly environment full of toys and imaginative based play activities. Once the play space is closed along with 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 do not provide meals or function up fast food options or vending machine snacks, a play café is a full-service café with espresso based beverages and a hearty menu of healthy snacks and lunch items.
A drama café is a bridge between a historical years' centre and your regional trendy café.
I hope that helped to clarify the difference between an indoor park and a drama café. We can not wait to start our doors and invite you to experience the difference for yourself.