How to survive a soft play

On a drizzly day there is nothing better than loading Red Head Number One into the car and heading off to our local soft play. It is an experience. It's also guaranteed to exhaust her and give us a relatively peaceful afternoon/evening at home.

If we have visitors with us for the weekend we tend to warn them of the upcoming experience. For those who have never been to one before, I often watch them in the rear-view mirror on the journey home. They look almost traumatised. A shadow of their former self. 

So here are my 'heads up' tips for those of you who have yet to spend a good few hours at a soft play.

Snapshot: Books at 19 months

 

We are very lucky that our little Red Riding Hood is turning into quite a bookworm. Apart from the frequent demands for an episode of Raa Raa the Noisy Lion, she does appear to be finding contentment in a good book or twelve. So much so that we will soon be jumping on the Ikea spice rack shelving system that most Pinterest Parents have installed..... well, when Ikea finally have some in stock that is. For now she's quite happy with her little stash of books nestling in her bedroom Expedit and Living Room book basket. 

At 19 months here are her top picks:

The Cow that Laid an Egg by Andy Cutbill, Moon Rabbit by Natalie Russell, Wibbly Pig by Mick Inkpen, Colours by Charlie Harper, A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson, Dinosaur Roar by Henrietta Stickland, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? by Bill Martin Jnr