That is a question that I have asked very frequently when I tell folks that I own a drama café. I guess that's what happens when you introduce an entirely new idea to your city.
Indoor playgrounds have existed for a little while, and there are many of them in our town of Burlington and neighbouring cities of Oakville and Hamilton. They are the places you take your children to when they wish to burn off their energy if it's too cold out to go to the playground, or when you don't want them to tear your house apart. They're the places where your children can run throughout mazes, climb ropes, slide down slides and let out all of the crazy!
It was actually at an indoor playground that the idea of Chickadee Family Cafe was born within my mind. I'd taken my then two-and-a-half year old into a favorite indoor play area within our hometown Burlington and strove to keep him up as he raced down slides and throughout mazes. I crouched into miniature corners pursuing my little guy around and came out completely exhausted (proceed, insert jokes about how out of shape I am here).
As soon as I arose in the play structures, I looked around me at the other parents. Many were standing about trying to maintain a visual on their kids' whereabouts. Some were phoning their kids' titles, trusting that they were not stuck in a maze...'trigger c am on, most of us know no grownup wants to have to climb all the way up those arrangements to regain a crying kid. Mostly, they seemed bored and exhausted. Maybe their children woke up at 6am too.
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 opportunity for building relationship with my community that I felt was completely missed. As a new resident of Burlington I wished to connect with other parents. But the air did not really lend itself to having an actual conversation.
I started to research what was out there to get a few quality mommy -- son time which didn't need me to crawl on my hands and knees and squeeze my butt through a tunnel fit for a toddler. I discovered play cafes. Play cafes are relatively new to Canada, but are around the united kingdom, Australia and the US for several years. A play café combines the requirements of both parents and children, fueling parents with caffeinated beverages while providing 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. In Chickadee Family Caféwe provide that coffee shop atmosphere which you're utilized to sipping your latte in as well as a fun child-friendly environment filled with toys and imaginative based drama actions. Once the play area is closed along with the kiddos are in bed, our space can quickly transform into an evening assembly area for parent workshops, a couples' date night or a meeting location for mompreneurs.
While most indoor playgrounds either do not offer food or arcadeplayground.net serve up fast food choices or vending machine snacks, a drama café is a full-service café with espresso based drinks and a hearty menu of healthy snacks and lunch items.
A drama café is a bridge between a historical years' center and your local trendy café.
I hope that helped to explain the gap between an indoor park and a play café.