This is a question I have asked very often when I tell people that I have a drama café. I guess that is what happens when you introduce a totally new concept to your city.
Indoor playgrounds have been around for a while, and there are lots of of these in our town of Burlington and neighbouring cities of Oakville and Hamilton. They're the places that you take your children to when they want to burn off their energy if it's too cold outside to go to the park, https://www.childhoodperceptions.com or whenever you do not want them to tear your house apart. They're the places where your kids can run throughout mazes, climb ropes, slide down slides and let out all of the crazy!
It was actually at an indoor park the notion of Chickadee Family Cafe was born in my mind. I'd taken my afterward two-and-a-half year old to a favorite indoor play space within our hometown Burlington and tried to keep him up as he raced down slides and throughout mazes. I crouched into tiny corners chasing my little guy around and came out utterly exhausted (proceed, insert jokes about just how out of shape I am here).
When I arose from the play arrangements, I looked around me at the other parents. Many were standing around trying to keep a visual in their kids' whereabouts. Some were phoning their kids' names, trusting that they weren't 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 structures to retrieve a crying child. Mostly, they looked bored and exhausted. Maybe their kids awakened at 6am too.
I had fun with my son, which was the main purpose of going to the indoor playground, but at a place filled with other moms and dads around my age with kids around my son's age, there was a huge chance for building connection with my community that I believed was completely overlooked. But the atmosphere did not actually lend itself to having a real conversation.
I started to research what was out there to get a few superior mother -- son time which didn't need me to crawl on my hands and knees and squeeze my buttocks through a tunnel match for a toddler. I discovered play cafes. Play cafes are comparatively new to Canada, but are around the UK, Australia and the US for years. A drama café combines the needs 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 area for kids. In Chickadee Family Caféwe provide that coffee shop atmosphere which you're utilized to sipping your latte in as well as an enjoyable child-friendly environment full of toys and imaginative based drama actions. When the play space is closed along with the kiddos are in bed, our space can easily transform into an evening assembly space for parent workshops, a couples' date night or a meeting location for mompreneurs.
While most indoor playgrounds either don't provide meals or function up fast food options or vending machine snacks, a play 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 an early years' center and your local trendy café.
I expect that helped to clarify the difference between an indoor playground and a drama café. We can't wait to start our doors and invite you to experience the difference for yourself.