Playgrounds roundup

At some point, I thought I'd do a roundup of playgrounds but thankfully someone else has already done that, even if it is more from a technical point of view.

We love Bishan Park and the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden for their sandpits too. Bishan also for its climbing structure and swings, which are becoming increasingly rarer at playgrounds.

I'd also love to hear of playgrounds with shade. We know of some under the trees at United Square, Soo Chow Walk and Watten Estate.

Anyone have a favourite playground with shade or otherwise to share?

Toy rentals - the next bubble tea?

I've heard intermittently over the past few months of the Toy Rental Club, of the playgroups and parties held there and the free (but paid) play. For LO's birthday we'd rented some toys from Rent-A-Toy and we've rented car seats from Babytown who also do toys.

Suddenly, however, toy rentals are popping up like undergrowth in a tropical forest.

Now, there's Rent That Toy, GoGoMummy, Little Fairyland, online toyshops who are doing rentals, even blogging mums have gotten into the act. They're obviously taking cues from the pioneers. They parrot similar arguments - toys are too expensive in Singapore, kids outgrow them quickly - why, the GoGoMummy website even uses the same FreeCSSTemplates as Toy Rental Club.

I'd blogged earlier about a similar wave of indoor playgrounds. Perhaps those late to the party should have rather looked elsewhere for inspiration. In the US, for example, toy library subscription services seem to be the flavour of the month.

Update: Bambini Playclub at LeisurePark Kallang

Gogo Bambini is opening a branch at LeisurePark Kallang. Bambini Playclub seems to be for older unsupervised kids though, and is slightly cheaper than the Dempsey outlet.

Indoor play area mania

Today's Straits Times carried a report on eXplorerKid at Paris Ris touted to be the largest indoor play area till another comes up in Jurong East next year which is going to be even bigger. We've visited the ones at SAFRA Toa Payoh, Go-Go Bambini and newcomer Fidgets at Turf City. While they're a great idea for those rainy and too sunny days, each comes with its own problems, though Fidgets seem to have tackled some of the issuesthe others seem to have.

SAFRA Toa Payoh is for kids 4 and above and parents can't go into the structure to rescue any children stuck in the maze which happened to us. The minder- or was it drill sergeant - blows on a whistle when things get too chaotic and it seems to be used as a playground by a couple of nearby preschools. So decibel levels are pretty high.

From anecdotal evidence, a couple of mums have complained about kids falling sick after going to Go-Go Bambini. It's also a bit of a squeeze space-wise with space being squeezed out for a mum's corner and cafe and a ball pit for younger ones.

Fidgets seems to have worked out the balance of space and supervision, with a roomy cafe between the play structure and two smaller play areas for younger kids, and yes, mums can go into the play structure to rescue wayward tots. Two year olds still tend to get shoved aside by boisterous ten year-olds. SAFRA wins out fees-wise with $4 on weekdays as opposed to $15 at the other two, which explains why they are expat mum hang-outs.

But could someone do something about the noise levels in all these places? I read in a report somewhere that noise stresses out children...maybe it's as simple as getting noise-reduction material installed on the walls?

While it is rather nice to get your nails done and eat pretty cupcakes with pink frosting while kids down babycinos, I still think I'd rather slather on the sunblock and let the LO loose in a place like Bishan Park which has great outdoor and climbing equipment. Or even a shady playground under the trees. Yes, they do exist in places like Watten Estate.

Update on Friday, April 4, 2008 at 02:20PM by MamaSez

Since I posted, a friend emailed news of an accident not treated right at Fidgets. There was another anecdote of a toddler smearing poo all over the frames at Go-Go Bambini. Oh dear, doesn't bode well. And there's news of another 'playclub' called Frisk n Romp at East Coast not to mention the one at Alexandra that I'd forgotten about. Makes one wonder if they're all going to last...