Introducing Freddie’s Play Pad - A Safe Haven for this Sleep Deprived Mom

An Aladdin’s Cave of toddler delights…

Counter Cut’s content this month is sponsored by The New Talbot.

Image credit: Freddie’s Play Pad

When I had my first child, referred to as ‘Kid 1’, I was terrified of the prospect of going on my own to a stay-and-play. It seemed like a cliquey, miserable and lonely place. 

I spent most of my days doing one-on-one ‘messy play’ and heading to the park with Kid 1. It  was great. Kid 1 was a dream. 

Then ‘Kid 2’ comes along and ‘one-on-one’ is no longer the mother-daughter quality time it once was. ‘Messy play’ at home is most definitely not on the cards. 

Why, you ask? 

Because Kid 2 is the kid that eats the paint and throws the tray at the wall. Kid 2 is the kid that climbs over the child gate and swings from the light fixtures. Kid 2 is the kid that empties the sandpit inside the house.

Stay-and-play has now become my haven. Mondays are my happy day when Freddie’s Play Pad in Solihull  is open for business. Don’t be misled, I'm not saying that a day at Freddie’s isn’t without its challenges - I do have a two-year-old in tow after all - but the freebies for me and the distractions for Kid 2 put us on track for a winning day. 

We walk through the door, entering an Aladdin’s Cave of toddler delights and I picture the serenity of a warm cuppa whilst Kid 2 plays peacefully - making new friends and keeping out of harm’s way. I would love to tell you this is what happens. 

Reader, this does not happen. 

Kid 2 runs onto the mat and immediately climbs onto the stage. You know that area with no toys and lots of danger? That's Kid 2's favourite place to be. Before I’ve even had the chance to hang up my coat and take off my shoes, I'm leaping onto the stage to retrieve my screaming, kicking two-year-old and placing her firmly back where she belongs: with the soft stuff, at ground level.

I find my seat and get my free cup of tea (yes, you read that right: FREE caffeine for sleep-deprived moms!) and I order a reasonably priced round of toast for Kid 2. The toast is a winner, distracting her for long enough that the other kids can catch their breath. She proceeds to spend the next hour strutting around taking toys from the other kids and getting stuck on the big slide only about a thousand times. 

You may think this sounds like hell. But I'm here to tell you it's not.

I spend my time at Freddie’s half watching my toddler be a toddler, occasionally jumping out of my seat to save her from whatever danger she has got herself into, or more often than not saving another child from the danger that is Kid 2 herself. 

For the rest of the time, I enjoy being out of my own four walls. I meet other moms who are as tired and stressed as I am and we laugh at the sheer terror our kids put us through every minute of every day. We can relax, secure in the knowledge that our terrible two-year-olds who can’t be trusted for longer than the blink of an eye, are safe. The toys are clean, crash mats cover the floor and there is no open door that our little Houdinis can escape through without our knowledge. 

Kid 2 loves to dance. 

So when the nursery rhymes begin, she is in her element. She gets to strut her stuff to wheels on the bus and baby shark, whilst I take lovely photos to prove to her how much I loved her when she’s all grown up. Finishing my cup of tea I take a moment to enjoy the simple pleasures in life that Freddie’s Play Pad provides, pushing the cost of the inevitable dance classes in the years to come to the very back of my mind. 

Playtime ends with a five-minute battle chasing Kid 2 as she runs away, desperate to play for just a second more, before I use every ounce of my remaining patience to get her little feet into those tiny shoes. More often than not, I give up and Kid 2 is flung over my shoulder and marched to the car. 

Do I care about the dead planking act she performs to stop me from getting her into her car seat? Not this time. Why not? Because Freddie has given me the best gift that a tired mom can ask for... 

Kid 2 is all played out. Kid 2 is ready for her nap. 

This is what a mom of a two-year-old lives for: an hour of blissful, guilt-free silence while Kid 2 sleeps. Not worrying whether she has had enough stimulation for the day - she’s played, she’s socialised, she’s had a good old dance and she’s caused all manner of mayhem. 

My house is sand-free, my walls are unpainted and my child is asleep.

I would say that’s a fiver well spent and a big fat tick for mom goals. 

Written by Samantha Franklin

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