Soft play centres warning parents not to bring their own booze have sparked a huge debate among mothers and fathers.
Tumbles Play Place hit out last week at ‘desperate’ mothers and fathers bringing alcohol to its centre in Mossley, Greater Manchester, when staff found a bottle of Merlot stashed in the toilets.
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Management said they’d be checking CCTV and banning people, warning: ‘If you are so desperate for an alcoholic drink in the daytime, please don’t do it in our children’s play centre and leave your bottles on the toilets.’
Meanwhile, the Red Robin pub in Wigan last month banned punters from drinking cocktails and shots inside its onsite Wacky Warehouse children’s play centre following ‘incidents’.
The posts have since sparked a fevered debate online as some parents brand drinkers ‘irresponsible’ – but other mums and dads say booze is absolutely necessary to drown out screaming children.
One play centre worker told MailOnline adults get through as many as 15 bottles a week at his venue, with those responsible sneaking away from their children to have a drink.
Would YOU bring booze to a soft play centre? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk
Tumbles Play Place highlighted the problem by posting a photograph of a bottle of Merlot red wine and a mixer
While the Red Robin pub in Wigan has stopped letting punters drink cocktails and shots at its onsite children’s play centre Wacky Warehouse after ‘recent incidents’
In an updated post this week on its Facebook page, Tumbles Play Place explained it didn’t have a licence to sell alcohol and its insurance wouldn’t cover any potential injury claims.
While Tumbles Play is dead set against alcohol on its premises, others have permission to sell it on site such as Playworld, in Huddersfield, which has bottled beer on the menu for £3.60 and single and double shots of spirits like tequila, sambuca, and Jagermeister.
The centre was locked in a battle to keep its alcohol licence last year when owner Kiran Uppal told how the sales were helping a ‘struggling business keep its doors open’, reported Yorkshire Live.
Kirklees Council’s licensing panel ended up limiting them from selling booze at the premises from morning to early evening.
The Jelly Lounge in Windsor, Berkshire, is another with beer stocked up behind the counters.
A 21-year-old team leader told MailOnline they sell between 10 and 15 bottles of booze a week and gave an insight into how parents would sneak a sip.
‘When the parents come for their alcohol they mostly don’t drink with their babies. They will order their drinks and then they will drink outside in the cafeteria,’ they said.
‘They don’t do it in front of their kids as it’s not a good idea and gives a bad impression.’
The selling of alcohol is a hot topic of debate among parents who know all too well the struggles and chaos that ensues inside the sweaty soft play centres.
Some told how they needed a tipple just to get through it, while others slammed them for being ‘irresponsible’.
Threads have popped up on parenting forum Mumsnet debating whether it would be suitable to have booze at soft play centres
Commenting beneath Tumbles Play’s post, Hayley Jayne Burke recounted how she took her son to a London soft play centre which sold alcohol.
She wrote: ‘Banging idea if you ask me… me and my son had the best time ever.’
Jeanette Martin thought it was ‘disrespectful’ and ‘gives you an idea how their kids with [sic] be brought up’.
Tam Dodd-Sharples wrote: ‘Wow, somebody has a problem.’
Threads have popped up on parenting forum Mumsnet debating the ethics of drinking alcohol in front of children at parties.
In one asking if people should bring their own drinks to a soft play party, some were left in shock when one user responded how all the ones they had been to had ‘booze and nibbles’.
The wrote alongside a laughing emoji: ‘Not hard booze obviously but fizz and beer! Helps massively with the fact you to spend the afternoon in a soft play.’
In another thread which asked about child party etiquette at a soft play, one parent said it should ‘always include booze’.
‘I’ve been to parties at soft play with nibbles for the parents. I’d say about 80% of parties have food for the parents (including booze),’ one wrote.
Another thought management at their soft play was missing a trick by not having a licence to sell alcohol.
But the mother who posted the original message thought it was ‘a bit odd to have booze at a soft play’.
Yet one told how a couple of soft plays near them ‘don’t blink at seeing adults have a drink at [sic] them at afternoon parties’.
They added: ‘But I did do a double take at the dad having a beer halfway through a 10-12 party.’
Would YOU bring booze to a soft play centre? Email matt.strudwick@mailonline.co.uk
