Monkeying around, do it or not do it?

Soft Play in Breda

I have small children. Although my preference is for being outside, it isn't always good enough weather to play outside, although puddles can be fun. So to get active play without being outside, soft play can be a nice convenient alternative.

There are around 3 soft play areas in Breda - and although some soft play areas can be souless, if they are kept clean and modern, they can be safe, fun places for young children to play and be active in. Being active is always a good thing for most children. 


My hierarchy of sofy play centres goes like this:

 For parents: I find the Vossenburg in Gilse the most comfortable for parents and the menu is quite good. There are also lots of newspapers for those having children that don't tend to bother mum/dad/oma/opa too much whilst playing. 

For kids: the Vossenburg is good on two levels, because it does have an outside area too for those days when it is dry, but maybe not that warm. It is good to have the option of fresh area if the day becomes brighter. This location is also good because on the bottom floor there is the soft play, baby play area (smallish) and the cafe but on the top level there is space for older children to play with large Lego blocks, crafts and a woorwork and paint area. These areas are sort of supervised but not that much. However this is excellent if you have children of different ages but need a place that will keep all of them entertained. The below can cater for 0-7 and the above floor for 5/6 to 10/11. 

There is of course the outside area with trampolines, sandpit and lots of other outdoor equipment. You can't always see the kids when they are at the top of the equipment though, and small ones can wander out of baby area if you are not watching. 

http://www.devossenberg.net/

Monkey Town  -good parking, in the centre of town so therefore accessable for everyone. You can get a bulk visitors card for 50 euros which allows for 11 trips. The place is very new so you can see all around from the central sitting area. The cafe is fairly good, but can't always count on fruit being there as we found out today. Nice coffee and tea. 

The baby area is quite large for a soft play, which makes it nicer for those with very small children. There is also plenty of room for the adult to sit in this space too. There are climbing things and slides within the soft play and also indoor trampolines. There is not an outside play area. 

There is lots for the kids (0 to 7/8) to do and they seem happy here for hours...


 http://www.monkeytown.eu/breda




Joepie, Breda North

This is the oldest soft play in the city, and used be the place to go. It now however feels quite old compared to the other two now. 

It is better located for those living north of the city, there is not a lot of parking and can sometimes get full early on in the afternoon. Go in the morning! They have kiddy discos here on some Friday evenings, which is quite a nice idea if you don't mind the kids being up later occassionally. And of course unlike any UK soft play area, you can get a wine and a beer here as it obviously doen't matter too much if you are drunk in charge of your child/ren.

You cannot have a good view of the two different play areas whilst sitting. There is a huge bouncy bubble for the kids, and they love it. There is also a kick about area quite high up which is also impossible to see from your seat so you have to join child/ren up there. 

The cafe is ok, no healthy options - chips, panckakes. Nothing for veggies. The adult area is not that comfy, static tables and plastic chairs. 

This company also owns the Vrouwenhof in Tilburg

http://www.joepie.nl/