The Observation Deck

Hello All -

I have three small children and, I swear, my house will be reduced to rubble if they have to spend many more winters locked inside. Unfortunately, the YMCA does not offer any real physical activity/exercise space for toddlers and children (staff and a room are provided to house kids while the parent works-out but it’s not run around gross motor skill development space). Hundreds of Lakewood and area parents must be in the same situation.

To the point, for parents with small children in need of running around time/space there is no real foul weather alternative to walking the block and visiting area frozen/muddy/snow covered Lakewood parks.

Lakewood children and parents need an Indoor Playground – I've lightly pondered the idea of developing an indoor recreation park here in Lakewood that would offer a unique jungle gym/playground alternative – see http://www.allkidsplay.com/new/ for the general visual concept.

Features:
- Playground spaces like the ones in the attached link.
- Possibly a rock climbing wall for young adults and their parents and roller skating rink.
- Beverage/snack station along with picnic tables.
- Anyone over 18 would have to be accompanied by a child.
- Parents cannot leave children. They can sit on the benches and read a book similar to visiting any park.

I’m not worried about posting this idea and having it stolen. If someone else can do this, I’d join tomorrow.

So, I’m using the LO Deck as sounding board. What to parents and others think about this concept? Any and all reaction/criticisms/accolades are welcome.

I think it is a wonderful idea. When my boys were young we had a Discovery Zone close by that was a lot of fun. It even had a quiet room with couches for parents and...they served beer. We spent many hours there, birthday parties, out of town visitors etc. Always a fun time. I believe it was a franchise but, I may be wrong. Good luck with this!

jennifer scott wrote:I think it is a wonderful idea. When my boys were young we had a Discovery Zone close by that was a lot of fun. It even had a quiet room with couches for parents and...they served beer. We spent many hours there, birthday parties, out of town visitors etc. Always a fun time. I believe it was a franchise but, I may be wrong. Good luck with this!

If you served beer, Id be there a lot!

David,

Family First Sports Park in Erie, PA is a great concept that could have application here...on a smaller scale. How about the Lake Erie Screw site. My son plays soccer (both outdoor and indoor) up there about 6-8 weekends a year. You would not believe the hotels and restaurants that surround the site. A water park is also nearby.

What I particularly like about the park is that it is built for year around use. There is both an indoor and outdoor putt-putt.

http://www.familyfirstsportspark.com/index.html

Lakewood definitely needs more family friendly businesses. I always thought the Put-In-Bay (former Lakewood Lanes) could have been developed in to a neat family friendly bowling, birthday, pizza locale. I guess it was decided we needed another watering hole.

jennifer scott wrote:I think it is a wonderful idea. When my boys were young we had a Discovery Zone close by that was a lot of fun. It even had a quiet room with couches for parents and...they served beer. We spent many hours there, birthday parties, out of town visitors etc. Always a fun time. I believe it was a franchise but, I may be wrong. Good luck with this!

Discovery Zone, as well as Chuckie Cheese is a breeding ground for germs.....those places make my skin crawl with runny nose kids contaminating the play equipment among other things. Not to mention parents think its a free for all -- let your kid free and not have to watch them place to take their kids. My visits were short-lived, to say the least.

A quiet room for parents with beer? Does that sound like an ideal environment.....aka...parents leaving their kids to run wild while they relax. I'm glad you had many fun times while I watched to make sure my kids didn't get trampled on by yours.

Actually Dee, I said there was a quiet room, never said I was in there letting my boys run loose. I usually was out playing with them! Nice post.

jennifer scott wrote:Actually Dee, I said there was a quiet room, never said I was in there letting my boys run loose. I usually was out playing with them! Nice post.

You promoted the quiet room with couches & beer for parents so it appears you thought it was good thing...so sorry if I assumed you utilized it.

Dee

I do not mean to jump in here, as this was moving nicely. I just want to assure you that Jennifer is one of the finest mothers I know. I have never known her to let her kids run over anyone, or anything. She is very much a hands on mother.

While I did not see it as a threat I wanted to make sure all know that when it comes to kids, mothers, and engaging them, she is a pro.

Carry on, I must now check to make sure if white neighbors are good or bad?!


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Dee Krupp wrote:

jennifer scott wrote:Actually Dee, I said there was a quiet room, never said I was in there letting my boys run loose. I usually was out playing with them! Nice post.

You promoted the quiet room with couches & beer for parents so it appears you thought it was good thing...so sorry if I assumed you utilized it.

Who's to say you cant have a sit down and a drink WHILE supervising your kids? It's called multi-tasking and I do it daily. I also don't let my kids run over other kids, either.

Savor watching your house reduced to rubble. When those days are gone, theres no getting them back.

Valerie Molinski wrote:

Dee Krupp wrote:

jennifer scott wrote:Actually Dee, I said there was a quiet room, never said I was in there letting my boys run loose. I usually was out playing with them! Nice post.

You promoted the quiet room with couches & beer for parents so it appears you thought it was good thing...so sorry if I assumed you utilized it.

Who's to say you cant have a sit down and a drink WHILE supervising your kids? It's called multi-tasking and I do it daily. I also don't let my kids run over other kids, either.

While some parents can, many don't. I am speaking of my own real experiences at these places and far too many parents do let their kids run free while they relax. Does anyone disagree with me on that? However, there is no way any parent can supervise their children while enjoying a beer in a separate room....no matter how talented in multi-tasking they may be.

Boy, you are so right. My boys are now 18 an 14. I had another baby 2 years ago and I really do take more time to cherish the scribbles on the wall, the chaos, and craziness of it all. It really all does go by far too quickly. I hope someone takes David's and Jay's ideas to heart. We do need more family places for kids of all ages to enjoy. ( Even the ones that are just young at heart ) On another note Dee, Quiet rooms are a great place for grandparents to go to, nursing mom's, or maybe an exhausted parent with a whopper of a headache. Perhaps I should have mentioned that in my first post.

Dee Krupp wrote:

Valerie Molinski wrote:

Dee Krupp wrote:

jennifer scott wrote:Actually Dee, I said there was a quiet room, never said I was in there letting my boys run loose. I usually was out playing with them! Nice post.

You promoted the quiet room with couches & beer for parents so it appears you thought it was good thing...so sorry if I assumed you utilized it.

Who's to say you cant have a sit down and a drink WHILE supervising your kids? It's called multi-tasking and I do it daily. I also don't let my kids run over other kids, either.

While some parents can, many don't. I am speaking of my own real experiences at these places and far too many parents do let their kids run free while they relax. Does anyone disagree with me on that? However, there is no way any parent can supervise their children while enjoying a beer in a separate room....no matter how talented in multi-tasking they may be.

Fine. I dont' have to be in a separate room to enjoy my beer.

Dee Martinez wrote:Savor watching your house reduced to rubble. When those days are gone, theres no getting them back.

LOL....no matter how many times I tell my kids to stop growing up, they just don't listen. HMPH!

Take a look what this guy did...http://www.raysmtb.com/

He got a 30,000 grant to fund this idea from http://www.civicinnovationlab.org/

Go for it!!