Restaurant Play Room

Personally, I wouldn't use such a place. Mcdonalds play rooms, a similar concept In a lower scale than what you're talking about, have proven to be filthy. That kind of germ exchange and food don't work for me. And watching my children through a glass wall, where I can't hear them or am too distracted by my dinner companion, is not an acceptable form of supervision for me. We are a family, if we go out together, we're together. If my husband and I want a date, we get a sitter. And if there are video games and tv, it's not even an option for us.

i think your heart is in the right place. so often parents of small children long for something that would occupy their littles so that they can go out now and then AND go somewhere welcoming and appropriate for kids. most restaurants that aren't fast food just don't accommodate very well.
but you're opening a huge can of worms. every single parent will have different standards, and will pick apart your best-laid plans to death. some will think media are fine, some will abhor the idea. many won't let their kids get near it because of germ issues. large manipulatives can be used to whack other kids, small ones are dangerous, climby toys are hazards, quiet toys are boring. if the room is unsupervised someone's kid will get whacked and they'll sue. if it's supervised someone's precious poindexter will get told gently 'no, don't whack' and a mamabear will threaten and bluster.
and your insurance agent will probably have something to say about extra liability.
sorry to be debbie downer. i hope it works out- it could be a huge draw.
or a nightmare.
khairete
S.

If I am going out to eat at a decent restaurant, I would get a babysitter. I would never consider taking a child and putting him in this playroom. When I go out I want to relax and enjoy myself not worrying about the havoc that could be occurring in this type of setting.

Hi B.,

Not to be contrary, but I tend to avoid restaurants with play rooms. We have had nothing but bad experiences with restaurants which allow kids to leave the tables and 'go play' away from the parents, mainly because there will often be a few kids who, away from parents and out of earshot, will misbehave with the other kids. Think toys being grabbed out of each others' hands, the kid who wants 'all' of one item, and playground justice in working out problems. This is the reason why so many moms of young children make playdate arrangements at the park-- there are no toys to fight over. So, I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but those are some things to consider. Unattended children and poorly behaved kids who were bothering my child (at our own table, no less) finally drove us away from one of our favorite places... we loved the food and atmosphere at the beginning, but adding a play corner they lost a lot of regulars, both with and without children.

Some of my server friends, too, have had a lot of trouble with kids being underfoot and running around. If you have a big tray of plates, it's really hard to see toddlers who pop out from under tables.

What I HAVE liked and have seen work really well at restaurants are books/games/small toys which can be stored on shelves and brought back to the table. Think baskets of crayons, a roll of paper/pack of paper, coloring books, lots of kids books (simple, easy -to-wipe board books for little ones and things like :Book of Jokes, picture books, Almanacs, etc for the older ones-- thing which invite conversations at the tables). We generally pack an activity bag for our son, who is seven-- we've been doing this since he was old enough to sit alone at a restaurants. Activity books, crayons, markers, small cars/dinosaurs, small magnet sets-- all of these allow the child to be entertained while they are seated. I like this more because my child is with ME, and we are going to a restaurant to spend time together as a *family*. It allows me to teach him the normal etiquette for nicer restaurants as well. I am drawn to a place like that. (When my son was a toddler, if he needed to run, my husband or I would take him for a short walk around the block. We wanted him to learn that we NEVER RUN in a restaurant.)

Good luck on your venture... these are just a few things I've thought about over the years as a mother, and my own preferences. and no, you really don't have to have media... kids of all different ages will want to watch different things, and some little kids won't be ready for what the older ones would find boring. As I said before, restaurants should be for family time... after all, anyone can have dinner in front of the tv at home. That would also be a detractor for me, not a draw. I realize this ended up being more about my parenting philosophy than anything else, but that's my take on it.

Things that can be easily cleaned!

The kids can get pretty unruly if a parent is not in there watching them.
And the play equipment gets filthy.
When our son was the age to use those kinds of play areas we washed hands first, then we ate, and after eating child would play while I sat in the room with him while I finished my meal or drink.
I never left him in there alone.
Have clearly stated rules posted where all can read them and if kids are too big to use the equipment then clear the room and only let the little kids back in if they have a parent with them.

Please be aware if you play DVD's for the kids you will have to pay royalties on them. Talk to a copywrite attorney but the way it was explained to me is 'your business is profiting from the DVD's so you have to pay royalties'. If you do not pay royalties and get caught the fines can be extensive. This is why cable/satellight TV and radio are more expensive for a business than for a private home. The provider pays the royalties for you.
It is the same if you play music CD's or have live music. You have to pay royalties.

As far as playroom equipment. I would just have regular toys, coloring books and crayons. I would also include a changing table, and a sink with soap and paper towels so the parents can wash up themselves or the kids.

Before you go forward with this I would look into your exact libility will be. How will you safeguard the kids? How will you make sure they don't just run off or be taken by someone other than the parent? Will you have a trained attendent in the room at all times? This person should be trained in daycare as well as first aide and CPR.

Large building blocks that can be used to create forts or other big structures. Look at this place near me: http://playlandcafe.com/#!/9/PLAY/4

-Climbing structures
-Large floor puzzles
-Soft balls
-Lego duplos (the big ones so little kids can't choke)
-Dolls

Avoid having things that only one child can play with at a time since it will cause fights.

I'm assuming this is a room for younger children, who aren't quite able to sit quietly at the table for a whole meal yet, so you probably want to gear activities to pre-school children. I would go to Ikea and look at the Smalland play area for some ideas, plus many malls have play areas for little kids. Large foam blocks, small ball pits, train tables, wire and bead tables would all be good. If you are looking for larger scale you could do like McDonalds and have a climbing structure.

ETA: I would have loved such a room when my kids were little. When they were young I had to bring all sorts of stuff to occupy them at the table, and I still felt rushed to leave, unless we were at McDonalds. This would have made dining out more enjoyable for everyone.

There is a restaurant in my home town that has this, and I LOVE it!! They have a giant chalkboard and sidewalk chalk to draw with, a bookshelf with lots of children's books (patrons frequently donate to this, so the selection is always changing), coloring books and crayons, Duplo blocks, a few dolls, and some fabric ingredients to make pizza (round circles with rope sewn in the edge for dough/crust, felt pepperoni, mushrooms, etc, all with Velcro). It is a huge hit with my kids. The restaurant is pretty small, so we feel very comfortable letting them go in the play area while we wait for food and after they finish, as the adults finish up. It takes away the "let's hurry and finish before we run out of good behavior" feeling that I often have at restaurants. Plus, all of the activities are more quiet games- drawing, play cooking, etc, no electronics or fighting.
ETA: This restaurant has the play area set up in a cut-out type space, so one wall is open to the restaurant, rather than a closed room. And by small, I mean about 10-12 tables. The food is fab, though, not just pizza.

Are you talking a fast food type place? Those generally have large climbing structures. Or pizza place sometimes have game rooms with video games. But as a mom I would not let my child or grandchildren go into a room I could not have a complete view of at all times. You might want to factor that in. I've never seen one with toys etc

We used to go to an indoor play ground but stopped because the ball pits and climbing tunnels were full of germs and my kids would get sick most times after playing there. Most restaurants have place mats with shapes to color or number/letter games and crayons for the kids only. We used to bring our own bag with small toys that we reserved ONLY for going to restaurants. Small etch-or-sketch, small plastic dolls, those black sheets of paper that you draw on by scratching the top layer of wax off with a wooden stick to reveal multi colors below, Magnadoodle, later they brought their GameBoy or Nintendo DS games. Whatever you do, make sure you have a wall dispenser with disinfecting gel and disinfecting wipes so hands can be cleaned before they eat with them. Also make sure that whatever you provide can be wiped and disinfected (rubber floor mats with low slides and plastic low climbing structure maybe?). Kids in diapers and toddler who put everything in their mouths are little germ factories. If word gets out that your play area is not clean you will not have customers. Little sealed baggies with a few new party-favor type toys that parents can keep might be your best bet.

I have never heard of a real, sit down, restaurant with a separate play area for kids. I think it's a nice idea theoretically but realistically sounds like a mess.

The kids and parents will be moving back and forth from their table to the room. It may encourage children to run about the restaurant more. What will go on in the room with multi-aged kids playing in an unsupervised room out of earshot of adults? Some parents may supervisor their kids, others will not. Who will handled the issues that arise?

Going out to eat is supposed to be relaxing. Having special toys, books or activities for the kids to do at the table sounds great, a separate room, not so much. I feel that the earlier kids learn to "sit at the big table" and behave, the better. They won't learn those skills in a play room and may get the idea that restaurants are places to play.

In the interest of your business, answer some questions before you proceed. Have you seen examples of this working in the real world? Who exactly is your target market (Family restaurant is pretty broad). Will you cater to people without children at all and if so how will you keep them happy? Who will handle the situation if kids are out of hand? Will their be a host or would it be up to the wait people who will likely be busy?

Just be sure you've fully researched and analyzed this before you move forward. A profitable restaurant is a difficult business to run and they tend to be a bit chaotic under the best of circumstances. Assuming you already know this be careful when adding more challenges to the mix. Good Luck!

We avoid places with a play room, our kiddo knows that restaurants are for eating and not playing and I don't want to hear "Can I go play NOW??" through my dinner. Plus the play rooms are always germ magnets, no matter how often they are cleaned. As an owner, I would think it would be a huge liability to have a playroom like you described. Just a window for supervision? There needs to be a rule that a parent or guardian be IN the room to supervise if their child is playing, otherwise anything can happen. If you've been out of the US for awhile, you may not realize how litigious this country is. So if you want this to be a kid themed restaurant, then talk to a lawyer about insurance and liability for a playroom, but if you want this to be a place that anyone would want to go to then save the expense and don't do it. My kid is more than happy if we go somewhere with a kid's menu and crayons (he's almost 3).

Never seen a restaurant with a kids' room for play. The things I have seen (or brought myself) are for supervised play at the table (peg games, pen/paper, etc). But I would be extremely reluctant to put anything that could be a choking hazard or has sharp anything in a room for kids to play unsupervised.

Soft blocks
Regular building blocks
Puzzles (no more than 20 pcs)
Then those big ones for little toddlers (wood board w/6 holes cut out &
shapes to go in those w/a little peg holder)
Dolls
Baby stroller for the dolls
Soft matt/carpet for the floor so the kids don't get hurt
Crayons & coloring books
Hot wheel cars
A few board games for little kids
chairs
I would definitely have a tv so you could play kid movies

I think it's a great idea -- I would have loved to have gone to a restaurant like that when my kids were little.

I think you will have to be prepared to have a supervisor in the room. Even with big windows, there are going to be problems with kids unattended in a room together.

If you want yourself and the other parents to have peace, you might have to resign yourself to having a tv. I fought to restrict media when my kids were little, and now that my kids are grown and I've mellowed a little, I know that there are times to plant the little buggers in front of a tv and allow yourselves to relax.