A hearty welcome
How many times have you heard '
I wish there was a place I could drop them off, just for an hour while I do a couple of little chores'? Well, for busy mums and dads in Bendigo, there is. It's a friendly, well thought out activity centre, right in the middle of town, that will take responsibility for young ones, while parents run around completing errands.
Little People's Art and Play Centre gives an opportunity for people to get the car fixed, go to the bank, or pick up some groceries while their children are happily occupied completing a number of fun and colourful hands-on activities. Kids will paste and paint, build castles, construct kites, cut-out butterflies or choose a plaster mould character such as a puppy, clown, or fish to decorate.
And they won't get bored doing that either. The two Bendigo families who run the centre, know that small children need breaks from what they are doing so have left plenty of floorspace and time within their creativity sessions for play.
Little People's Art and Play Centre is a safe and welcoming. It has been recognised as a child friendly service by the City of Bendigo, which in itself has been certified as a
child friendly city in accordance with the criteria set out by
Unicef. There's room for prams and highchairs. It's a smoke-free environment and breastfeeding is welcomed.
Rainbow colours and definitely add some glitter
Importantly also, is that Little People's Art and Play Centre provides a type of health service for parents, where they get a chance to go to the gym, visit the salon, enjoy a quiet lunch and look after themselves for a moment in the middle of the hectic, full-time job of caring for offspring.
There's benefits for children as well because being told to '
be quiet', '
sit still', '
stop whinging', '
stop asking for things', can be just as torturous to them while shopping, as it is for parents who just want one hour to be able to complete some tasks in peace.
An activity table
Little People's Art and Play Centre has a separate rooms for children's birthday parties. They have packages where art supplies, a host to run the event and optional snacks are provided. Additionally, there are art classes for two year olds held each
weekday morning.
Little People's Art and Play Centre is great fun, however you don't need to hear it from me. Just look at the hundreds of little hand prints all over the visitors wall; a stamp of approval from Bendigo's happy kids.
One hundred happy hands