Shopping and toddlers don’t typically go well together. Not in my family at least. Usually when I try to take Lily shopping for anything other than toys or food, she’s wild. Loud, climbing out of her stroller, and a pretty disruptive shopper. Pickering Town Centre seems to have answered this mom’s prayers, as they have just opened a Toddler Play Park! (FINALLY, right?!?!) I was sitting with a few mom friends a few months ago talking about how malls all over the States have play structures and play areas for kids in the middle of the mall to provide relief to parents shopping with kids. and that it is something Canadians are missing. I’m hoping that Pickering Town Centre’s Toddler Play Park is the start of a new trend in the GTA at least. The best part about the Toddler Play Park is that it is completely FREE!
I took Lily to check out the Play Park last week and she had an absolute blast. My friend joined me with her two kids and it was so nice to hang out and catch up while the kids were playing. In the spirit of honesty, I walked up to and thought “oh man, she’s going to get bored of this place in ten minutes” because it looked a bit small to me. Oh, how wrong I was. She spent a solid two hours playing and I still had to drag her out of there.
The Toddler Play Park has a cute outdoor theme, and has animals that kids can climb on, a tree climber with a slide, and a log crawl. The structures are a firm foam material, so even if someone hits their head, it won’t hurt too much. There is designated stroller parking, and seating for parents to hang out and watch their kids play. If you go in the entrance close to Think Kitchen, it is really close – totally feasible to make it in from the parking lot without a stroller if you need to. I had the biggest mom fail and completely forgot to bring a tea to relax with. It is located on the lower level of the Sears wing, and is open during mall hours.
The play area is carpeted and all shoes must be removed to play; they provide a shoe cubby to store shoes while the little ones are playing. There is hand sanitizer provided which is a godsend, especially during flu and cold season.
Lily was happy and tired when I finally dragged her out of the play place and if I had planned it better, I probably could’ve gotten a solid hour of shopping in with a content toddler. If you want to check out the Toddler Play Park, the Pickering Town Centre is located at 1355 Kingston Road in Pickering. The closest entrance to the Play Park is Entrance 6; you can get in off Pickering Parkway. If you’re looking for more information, feel free to check out their website here.
Happy Playing!
Although this post is sponsored, all thoughts, ideas and opinions are my own!
You must be logged in to post a comment.