Being a nanny is hard work. Don’t get me wrong; as far as I’m concerned, it’s the most enjoyable job out there. Interacting with kids for hours puts me in a particular head-space. It’s like having a new set of eyes every day. Then you get to leave them behind with their parents… win! Ultimately, though, even the best nannies run into trouble sometimes. For me, this generally happens in the course of a disagreement between my two charges about how we’re going to spend the day. Joshua wants one thing, and Jamal wants the opposite.
I’ve developed a trick that I now keep up my sleeve for when this goes down. As it turns out, all that’s needed to cut through the argument is trip to an indoor play centre. In Victoria, particularly where we live, the weather can be pretty inclement, so having a roof over my emergency fun time solution definitely won points from me. Even in light of that I was kinda skeptical for a while, but these indoor playgrounds have some features that aren’t available in most outdoor playgrounds, even the ones with the coolest play equipment I’ve ever seen.
First of all, the dedicated kids’ play zone is a contained space, which gives the Jamal no opportunity to wander off and get lost (as he has a tendency to do). Not only that, but the kids and I all have to wear a matching ID tag, which means they can’t leave the premises without me. As their guardian for the day, that really takes the pressure off – let me tell you.
Just to be clear, I think that outdoor playgrounds are freaking awesome. I believe that kids should play outside as much as possible, and I love the simplicity of standard play equipment like swings, see-saws and monkey bars. I wish they made them for adults! But when the weather is bad and the kids are peeved at each other, nothing seems to beat a trip to the indoor playground for getting them back in each others good books.