Hydra kids play centre

mattrialeo · 27-01-2010, 13:38

I took my son to Hydra Kids in Eccelsfield for his 3rd birthday yesterday with some of his friends (who are 4, 6 and 11)
He was having a great time. Later on the kids came up and said they were cleaning the slide while they were playing and i thought this was strange? They then went down the slide and the 2 youngest children both hurt themselves and were crying.
I asked a woman who worked there if they were supposed to be cleaning the slide while the kids are playing and she said "the older kids are complaning that the slide is too slow, when a few bums have been down it it'll be ok." After hearing numerous cries from children the staff went onto the slide trying to clean the polish off with water. A bit later my son went down again, hit the wall at the end and lost 2 teeth, he bled heavily and was crying.
The girl who polished it on the 1st place (who had a child of about 12 with her, who i assumed wanted the slide faster) told me she was sorry for cleaning it but someone complaned it was dirty.
He didn't get much sleep last night, he kept waking up crying.

Has anyone ever been to a childs play centre where they've done this? I know accidents happen especially with children but I just can't believe someone was stupid enough to polish a slide!!

nikita · 27-01-2010, 13:42

Was it actually polish or some kind of cleaner,i would imagine the slides do get sticky and dirty after a while and need cleaning,but sounds like they picked a bad time to do it.

mattrialeo · 27-01-2010, 13:44

well i understand them needing to clean but the 1st woman told me it was to make it faster for the older kids (and she admited it was polish).

cll23 · 31-01-2010, 15:24

you should complain they shouldn't clean equipment whilst its in use not very hygenic in a childrens play area

mistyraven · 31-01-2010, 15:31

I would complain too.
Hope your child is ok now.

mattrialeo · 31-01-2010, 15:32

He's ok now. He keeps pointing in his mouth saying he wants some new teeth. Bless him!

nikki-red · 31-01-2010, 15:34

Did they put this incident in an accident book? Hope your little uns feeling ok now.

sue180 · 31-01-2010, 17:05

I've been there and had no problems in the past. It's a great play centre but the slide you are talking about is for the over 4's play area.

mattrialeo · 31-01-2010, 18:05

Yes, they put it in the book. One of the ladies there was very nice and good with him to be fair.
It was in the over 4's area (it wasn't the free fall slide) but 2 other kids in our group (aged 4 and 6) both hurt themselves.

Lpsmum · 31-01-2010, 18:59

In my younger days I used to work in a playcentre like this and had to polish the slides twice a day otherwise children would tend to slow down or stuck on the sticky grimy bits

topmum · 31-01-2010, 20:01

I once worked in a creche where the cleaners decided to polish the laminate floor with wax polish ??!!?!
Next morning ,after stepping through the front door and falling flat on my arse , i had to close the creche for the day whilst i cleaned the ' ice rink ' properly .

go4it · 31-01-2010, 21:00

Someone said to be today that play centres are nice little earners, but they are difficult to manage.

The problem is you have children in from 1-11 years - with mums and dads sitting having a coffee. If anything is not to their liking then there be a complaint - my tea is cold, the slide is too slow, the weather is rubbish etc. These centres are under pressure to please everyone - so someone has tried to make the slide a bit faster to please one group of kids and subsequently affected another group of kids.

I would simply make these places under 8s only, or have a separate over 8s area.

Skippy06 · 31-01-2010, 21:51

I have the miss fortune of having to go to several of these places on a regular basis as my 3 year old loves it.

The large slide in Hydra kids is for over 4 years so if your kids go in and get hurt it is a risk you take - I know you said some of the party were over 4 but my daughter loves the slide. I saw someone playing hell with a mother the other day because her child (about 4) had been boy-stress with a toddler about (18 months) the mother was really upset and told her child off but he was only playing and the toddler should have been in the toddler section.

I have seen slides getting cleaned in nearly all play centres I have been in (normally go during the day not busy times). If I remember right your little one must have been giving it some to come down at such a speed he smashed into the wall at the bottom my little one normally gets stuck half way down and I have to follow her down.

Hope he is ok.

luybell · 01-02-2010, 13:00

I have been to Hydra kids a few times 7 was really impressed with the way it was ran. I know the vertical slide is only open when there is a member of staff to man it.

To be honest from what a pp said if the slides do have to be cleaned then they did nothing wrong. Your child must have been travelling at real speed to have knocked two teeth out. From what I recall there is quite bit of room to stop at the bottom & then it goes into a padded wall. The slides don't seem that steep. Did he go into someone & then do it?

There are signs everywhere to say that the area with the slide is for over fours. I have let my 3 year old in there but she came down the slide with me & her older siblings. I always wait for her at the bottom to make sure the coast is clear & that I am there to catch her.

What did the staff do about it?

charlie9865 · 01-02-2010, 17:49

I was thinking of going here till I saw this post,am really reconsidering now. Aint far from mine, so would of been great. How stupid was the girl that cleaned the slide down ,ecspecially when people are there.

mattrialeo · 01-02-2010, 18:08

The staff came over and helped clean him up. They offered him a bun but he wasn't really in the mood for eating. They filled out an incident form. I was watching but adults aren't allowed inside the play area. The 11 year old was with him when he was inside the area. Before she cleaned it he was going down but stopping at the bottom.
They hadn't even cleaned up his blood before we left, about 20mins after the incident.

luybell · 01-02-2010, 19:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlie9865

I was thinking of going here till I saw this post,am really reconsidering now. Aint far from mine, so would of been great. How stupid was the girl that cleaned the slide down ,ecspecially when people are there.

I would still give it a go - I really like it. I have only been twice but was very impressed with how professional the staff were on both occasions. I thought it was clean , well run & a was pleased with the safety. I can only imagine this was an isloated accident. I have no ulterior motive either. There were a few parents on their with kids both times.

go4it · 01-02-2010, 20:47

Don't knock the place because what has happened. Most problems are caused by customers themselves - and with an endless supply of problems staff cannot always sort them out on the spot.

ange1312 · 24-07-2010, 20:10

My friends child bit almost all the way through their tongue on the large wave slide at hydra kids because he was going too fast, he was over 4 at the time. Saying that my kids have never had a problem, my only complaint would be about the temperature in there on warm days. They never seem to put the air conditioning on. Its warm if you are just sat there but the kids who are running around are red hot and dripping with sweat, as a result I don't go on warm days now.

cuddlycats · 24-07-2010, 20:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattrialeo

The staff came over and helped clean him up. They offered him a bun but he wasn't really in the mood for eating. They filled out an incident form. I was watching but adults aren't allowed inside the play area. The 11 year old was with him when he was inside the area. Before she cleaned it he was going down but stopping at the bottom.
They hadn't even cleaned up his blood before we left, about 20mins after the incident.

I didn't realise this-i was on it last sunday, as my daughter was a bit unsure at 1st due to a slide incident at another playcentre.

Hope your boy is ok.