Why bring your own food?

Have you ever considered going to McDonalds and bringing your own food? We know it may sound like a stupid question but think about it for a minute. You would never arrive to a restaurant, McDonalds or any other, and have your own food tucked away in your bag would you? We didn’t think so. Now let us ask you this, would you arrive to Playzone and bring your own food? Many of you may answer yes but we would like you to reconsider that answer, what makes us any different from McDonalds? We provide food services; we have a range of affordable, nutrious meals prepared fresh for our customers, so why would you bring your own food?

Over the years we have noticed a number of our customers like to be prepared when heading out for a day with the kids and we understand the need to be organised but when coming to Playzone we like to think we can make things a little easier for you. Here at Playzone not only do we pride ourselves in our play equipment but also in the food that we provide. You may think that having a café in our play centre is all about making money, but it is not. It is about proving a service to our customers, it is about providing affordable food that is healthy and nutrious and it is also about ensuring our customers can tick one more thing off their list before heading out the door. How nice is it to know that preparing a lunch isn’t necessary when heading out to Playzone?

When it’s a rainy day and the kids are running a muck in the house, when your stuck for something to keep them busy and you decide to head out to Playzone you can rest assured that we have a range of nutrious hot and cold food prepared freshly for our customers, so why burden yourself with adding extra stress when trying to get the kids out the door. When the kids get out of school on a Friday and you want to treat them and decided to head to Playzone why stress about preparing an after school snack when you know that you can get smoothies and fruit at Playzone not only ensuring they get a healthy option but that it is also quick and convenient for yourself.

We here at Celbridge Playzone want to make things easy for our customers which is why then designing our play centre not only did we ensure that children could be seen at all times while on the play equipment but that parents can also have an enjoyable time. Removing the stress of worrying about the safety of your children has always been a priority for us which is why our play equipment is spacious, open and monitored by trained staff at all times but we think about more than just your time at Playzone. We also like to think about the stress which can sometimes involved in getting to Playzone and things such as preparing snacks and lunches should not be one of those stresses which is why we have ensured our menus are packed full of affordable healthy options.

Not only do we pride healthy and affordable food but we also have something to suit everybody’s needs including vegetarian options as well as gluten free options. We strive to ensure that we are inclusive in everything that we do which is why we ensure we aim to meet as many dietary needs as possible. Many times we have found that parents felt the food we provide is not healthy enough for children but we must challenge parents on this. We do provide the expected play centre food of sweets, crisps, nuggets and chips but we also provide much more. Not only do we have fresh fruit available, and children’s and adults smoothies available to buy but we also have a range of meals which are perfect for the little ones which include pasta, perfect for ensuring your little ones get enough carbohydrates to ensure they have enough energy to get through the day. We provide sandwich’s made using brown bread along with kiddie rolls and we also have scrambled eggs to ensure your children get the protein that they need.

You might find yourself asking other questions such as are the portion sizes correct for my child? Well here at Playzone we are very aware of the risks of obesity in society today and ensure that all of our kiddie meals are just that, made for children. Still not satisfied that you don’t need to bring your own food to Playzone? Well if taking the stress out of preparation, knowing that we have healthy options and that our portion sizes are also adequate for children doesn’t satisfy you I’m sure out friendly service will make all the difference.  Not only are our staff always on hand to help with any questions or concerns you may have but our kitchen staff are trained and work tirelessly to ensure your food meets the highest standards possible and is prepared in a timely fashion. Once your food is prepared our dedicated staff will bring your food to your table along with anything else you may require, again taking away some of the stress and hassle involved in organising your own food.

We here at Celbridge Playzone want the best for our customers and this desire to provide the best underpins all the work, which we do and providing affordable, nutrious food is an essential part of our service. We are constantly updating and improving our menu and options and always welcome feedback and suggestions of what more we could be dong to make your experience more enjoyable. But in order to continue providing this service we need your help, we need customers to experience what we have to offer and see for themselves just how good our food is.

If you wouldn’t go to McDonalds with your own burger and chips why come to Playzone with your own sandwich when we can prepare them freshly for you to meet your exact needs?

Child Development at Playzone

Are you wondering what you can do to help your child’s development? Are you struggling to understand the different aspects of development essential for your child? Not sure how you can meet all your child’s developmental needs? Well we here at Playzone are here to help you with that!

We here at Playzone understand that a child’s development is essential for future life which is why we are aware that children’s development is a multifaceted concept and seek to ensure we provide adequate opportunities to ensure all of your child's developmental needs are met in some way. I know you might find yourself asking how can a children’s play center meet my child’s developmental needs? Well our play center is designed in such a way as to ensure we meet your children’s needs, but its not just our design, which ensures this, it is our wide range of activities offered though our parent and toddler mornings.

We here at Playzone understand that children learn best when they are engaging with their senses. It is through engaging with their senses that children have the opportunities to begin to comprehend different aspect of life. It is through this understanding that we have ensured Playzone can offer children the opportunities they need in order to explore a range of materials without any preconceived knowledge allowing them to develop their cognitive, social, emotional, creative, linguistic and physical skills.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development begins at a young age and is aided and enhanced through problem solving and decision-making. For very young children we can often find ourselves questioning if there are ways in which we can present our children with problems to be solved or decisions to be made and the answer is yes. Playzone's play equipment, which is comprised, of three levels is the perfect place for children wishing to develop their cognitive abilities. By presenting children with the problem of seeking to find a way to the top of the equipment in order to experience the thrill of the slide and offering them ample opportunities to make independent decision in the process you can rest assured that your child’s current cognitive abilities are being challenged, encouraging further development.

Linguistic Development

Children at a young age do not have the ability to truly understand and define language. In order to allow your child the opportunities they require to begin to define language we must present them with opportunities to experience the meaning of the word.  Here at Playzone our parent and toddler mornings do just that! Presenting children with opportunities to use their senses, particularly touch through our parent and toddler Play Doh time children are given opportunities to begin to discover new textures while also beginning to comprehend new words such as firm, smooth and bumpy. It is our sensory play at Playzone, using Play Doh with can encourage your children to begin to use descriptive and expressive language, developing their vocabulary and increasing their communication.

Social and Emotional Development

Social and emotional development can often be something that is overlooked when children are very young but it is crucial not only at a young age but in later life. We here at Celbridge Playzone truly value social and emotional development of not only children but adults too which is why we seek to ensure that your children are presented with the opportunities they need in order to enhance their social and emotional development. By coming to Playzone you can provide you children with the opportunities they need to develop both socially and emotionally by allowing them to be in complete control of their actions and experience. This control allows a child’s confidence to develop encouraging children to develop a desire to learn and develop, a desire which is crucial for life.  Whether your child chooses to take advantage of our play equipment or use or blocks, jigsaws and Play Doh your child will have the opportunity to learn about co-operation, collaboration and begin to develop an understanding and appreciation for someone else’s view point.

Creative Development

Our parent and toddler mornings provide the perfect opportunities for your little ones to get creative. With our arts and craft activities we encourage children to begin to try new experiences, use different materials, everything from glitter to crayons in order to encourage their creative thinking and abilities. We here at Playzone focus on the process of arts and crafts as we recognise it is the process, which encourages creativity rather than the finished product.  If arts and crafts is something which doesn’t take your fancy but you don’t want your child missing out, be sure to pop in for our parent and toddler mornings to get those creative juices flowing.

Physical development

Whether your coming to Playzone for a birthday party, a school tour, for our parent and toddler mornings or just to get out of the house on a rainy day you can rest assured that your child’s physical development will be constantly encouraged and enhanced. With space to run around, a basketball area to encourage the development of hand-eye-coordination, you can be assured that your children’s fine motor skills, which allow us to perform a variety of important tasks will be enhanced. Not only does our play center allow for the development of fine motor skills but our play equipment will ensure that your child’s gross motor skills will get the adequate time and attention which they deserve. Still not convinced? Check out our post about Healthy Exercise Through Play to provide you with all the information you need.

We here at Playzone acknowledge the importance of encouraging children to explore, think, communicate and develop a sense of belonging which is why we pride ourselves in continuously improving our activities and facilities making sure we can turn our play center into one which can be attributed in contributing to your child’s development.

Home parties Vs Playzone parties

Are there birthdays looming in your house? Are your kids pestering you to hold a party? Are you unsure about opening up your house to a bunch of hyperactive, sugar filled children? If so why not considering holding your child’s birthday party in Playzone! Not only do we have a host of party tables and two different party rooms spoiling you for choice but holding your part in Playzone also has a host of other benefits! What benefits you might ask? Well here are a few:

Preparation

Planning your child’s birthday party involves a lot of preparation. There is everything from organising the house, planning the food and deciding on activities. Then of course you have the guest list, will there be enough space? How much food will I need to buy to make sure everybody has enough to eat, what about the vegetarians? Should I play it safe and just serve vegetarian food? What about the weather, if it rains the children wont have anywhere to run around, they will be crammed in the house, running a muck, where will the parents stay so that they can relax and have a cup of coffee?

Now imagine booking your party with Playzone and handing all this preparation over to someone else, knowing that they will handle everything. Imagine being able to relax in the run up to your child’s birthday only having to worry about the cake and ensuring your child’s friends have got their invitations. No need to worry about the menu as we have that taken care of, no need to worry about space because we have plenty of it, no need to worry about activities because the children will be spoiled for choice in Playzone.

Party Day

Now think about all that is involved with holding your child’s party at home when it comes to the actual party day. There is the set up; will I be able to fit everyone in my house? What if we use the garden will it rain? Then there is the cooking, will I be able to get all the food cooked on time, will it be cooked properly, what about allergies? Then there is the arrival; will people know how to get to my house? Will there be enough parking? Then the actual party, how will I keep the children entertained? What about it something gets broken? How about when the kids begin to get board? Where will I keep all the children’s belongings, what if they end up getting lost? Will I have to replace them? Party bags, where do I get them and what do I put in them? Will I have enough plates for serving the cake? What about cups?

Now imagine handling all that over to Playzone once again and simply just having to arrive at Playzone, bringing just yourself, your children and the cake. Knowing that instantly you will be greeted with a smile from our friendly staff that will take your cake and store it in the kitchen. Forgot candles? Don’t worry we have lots to spare. Imagine knowing that you will have a staff member on hand to answer any questions you have, who will wait until all your party have arrived, taking food orders, coats and shoes all while you sit and relax. Imagine knowing that all your belongings, your parties belongings and any presents your child may get will be kept safe and brought to your party table by staff after the arrival of all the children. Imagine knowing that you can sit, relax and enjoy a free tea or coffee while the children are off playing, have unlimited juice on their party table and are supervised at all times while on the play equipment. Imagine not having to worry about having enough space, what to do if it rains and if there are allergies or vegetarians as our staff will make sure to check with all parents in advance of serving food that they child does not have allergies.

Imagine the food being served by our friendly staff who will also help pour the drinks, give sauce and even cut up your children’s food while you continue to relax and have a hassle free day. What about the cake, will they know how many candles, what way to put them, how to cut the cake? Don’t worry because we will work with you to ensure that we do everything the way you would like it. We will bring out your cake, light the candles, sign happy birthday and cut your cake serving not just the children but the adults too making sure they have just as good a times as the kids. And to top things off we will give all the children a party bag, taking away the stress of trying to organise that yourself too.

The Clean Up

So you hold a party in your house, it lasts a few hours, by the time all the children go home your exhausted but your not don’t just yet, you still have the clean up to be done! Well imagine knowing that once your 2 hour party is finished in Playzone you will have no clean up to do, you will simply have to pay your balance and head on home. Your belonging will be waiting for you at your party table, any left over cake will be wrapped up and brought out to you and you will be helped if needed to bring any belongings out to your car.

But there are more benefits that meet the eye. Holding your party in Playzone has the added benefits of ensuring:

Children experience healthy exercise through play.

The cost is managed, ensuring you can keep within budget.

You will have dedicated staff on hand at all times to help with any questions you may have along with a dedicated party coordinator ensuring that everything runs smoothly.

You don’t have to worry about dealing with many different people organising many different things, the only two people you will have to deal with is our receptionist and your party host ensuring there is minimal confusion.

You can be guaranteed that no matter what your child’s ability there will be something that will suit them at Playzone.

We will always ensure that the birthday child is made feel special and has a birthday to remember!

Healthy Exercise Through Play

Has the unpredicatable Irish weather been getting you down? Are you concerned that your kids aren’t getting enough exercise? Well Playzone might have the answer. Here at Celbridge Playzone we do more than just promote fun, we also promote healthy exercise through play. Did you know that coming to Playzone your children can get their required 60 minutes of exercise per day?

Here at Celbridge Playzone we pride ourselves in our Play Equipment. Comprised of three levels, two slides, tunnels, bridges and rollers our play equipment is perfect for ensuring children get bending, twisting, turning, dodging and diving!

Unlike adults, children have the ability to engage effectively in play while also engaging in exercise in the process. As a child’s exercise is not like that of an adults, somewhere like Playzone is the perfect place to go to allow your child to exercise. Exercising in Playzone will come naturally to a child when climbing, bending, rolling and weaving through our play equipment. This will help your child’s bones become stronger; muscles more toned and encourage their heart and lungs to work more efficiently.

While we at Playzone place emphasis on exercising to ensure children maintain a healthy lifestyle, reducing the levels of childhood obesity and other illnesses associated with unhealthy lifestyles such as type 2 diabetes and heart diseases we also focus on the other benefits which can be gained from bringing your children to Playzone.

Here at Playzone we value positive mental health and we recognised that positive mental health occurs as a result of looking after our mental health from a young age. Not only do we promote exercise through play as a way of maintaining a child’s physical health but we also recognise the importance of exercise in helping to maintain our mental health. With exercise contributing to overall mental wellness bringing your children to Playzone on a regular basis can contribute to your child growing in confidence, building self-esteem and reducing anxiety levels.

Childhood is a time for learning and growth and that is exactly what happens here at Playzone. When you bring your child to Playzone you can be assured that your child will be stimulated and challenged in age appropriate ways.  Your child’s motor skills can be developed as a result of integrating different bodily movements into purposeful action throughout our play equipment. Your child’s balance and hand-eye-coordination can be improved with our basketball area, play equipment and roller racers.

Social interaction is an everyday occurrence in our lives, one, which many people, can find to be a daunting experience. Social interaction however can be encouraged from a young age in a positive manner through interactions, which occur between children in Playzone. With interaction with other kids being encouraged through fair play we have seen the benefits experienced by children developing friendships and allowing their imaginations to soar.

A day out to a Playzone has many more benefit than meets the eye! With friendships encouraged, exercise promoted and imaginations ignited Playzone presents your children with a world of opportunities!