Toddler - Glasgow With Kids

Swimming at the Gorbals Pool

We hadn’t been swimming in ages and we’d heard that the Gorbals pool is good for kids, so we gave it a go.

The Pool

There are two swimming pools. The main pool is for ‘proper swimming’. It has lanes on one side and a larger unlaned area that’s good for having a wee swim with kids; for example if you’re practising your baby swimming. 🙂 It’s still pretty warm – certainly not cold like Tollcross pool.
The second pool is a zero-entry pool (sloped entrance like a beach). It’s nice and warm, and is shallow enough at the top to let tiny littles sit and get used to the water, or run and leap around in! As it gets deeper it turns into a little lazy river with rapids that go around a little area that appeared to be a jacuzzi that wasn’t on, (which meant it was a great bit for jumping in!) There were a bunch of floats and pool noodles/woggles you could use to go round the rapids.

There’s also a flume, but we didn’t go on it. It was closed when we were there, but I made the assumption it was for quite a bit bigger kids anyway.

The Change Rooms

It’s a Glasgow Life pool. They’re pretty standard, generally. They are basic and not the loveliest in the world, but not the worst I’ve seen either.

There were quite a few family change rooms (which are a really good size). The family change room we were in had a seat attached to the wall that you can strap your little tearaway into if need be. The straps were broken though, so it didn’t work.

It’s 20p for lockers, and apparently they’re really fun to climb in.

The Cost

It’s £3.20 for adults if you’re a non-member (free for members) and free for kids under 5. With a YoungScot Kidz Card it’s free until they’re about 19.

The Verdict

It’s a nice, warm pool so it’s great for teeny tinies. We still have a warma on, but the little lady lasted ages in there. With the rapids etc. there’s enough there to entertain the younger and older kids. Excellent.

The Gorbals pool is located in Gorbals Glasgow Club, Ballater St, Glasgow, G5 0YP.

The Beach at Riverside

We’re at the beach today! Not in the usual sense though. We’re in a giant sandpit (aka the Beach at Riverside) and it’s really nice.

It’s been here for a few summers now. But I’ve never been before, so I was pleasantly surprised at how big it is, and at how deep the sand is. The sand is really soft and lovely too.

There are some sun loungers dotted around outside the sandpit. A number of them had towels or bags or something on them to signify that they were ‘taken’, even though there were no other adults at all except me in the sand with the kids. Not that I wanted a sun lounger. But that just irritated me and reminded how much I sometimes really hate other people.

Anyway, it’s a really nice little beach for the kids to potter about in, and it’s right at the door of the Riverside Museum if you wanted them to have a play in there too. There is an ice cream van and a hot food van next to it, and a cafe inside the museum.

Just bear in mind that we live in Glasgow, and as such the sand will probably be a little bit damp. I took a picnic blanket just in case, but since I was playing in the sand with the little lady I didn’t use it.

Make sure you remember your buckets and spades! 🙂 It’s great fun!

The Beach at Riverside is located at the Riverside Museum, and it’s here until the 1st of September.

Toddler Sense Kelvinside: A Chance Happening!

We found a brand new Toddler Sense class the other week that’s just up and running in Kelvinside. We found it entirely by accident – we’d gone along to the outdoor playgroup in the Children’s Wood that nobody else turned up to, and whilst having a wee wander round Kelvinside Meadow a lovely lady called Gail came and handed us a flyer. As it turned out the class was just about to start, so we joined in!

The Class

It’s a brand new class; so new that it was the very first day of it when we went along. There were only a couple of us there, but I expect that the next time we manage along it’ll be far busier as Toddler Sense classes tend to be pretty popular.

As always, there was a play area for the kids to clamber about in before the class (and in the case of my little lady also during, when she managed to eventually escape my clutches). There were blocks to climb about on, a bouncy castle & slide, a ball pool, bikes plus a bunch of other stuff I’ve since forgotten.

Each week has a different theme – last week was sparkle week. There were flashy balls, sparkly sticks, songs about stars, a snowy mountain that the littles climbed and quite spectacular sparkles projected from the ceiling (our cat would’ve loved all those lights flashing on the floor).

The lady who took the class (whose name has unfortunately now been lost from my terrible mummy brain) was great with the kids. She was super enthusiastic and they seemed to really enjoy playing with her in the play area at the beginning of the class.

The Cost

It’s £15 for your first 3 classes. After that you can pay as you go at £6.50 per class, or you can buy blocks of classes which work out a bit cheaper.

The Details

The class is on in the Scout Hall on Kelbourne St, just across from Kelvinside Meadow. It’s on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 am and 11.30 am. Classes last about an hour.

The Verdict

My little lady absolutely loved it. She always loves Toddler Sense. The play area is physical enough to keep her entertained and the singing part of the class has enough going on to keep her engaged. It’s really excellent. And it knackers her. Bonus!

Toddler Sense Kelvinside takes place in the Scout Hall, Kelbourne St North, Kelvinside, Glasgow, G20 8PR.

Wonderworld Soft Play

Wonderworld Soft Play in Kinning Park is one of our other second homes (after the science centre & the park). It’s where we go if we’re at a loose end. In fact, it’s probably my favourite soft play area in Glasgow. We were back a few days ago and I realised I have never written about it. (I was sure I had. Baby brain strikes again).

The Play Area

It’s huge. Seriously. Last week we ended up in a bit we’ve never been in before. And we’ve been here, a lot.

The main play frame has at least 3 big, fast slides (one of which is almost vertical) plus those twisty tunnel slides that it’s impossible to get down with a toddler. There’s a big area to run around in over 3 levels, a bunch of trampolines, foam ball shooters, bridges & probably loads other stuff that we haven’t found yet. The slides in the main area are too fast & too big for the little lady to go by herself yet (as are the other children).

The toddler area is one of the best we’ve played in. It’s big enough for the little lady (who’s 22 months) to happily play in for a while, and she’ll go up the play frame & down the slide by herself. There’s a decent sized ball pool (big enough for a random 6ish year old to hide in & make you kack your pants when they leap out at you making zombie noises), some cars & a good bit of floor space with soft blocks etc to keep the very littles happy.

There’s also a go-kart track and a football pitch. And over the other side of the massive warehouse room there’s another slide that looks like a volcano. The little lady is way too small for it, but there are kids crawling up it & rolling down it constantly. Looks fun.

The Cafe

The food is pretty standard for soft play. But they have a Starbucks inside which is a winner for me; you can’t beat a chai tea latte. They also have a pretty good cake selection.

When you walk in there’s an ocean of tables and chairs facing you. I’ve never had a problem getting a table (although we usually avoid peak times so I can’t speak for what it’s like on weekends & in really busy periods).

The Cost

It’s free for under 1’s at any time. It costs £4 for under 3’s & £5.50 for over 3’s off-peak. They get unlimited play. It’s a bit more expensive at peak times (£5.50 & £6.95) for 2 hrs play.

The Verdict

It’s huge and there’s loads to keep kids (young and old) entertained. They have regular toddler mornings on Tuesday’s with entertainment which are pretty good. And like I said before, chai tea lattes.

Wonderworld is at 99 Middlesex St, Glasgow, G41 1EE.

Jollytots and Cookies

A friend was out in Uddingston the other day, and went to Jollytots and Cookies with her daughter. She very kindly wrote a great review for the page. Thank you so much Aileen! Here it is! Cost It costs £3 for an hour and a half play time. Pretty standard for soft play but there’s not as …

First Steps To Music

We were at our lovely little music class this morning – First Steps to Music. We’ve been going for over a year now & my little lady loves it.

The Class

First Steps to Music is a music class created and run by Katie, an early years musician. It has lots of singing, lots of rhyming, shakers, puppets, drums, marching, teddies & violin playing.

The class is great fun for the little ones. It is relaxed & the kids love all the props that are used.

But it’s also very structured. I think that’s probably partly why my little lady has picked so much up from the class. She constantly sings, tunefully, (with just ‘la la la’s’ instead of words, mostly) the songs from the class at home. Her favourites are ‘Knock, knock, knock, Who’s in the box…’ (the ‘who’ is usually a finger puppet in the class, but she sings it to whomever has the audacity to lock the bathroom door at home), and ‘Lets go a-walking…’ (excellent for getting her to walk properly along a pavement!) The kids learn to tap along with a beat too, amongst other things. They learn pretty quickly what they’re supposed to do and at what point. It’s quite amazing to see actually!

The Cost

The class runs in terms & you need to book a term in advance. It works out at £5 per class.

The Verdict

Katie is great with the kids. The class is really fun for them, but at the same time you can almost see them learning!

Classes are quite small and as far as I can tell the people who start the class (including ourselves) tend to keep going for a long time. I think that pretty much says everything!

The Details

It’s on in St Mary’s Cathedral on Monday mornings, and in Wellington Church on Saturday mornings. (Both in the West End around Woodlands). There are baby, toddler & pre-school classes available.

All info can be found on the First Steps To Music website

Play Town Soft Play

We took a wee trip out to Bishopbriggs to meet a lovely mummy & toddler friend last week, and thought we’d all check out Play Town Soft Play whilst we were there.

The Play Area

The baby/toddler area is pretty good. There’s a little ball pool, quite a few toys, a soft see-saw & an area to clamber up & round to get to the slide. It’s easy enough for a toddler to get round, and there are plenty toys to entertain a tiny tot too.

The main play frame is great. There are 3 levels with bits to freely run around and a couple of slides, one of which ends in a big ball pool. There’s also a mini flying fox & quite a few different bits to climb around.

This was the first time my little lady ever wanted to play by herself in a soft play area :’-( so it gave me a slightly different perspective than I’ve had before. (I know, I’m becoming ever more obsolete with each passing day.) Anyway, the play frame is not huge, but a toddler (well, most toddlers – at least ones who haven’t the climbing abilities of Spiderman) can run around the different levels without getting to the big slides. That meant I could sit and have a chat, obviously whilst paying attention. It also meant that I could actually unclench a little and let her run around without worrying too much.

It was quiet when we were there. But it was a midweek morning when schools were in so that’s not surprising!

The Food

The food is pretty standard soft play food – there’s sandwiches, toasties, paninis, potatoes, soup… The usual suspects. The kids menu is not what I’d like to see, but I say the same thing about pretty much every soft play we go to. We had a panini, which actually was quite nice. It’s pretty reasonably priced too.

The Cost

It was £3.50 entry for us. It’s £4.50 for kids ages 4+ and £1 for babies up to age 1.

The Verdict

It was the perfect soft play for the toddler at this age (21 months). It was clean & the staff were friendly. I actually really liked it, and so did my little lady!

Play Town Soft Play is at 30 Wellington Road, Bishopbriggs

The Tall Ship At Riverside

We took a wee trip to The Tall Ship a few days ago. I’d been planning on going for ages, so when we had nothing to do one dry morning I thought we’d check it out.

The Museum

It’s a lot bigger than I thought. Not being much of a seaman (with the exception of a few dinghy sailing lessons years ago) I wasn’t quite aware of how far under the water large boats actually go! There’s at least 3 levels to it (I got slightly lost at one point so there could be 4!) with different exhibits about the workings of a tall ship & how people lived & worked on one in the early 20th century throughout. There is a lift to get to pretty much everywhere (except the upper level of the top deck) so it has good pram access.

There are buttons to press, ropes to pull, videos to watch, bells to toll, stairs to climb, decks to scrub and plenty of space to run around in. My little lady’s favourite things were climbing oh so many stairs, and scrubbing the deck, which she did for about 15 minutes. Thinking about it now, the tall ship is a toddlers dream…

tall-ship-riverside-glasgow3

There is a (very) small soft play area for toddlers on the bottom level (sorry, the cargo hold) with a tunnel, some soft blocks & a mini-drawbridge to play on. It could definitely do with a bit of updating, but my little lady was perfectly happy to crawl/run around in it. It would entertain young toddlers for a while, but it’s not for kids older than about 4. There’s also a basket of dress up clothes here which are quite fun.

The Cafe

We only got tea and a scone which cost us £2.50. Good tea, and the scone was nice. They do have a decent selection of hot & cold food, but I can’t comment on how nice it might be! It all smelled nice though.

tall-ship-riverside-glasgow4

The Cost

It’s free. They ask on the way in if you’d like to buy a guidebook, but you don’t have to.

The Verdict

As with all of Glasgow’s museums, the Tall Ship doesn’t specifically cater to young children too much, but it does so (I think accidentally) better than a lot of the others. The little soft play area they have needs a bit of a facelift, but since it’s part of the whole experience you’re not going to spend too much time in it anyway.

From a toddler’s perspective, it’s absolutely worth a run around. And with it being right next to the Riverside Museum, you could make almost a whole day of it.

The Extra Bits

Opening hours are from 10am – 5pm, Monday to Sunday. And the Riverside Museum is right next to it if you’ve got some extra time to fill.

The top deck (with the deck scrubbers) is outdoors, so make sure you have weather appropriate clothing because your little ones will probably like this deck best.

The Tall Ship at Riverside is located at 150 Pointhouse Place, Glasgow, G3 8RS

Some Triking at Free Wheel North

We checked out Free Wheel North recently. Most people I speak to haven’t heard of it, but it’s a fantastic charity run cycling centre down at Glasgow Green next to the big sandy playpark & climbing frames across from the templeton building. If you’ve been down there you’ve probably seen it; you just didn’t know …

Sporty Kidz Thornliebank

We met a friend at Sporty Kidz soft play over in the South Side the other day. Having been to the one in Maryhill (and thinking it was great) I thought that the Spiersbridge Rd Sporty Kids would be much the same. Well, it was and it wasn’t… The Play Area The first thing I …

Jo Jingles

We checked out the Jo Jingles class in Partick this week. It was numbers week & so we did lots of numbers songs (obviously!) with castanets, tambourines, pom poms… It felt more educational and maybe slightly less fun than other classes we’ve been to. Not that it wasn’t fun, because it really was; my little …

The Glasgow Science Centre

We took our first (long awaited, in my case) trip to the Science Centre at the weekend. Full disclosure: I worked there when I was a student, and I loved it, and I’m also a tiny bit of a science geek, so my review may not be entirely unbiased. But anyway, the review. Where do …

Science Here We Come!

I was so excited to cash in our vouchers for our science passports at the weekend; a very thoughtful Christmas gift from my family.

Our science passports mean we can visit the Science Centre for a year at anytime, for free! They’re £24 for the year for adults & £18 for kids 3-15 yrs. Under 3’s are free.

Go 3 times in a year & you’ll have paid more than that so they’re very much worth it!

Review of our first visit coming soon…

People’s Palace & Winter Gardens

We checked out the People’s Palace & Winter Gardens a few days ago.

The Museum

Apart from being a place to run around in, the museum itself doesn’t really cater for young kids. There isn’t much for them to do & we didn’t come across any interactive exhibits or anything at all aimed at young kids.

However since stomping around on her own little mission is my little lady’s favourite thing in the world, it didn’t really matter.

Her favourite thing in the museum was the giant Clyde mascot which she attempted to climb a pillar to get to, and had a tantrum when she was unsuccessful.

The Winter Gardens & Cafe

The Winter Gardens are really nice. It’s warm, there are a lot of plants for a toddler to sniff and there’s a good bit of space to run around in.

The Winter Gardens are my new favourite place to meet up with mummy friends & their babies/toddlers. It’s reasonably central; there’s so much space (plenty space for a bunch of prams), loads of high chairs; and loud toddler voices get lost in the vastness of the giant greenhouse!

The food is decent & they have a nice selection of cakes. And their scones are pretty damn good.

Turtle Tots Baby Swimming

It was certificate day at our Turtle Tots swimming class today. That’s us completed the level 2 toddler course, and we’ve been going to Turtle Tots for over a year, so I figured it was probably about time I did a review.

The Class

It was almost 16 months ago we started going, but I remember our first Turtle Tots class like it was yesterday. The Little Lady was about 12 weeks old and I wasn’t allowed to go in the pool yet (section took a while longer than it should’ve to heal) so her daddy took her instead whilst I sat and watched. There was lots of singing, with Hickory Dickory Dock where the baby goes up the clock being a definite favourite.

She was slightly nonplussed with being in the pool, but our teacher, Kim, was great. I enjoyed watching it, and my husband enjoyed the one-to-one time with her in the class, even if the Little Lady wasn’t overly enthused herself!

Her first submersion, about 4 classes in, was quite traumatic (for me) but again, she wasn’t that bothered. By the end of the term (and into the second term) I think she was the only kid who still cried after been dunked, but she was still happy to be in the pool.

As the classes and levels progressed you do a lot more with the babies, and use lots more equipment. Her favourite was always chasing the squirty fish around the pool, and in the earlier classes chewing on the foam mirror! She also always loved the singing.

In our most recent block she was jumping into the pool, holding onto the edge and monkey-monkeying (shuffling along the pool using her hands), kicking her legs, and we were doing submersions with her on my back holding on round my neck. She was also happy to be on her front in the water, kicking her legs with me just holding her hands.

The Venues

We’ve been to 4 of the venues over the past year and a bit. Some are better than others: some are in state of the art leisure centres and some are in schools – the facilities are obviously going to differ.

The Cost

It recently went up to £120 per term of 10 classes. That is pretty costly, but since the little lady and I (or the little lady and her daddy) have enjoyed the classes so much, and she has learned so much from them (and gotten lots of confidence in the water) I really think it’s been worthwhile.

The Verdict

It’s truly amazing seeing the progress of these tiny tots: jumping in, kicking their legs, using floats, holding onto the edge, going under water for a brief swim (and being happy about it) and really enjoying being in the pool! Not only has it given my Little Lady lots of confidence in the water, but it’s given me lots of confidence in taking her into the water too.

Her nursery recently took her swimming and they reported back that out of the 4 or 5 kids who were there that day, the Little Lady was the only one who was happy to jump in, who was kicking her legs and who was happy to be on her front in the water. Obviously I don’t know what she would’ve been like if she hadn’t gone to Turtle Tots classes, but I certainly wouldn’t have taken her swimming anywhere near as much.

As I said above, the classes are pretty costly – they’re the most expensive classes we’ve ever done, by quite a margin. But she and I, or she and her daddy have enjoyed them so much, and learned so much from them that I honestly think it’s been worthwhile.

Highly recommended.

The Details

Turtle Tots classes take place all over Glasgow and the surrounding areas. There’s bound to be a class near you. You can find more info on their facebook page & website.

Whale of a Time

The little lady and I took her Auntie to her first ever soft play the other day to let both of them have a run around! We took a trip to Whale Of A Time in Shawlands to try it out. The play area The toddler area is great. There’s a ball pool, a bunch …

Tall Tales at the Tron

This morning we went on a bear hunt. (We tried out Tall Tales at the Tron Theatre: an interactive storytelling session for kids who are walking to age 3). What good fun! My little lady loved it; especially the part where they were squelching through mud (aka strawberry jelly). I can’t remember her name, but …

The Riverside Museum

We took a little trip to the Riverside Museum at the weekend. It was an attempt to simultaneously get out of the house, and not be outside in the freezing cold. (We’re not big enough for snowman building yet, and although picking up tiny bits of snow and holding them for a while is fun, it results very quickly in tiny cold hands!)

Anyway, it’s big and echoey and not quiet at all. There are lots of trams & buses to climb on, a couple of little kiddie toys to play in, and two very large horses that are seemingly great to point at/yell excitedly at/run towards & away from.

As with all Glasgow museums it’s free, and the cafe upstairs isn’t bad too.

The Verdict

Great place to let a toddler run around for an hour or two, especially when it’s slippery, snowy, crazy windy or freezing outside!

Side note

You don’t actually get to look at anything with a toddler running around!

Toddler Sense in Knightswood

So we tried out Toddler Sense Knightswood yesterday. We used to go to Baby Sensory regularly, and my little lady loved it. But then I went back to work, she went to nursery and we haven’t had the chance to even check out a Toddler Sense class until now! But anyway, the review… The Class …

The Irn Bru Carnival with a 1 year old

We had great fun at the Irn Bru Carnival, but I think the little lady was still a bit young for it as there weren’t many rides she could go on. Next year though!