Recently I had an event first. (It’s not often I get the say that.) I was running a family focused event and in an attempt to give the parents 5 mins’ peace and quiet (as the mother of a 3-year-old I know those moments can be rare) we employed a professional crèche service for the duration of the event.
Impressed was an understatement, what a difference it made to the event, parents were able to actually listen to what was going on without the distraction of children running around.
It was a tight ship run by some very professional and well trained nannies, their skills with play doh and a paint brush were enough to put any full-time artist to shame. (I also wouldn’t want to be up against them in a WII bowling tournament).
The whole thing was run to ofsted regulations with the appropriate ratios of nannies to children being met. It was better run than my son’s nursery at times. All the children were entertained, happy and safe which was all that mattered. We didn’t have a huge of amount of space but I was informed that if we used them again in a bigger room they have a bouncy castle that they can bring, along with the billions of other toys they fitted into the small space they had.
Believe it or not they even do night time events, where they put all the children to sleep. What a thought you can go out to an evening event without worrying about a babysitter and enjoy yourself.
I think that if more B2C events (Business to Consumer just in case you wanted to now) provided crèche facilities that they would see a rise in the number of attendees. As a parent I often see things I would love to go to but know that within 30mins of walking through the door, his highness would be up to some mischief and I would spend the rest of my time there appeasing him with treats and bribes or apologising as he sets about destroying a beautiful display that someone has set up.
Even IKEA has a free crèche service for 45mins to help their parental shoppers spend more money quickly and let’s be honest there’s not much IKEA don’t do right (except make you walk through the whole store to buy a single item stationed near the exit)
I have notice crèches at more and more weddings and had I not banned children from my wedding I would have certainly employed the services of these 21st Century Mary Poppins in a heartbeat.
Its not even a cost issue, I think parents would happily pay for the service. This should be a new trend (wishful thinking on my part) that crèches start popping up everywhere across the country at all major events. Oh I wonder if the cinemas have thought about this, I really want to see Trainspotting 2 and can’t find a decent babysitter!
If you want to find out more about these types of services try these two companies
Tinnies – Tinies is the UK’s leading childcare company and nanny agency network.Family owned and managed, we’ve been looking after parents and their children for nearly 40 years. And we take great pride in what we do. We recruit all kinds of child carers, including nannies, mothers’ helps, babysitters, maternity nurses, and more, for families in the UK and overseas. Because safety is our first concern, all our child carers are rigorously screened – both for parents’ peace of mind and our own.
Bluey and Baloo – Bluey & Baloo was established in 2007, by Michelle Peters. The inspiration for the name came from her experience as a Brownie and Rainbow Guider, her name was Bluey at 5th Bebington Brownies. She is currently enjoying her role as Brown Owl. Over the years we have provided care and entertained many children, it is our belief that no child should be left out. Every child really does matter and whether it is at a children’s birthday party or a wedding creche all will be treated with the same care and attention. Our fabulous activities have been developed with a view of providing something for everyone.
