One Florida mom is asking the question every parent’s been dying to scream into the void: Why do children’s play spaces open so ridiculously late?
“Y’all, we have been up since 5:15,” Ronsina Ray — mother to a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old — began a recent TikTok video. “Can somebody please explain to me why the stuff for kids opens at 10 or 11 o’clock in the morning?”
“I’ve lived five different lives. I’ve cooked two meals. I’ve watched 16 hours of TV. I have showed my head, shoulders, knees and toes. I done labeled every body part. I done shapes, colors, letters,” Ray, 31, continued. “We done went to the potty three times. We’ve had four snacks. We went outside for an hour — and you’re still not open? ... By the time y’all open, we done made it to high school graduation.”
During an interview with TODAY.com, Ray points out another issue: the hours clash with many nap schedules.
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“By the time we get there, my kids, who’ve been awake since 5, are cranky and fighting and it's time to leave,” Ray says.
Jokingly, she suggests creating her own “little space” for parents and children to gather first thing in the morning.
“I’m picturing the old McDonald’s with an indoor play area,” she says. “I can drink some coffee, my kids can play and we can have some breakfast. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
If the comments on Ray’s TikTok are any indication, she may have the beginnings of a successful new business venture.
- “10am is DINNER TIME,” one person wrote.
- “The library opening at 10am is seriously criminal.”
- “And then I take you at 10 but you fall asleep in the car for 5 minutes on the way home and ruin my whole goddamn day.”
- “I have been asking this question since becoming a mom. I mean by the time they open, 1/2 my day is done!”
- “Lowe’s opens at 7. Used to take the kids and let them explore the model kitchens and appliances.”
- “Don’t have kids but one time I saw a LINE of parents and kids waiting at the door of the indoor playground at 9:58AM. They looked STRESSED.”
- “At this point give me the keys and we can get it set up early and popping. My kids would be free employees in exchange for early fun.”
- “We have a new play place that opens at 7am and I was like welp you get all my money."
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
