Visiting with a toddler · Guide
Visiting with a toddler in Hermitage: the practical guide
Written for the parent doing the planning rather than the child doing the asking.
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
The drive back to Hermitage is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
What it actually is
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Who it suits
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Bring a spare layer even in summer. Malls are air conditioned, rinks are colder than that, and a cold child is a child who wants to go home.
What to expect
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Before you go
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Weekday afternoons in term time are the quietest slot in the week. Weekend middays are the busiest.
Questions parents ask
Is there anything for very young children?
The ball pit holds their attention on its own, and on the ice side the cars need no skating.
How long will a toddler last?
Plan for less than you think and leave while they still want more.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
Planning your visit in Hermitage
If you are coming from Hermitage, treat it as a cross-town outing rather than a day trip. Go with a return time in mind and the day stays easy.
Photograph the machine as well as the child. In two years you will have forgotten what the room looked like.
Agree the leaving time before you walk in, out loud, to the child. Announcing it later sounds like a punishment; agreeing it first sounds like a plan.
A Hermitage school holiday runs out of ideas by about day three. This is a day-three answer rather than a day-one one.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
If a visit needs planning around a date, a group or a long drive, the centre is easiest to reach by phone: +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925.