Visiting with a toddler · Story
Visiting with a toddler in Kannapolis: a visit described
Not a review - a description. Here is roughly how an hour goes.
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Weekends bring more of Kannapolis out at once. If the schedule allows a weekday, take it; the same visit is quieter and the machines wait for nobody in particular.
Walking in
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
The middle of the visit
Go at the quietest hour you can manage. A toddler reads a busy room as a loud room and gets tired twice as fast.
Two shorter visits teach a child more than one long one. The second time they already know what they want to try, and that is when the good part starts.
The last ten minutes
With a toddler the plan is short and simple. One thing, done properly, beats three things rushed.
Toddlers rarely want the machine. They want the balls, the colours and the noise, and that is a complete visit at that age.
What sticks
Bring the things that end visits early if they are missing: a drink, a snack for afterwards and a spare layer.
Let the child lead the order of things. Adults optimise; children choose the thing that looks best, and they are right more often than they are wrong.
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.
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.
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.
Planning your visit in Kannapolis
If Kannapolis is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
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.
Count on the drive home being the conversation. Children tell you what they actually thought about twenty minutes after leaving.
Coming in from Kannapolis with more than one child, the useful thing to know is that the room does not need to be rationed - there is more than one thing to do at the same time.
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
Anything time critical is worth a phone call first: hours are 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.