Little Diggers — Attraction in Washington Township

Overall the place was very clean and the visit was okay. I had seen so many good things about this place so I was very excited for my 2 year old to try it out. He sometimes has some sensory issues but had seen sand before so I didn’t think anything of it. When we got there though he was very hesitant about putting his feet in the sand (sensory/texture thing it seemed). No big deal - I sat in the sand with him for a bit. After a while he wanted out and wanted to play with a truck on the ground outside of the sandbox. We got told not to get the sand outside of the box - which I understand. So he kept quietly playing with the truck outside of the box without making a mess. Several times one of the ladies working there kept telling us (I was with another lady and her 2 year old) that the kids had to stay inside the sandbox and couldn’t play outside of it with the toys at all. She even told them they weren’t listening to the rules at one point (they’re toddlers!) I understand following the rules but my son clearly had a sensory issue with the sand and would get very upset if I tried to put him in it. We voiced this to her and she seemed to not care. Just kept telling us we weren’t following the rules and making it very obvious to everyone else. Our kids did have a couple toys outside the box several times but were never making a mess, were never bothering anyone else or in anyone’s way. Just made the whole experience uncomfortable with her repeatedly coming to us like our kids were being bad and making no accommodations for my son who was clearly having an issue with the sand. Like I said I understand following the rules and I kept trying to but I didn’t want to disrupt others either with a toddler meltdown when he wasn’t even bothering anyone playing with a truck outside the sandbox with no mess. Anyone who has a toddler knows they’re unpredictable. She works at a kids place so I figured she’d be understanding of that but...

I’m so upset with the treatment my kids received today from this place. I took my 16, 8, 6, and 4 year old on a trip to Little Diggers. We drove a little over 30 minutes and were meeting up with a friend and her son so our boys could have a play date. When we got there, she asked for the kids’ ages. I knew it was 7 and under, but I was honest and said “she’s 8 but she just turned 8 five days ago (I would have shown proof if needed). The lady absolutely would NOT let her into the sandbox with the others. Had we not had friends that also drove 45 minutes to meet us there, we would have just left to go elsewhere. But leaving would have broken my son’s heart, as the 6 and 8 year olds are girls and he finally had another boy to hang out with.

So we stayed 30 minutes, while my 8 year old sat and watched. She even said “we should have just lied”, which was hard to disagree with but explained to her that most kind and considerate people would have accepted the honesty and still allowed her into the sandbox pit for 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we just ended up at a place where the person running it was unkind and very inconsiderate. She didn’t apologize, didn’t seem like she cared at all about how the 8 year old felt.

Alas, we’ll never be back. I run a local moms group and plan lots of play dates as well as make many recommendations. I’ll definitely make sure to never recommend this business, as well as share my experience with others.

I understand it’s “policy” and I’m sure there are reasons for the 7 and under rule, but this could have been an exception for a 7 years plus 5 days kid that had siblings playing there as well. If “policy” is more important to you than a child’s feelings, maybe you shouldn’t work at a place...

Disappointed.

My son had fun but I'm very disappointed in the behavior of the employees and their age policy (which seems to be whatever they feel like). Moms in my group called ahead to check for older siblings and were told that they could play. When we arrived some older siblings were allowed to play and others were told they couldn't. The employee that we spoke with ahead of time on the phone would not confirm what she told us. Of course The kids don't understand all this nonsense, they just see their friends and siblings playing and want to play too. The employees made a big deal about something that had already been figured out and agreed upon. Overall their attitudes weren’t great either.

note for context- we visited during the weekday when school was in session and it was NOT busy.

I would not recommend Little Diggers and will not be spending any more money here. if you have an age restriction, either enforce it or clearly list and stick to when exceptions can be made. allowing the employees to do whatever they feel like (and for no valid reason) is unfair. A fun outing turned into a stressful afternoon. Completely...