Nana's Play Place — Local services in Springfield

CORRECTION: I was wrong when I said they should add a timeout room. Apparently there is a quiet room for kids to calm down. I was unaware of this and neither were a couple of other moms I asked. I’m also not sure why the owner didn’t offer that as a solution early on. I did not CHOOSE not go to a quiet room. I was unaware of its existence. Had I known, or had it been pointed it out to me, I would have happily taken my kids in there for a break. Anyway…

UPDATE: I updated my review because of the owner’s rude and misleading response.

To clarify something, my children didn’t “run over small children” in the “area designated for toddlers”. I did have one older child that was in the toddler area for a bit because her 18 mo sister was in there. I was standing right there and watching them closely. There was only one other little boy and I never saw my child touch him. She just wanted to play in the ball pit. When the owner mentioned it being against the rules, I removed my kid. Shortly before being asked to leave, my older child rolled a car across the floor (in the main space) and it lightly tapped a boy already on the ground. She didn’t “run over” anyone.

These inaccuracies (whether intentional or not) makes me wonder if it is possible that the “multiple parents came to me with concerns” may be a bit of a stretch, as well. She certainly did not share this piece of information during our initial email correspondence.

I am quite upset at how much is implied in the owners response here. At the time of the incident, I thought she had an air of looking down on me and my kids. I dismissed the thought and chalked it up to my own embarrassment. After reading the response, I’m not sure I was imagining the attitude. To say I do not take ownership for my kids behavior is an unnecessary insult and implies how she judges me as a parent.

I should have just gone with my gut and left early, if for no other reason than not having to interact with this woman. I don’t know what happened to the regular lady/ladies that managed the front desk all summer, but I do not find the owner to be a kind or compassionate person.

ORIGINAL REVIEW : I really like/liked this place. They’re very clean and there is good visibility through the entire play area(s), so it’s easy to keep track of multiple children. They also have a sand box instead of a water table, so you can avoid putting a wet kid in the car for the drive home.

All that being said, it’s not a great fit for us anymore as our children are on the spectrum and got a bit too wild and loud during our most recent visit. If your children are not very obedient, make yourself very familiar with all of the rules as they may ask you to leave without prior warning.

I knocked off 2 stars for a couple reasons. When asked to leave (which I understand, my children were being particularly difficult this day), I feel like a touch more discretion could have been used. I was not pulled aside, just spoken to at plain volume with a couple other parents in earshot. It was embarrassing, well, additionally embarrassing on top of my children’s behavior.

I was mostly disappointed, however, that they would not approve a partial refund. My youngest didn’t do anything wrong, and I intervened at every point my middle child was being confrontational with other children. I was told there would be no refund because rules were broken (I get that), but also because I was heard threatening to make them leave early if they did not start acting better. Like we should have just left on our own. I really didn’t want them to have to leave early, though, as this was going to be the last trip to NPP for a while. I was trying my best to keep my kids in check. Sometimes it’s not enough, though.

I wish we could come back, but I was so embarrassed by the whole thing and just felt incredibly unwelcome by the associate’s demeanor. I just don’t think it’s a good fit for my kids anymore.

Still great for NT kids that are very obedient, though. So if you’ve got a troupe of Bingos at home, your family will probably fit...

I go to nanas play place a few times a week, it is always so clean, i frequently see people cleaning individual toys by hand. Everyone that works here is extremely friendly. I interact with most of the employees regularly and they are always extremely kind, also taking the time to get to know my nanny kiddo. They always greet her by name and chat with her. They have fun events such as crafts, book readings and fun activities to match the season all the time which i love. As i said before I’m a nanny so for us it’s a great place to be around other kids and get more social interaction in a safe, fun place. They also have both imagination play and physical play, they have so many different activities there’s really something for everyone. it’s definitely geared towards younger play probably like 7 and under. They have 2 changing tables in the bathroom that are always clean. They also have lockers and cubbies for all your bags and things up front if you want. There’s seating around the whole place and also a snack area to sit and eat at. This place is great, very clean, very welcoming and fun...

Review updated 7/19- The small gap I was worried about appeared to have been fixed when we went this last week, so they are more than deserving of 5 stars instead of 4 now!

This is a very cute play place for littles! Staff were actively cleaning up off and on throughout our time there, most parents were actually watching their children which we always have issues with at other places like this in Springfield. Toys and play areas looked clean and there's a good variety of choices of things to play with. My only complaint is the board/rope bridge on the larger wood playset. It has a net underneath which is good, but the boards are unevenly spaced in several spots leaving gaps near each of the ends. My daughter and my niece (both 3) both had a foot/leg go through the boards multiple times. Luckily they shook it off and just left with a scratch, but a kid who was running across the bridge or just fell into it wrong could absolutely snap an ankle. All in all a good experience, just something to keep an eye on your littles with...