What will children's spaces be like in this our new normal?

Omniocio, as a leading company in the management of children's spaces, wanted to know the opinion of the users of its children's spaces and the future they anticipate for these services.

To this end, it has launched a survey with key questions that during the month of July and August it has shared with families who have used the reopened children's spaces in shopping centers and large stores in different parts of the national territory.

From July 27 to August 23 we have collected the responses of the boys and girls who have used our services; of the mothers and fathers who have accompanied them and of the Omniocio professionals who have cared for them every day.

To begin with, we have to convey that the influx of the months of July and August 2020 in children's rooms has been lower compared to the same months last year, something normal and to be expected due to the pandemic we are experiencing.

• 100% of the boys and girls who have enjoyed the children's room and the programmed activities consider that the games room continues to be a key point within the shopping center or store.

“I prefer to play than to have to shop”

“I really like the room, I always came because I like to paint here or do crafts here more than at home.”

• The 98% of parents defends that it is a service that helps them make purchases and they value the rooms as a point of interaction with other peers in a safe space.

• The 58% of the staff shares with families the idea of children's space as a key service while the remaining 42% believe that it no longer plays an important role in shopping centers and stores.

“In my opinion, families prefer to spend their leisure time in other outdoor spaces, especially now that it is summer and we have spent so much time locked up at home” (these comments are the opinions of our colleagues and not a demonstrable case history)

• The children's 98% consider the children's space as a safe space

“We all wear masks and put gel on when we enter” 

“We each have our stool and we are separated at the table”

“We wash our hands with soap when entering and leaving.”

• Adults agree with their children and 98% affirms that children's rooms and their use are safe. They value the hygiene and safety measures carried out in the room.

• The 100% of the monitors believe that the rooms are safe spaces. They comment that both children and adults are very aware of the importance of the mask and gel. Furthermore, as those responsible for the space, they dedicate great attention to complying and checking that hygiene measures are met.

• We share the answers to the question: Are the masks and hydroalcoholic gel here to stay?

In the case of children, one 84% believes that they will be with us for a long time, some of them tell us that “I hope it will only be for a very short time because it makes me very hot and it overwhelms me a lot.”

The 75% of adults believe that they have come to stay for more than a year and the remaining 25% consider that they will be present for the next few months and then they will go to the background or only for sick people.

The 92 % of Omniocio monitors are clear that as professionals and public workers they will have to use a mask and gel for more than a year.

In addition to these questions we wanted to know:

What elements did you miss in the children's room these days?

Boys and girls generally talk to us about adding new toys, reopening the ball structure in those rooms where there were them and they had to be closed, etc...

Adults refer to the renewal of toys, the reopening of closed spaces and add the possibility of including more safety and hygiene systems. Several surveys also mention recovering the opening hours we had before March since they were longer.

What activities are considered most appropriate?

Many parents believe that the most appropriate activities currently are individual crafts. They like the fact that they share time with other children but that distance is maintained between them.

What would be improved?

The monitors in our rooms tell us that what they would add to the room would be:

Bathroom/sink in those that do not have it.

Screens on the counters

Playful material and easy-to-wash resources.

As for the activities, they are committed to individual workshops which allow maintaining physical distance between children. Each child must have their own material to avoid sharing at the moment. These materials can then be disinfected for the next group.

They are supporters of games that do not involve contact or sharing materials. “Games with music where materials are not necessary and each child can have their space in the room are the ones we are carrying out the most.

In conclusion, children's spaces continue to be a service of great value for families; but like the rest of leisure they have returned only 'half'.

The influx is far from approaching what they had before the pandemic. Those families who have used children's spaces again maintain their positive opinion and are satisfied with the safety and hygiene protocols implemented by the pandemic, an issue of fundamental importance these days.

Despite all these restrictions, boys and girls continue to ask to spend a little time in the children's room of the shopping center or other large stores and without a doubt this is the most important information for us. It gives us the courage to continue fighting and dedicating ourselves to what makes us feel fulfilled.