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It's getting cold and my nj playgrounds site is evolving to include some favorite indoor spots. Do you have any recommendations, you guys were very helpful for my outdoor playground listing. I've been doing this without advertising since playgrounds are free, but now I'm thinking of expanding this to include non-free sites as well and may get into advertisements.. So far I came up with this listing which isn't much, so I could use your help. I copied pasted it.. but it works better if you click on the link below..
Free Places/Ideas
Let’s face it, we’d love to take our kids to great playspaces everyday, but that can get expensive, especially in NJ. I’ve found that there are great places to go (or join) without having to spend any money.
LIbraries- Check them out, some have great areas for kids to do puzzles and computer games geared toward ages 3-6. Ours in Springfield has a great storytime. They also have resources to publications geared for local family activities (Kids guide, ____county family guide, flyers, etc.). I’ve heard very positive reviews for the library in Chatham as well.
Malls- I recently visited a very family-friendly mall, Woodbridge Center a (Woodbridge, Middlesex County) and will be posting details soon. Other malls that have indoor play areas include: Garden State Plaza (by the Old Navy) (Paramus in Bergen County) Livingston Mall (by Sears) (Livingston in Essex County)
Barnes & Nobles- Very kid-friendly. Barnes and Noble (Paramus, NJ) (thanks ira from city-data) and in Clark, NJ both have train tables for kids to play with. Definitely recommended! Menlo Park, Edison, NJ also has a train table (thanks Bob K. from city-data). Rumor has it that Riverside Square Mall does not have it anymore.
Restaurants/Cafes- Well, not necessarily free, but some are kid-friendly, I’ll need your help to find some of these. A very popular one I had visited had closed recently in South Orange. Yeah I know, completely useless bullet point. Help a momma out, share your favorite cafe to hang out with the kids, I’m beginning to think they don’t exist in NJ.
McDonalds Playlands- McDonalds has made strides to have more nutritious choices for kids, and they also have some fun equipment. Check out their site for which ones have playlands.
Gym- ok really not free, but once you join, many of these places have babysitting and the kids can enjoy a change of pace. For example, I go to Connection in Summit (sorta like a YMCA). I volunteer and am a member at the gym, the babysitting there is friendly and will even hang out there for a little bit, using their playground outside their area.
Kid Playspaces (not free)- Either recommended or personally visited…
Imagine That (Florham Park, Essex County)
FunPlex, Wiggles and Giggles (East Hanover, Essex County)
FunPlex (Mt. Laurel, Burlington County)
Kid Junction (Branchburg, NJ)
Time In (Randolph, NJ)
Children’s Museum of NJ (Paramus, NJ) - thanks Bev for the recommendation
Hi, we moved to plainsboro, nj recently and have a 20 month old kid. He wants to go out and play all the time, but its very cold. So was wondering if you can help me with any indoor kids play areas(free or small fee) in/near plainsboro. We live in plainsboro road, nj.
updated my link, now featuring a map to the playspaces you and others have recommended. let me know if I missed any! I didn't put in gymboree, since I haven't found out the open play information for each location yet. I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for the feedback city-data, it's been about a year since I started, and with our new addition this past March, I'm going to be doing playgrounds (indoor and outdoor) for a while.
Burger King in Garwood has a nice play structure. North Ave. Also in Garwood, not far from BK (going towards Cranford) is a small bowling alley that has great modern lanes with bumpers that are programmed to come up for when kids are bowling--they also have food.
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