On A Cold Wintery Day, This Mom Says IKEA Is The Perfect Place To Bring Kids

Where I live right now, it’s -11 degrees outside — AKA we’re stuck inside! For parents with young children, feeling cooped up after days on end can make anyone go stir-crazy. The kids are wild. You’re burnt out, and everything is terrible. Once you’ve hit up library story time, the mall, and every indoor play area in the tristate area, the kids are bored, and you’re broke.

One mom has a great hack for parents looking to help their kids get their wiggles out for free!

Enter: Ikea!

“One of my favorite activities to do on a super cold or rainy day as a stay-at-home mom is go to IKEA,” Lisa says.

Now before you question her sanity, she gives quite a compelling case for why Ikea, the Swedish furniture store, is a perfect place for kids.

“I know that sounds super random, but I feel like not many people know all of the amazing perks that they offer and all for free. Like it’s the same thing as taking her to the library or mall playground and I don’t have to go to one of those super expensive indoor kids’ play areas, which at this point is $25 just for me and my two-year-old. I can’t afford that.”

First, she explains that, unlike places geared towards children, Ikea is calm!

“It’s seriously about as peaceful as a day with my little one can be. I feel like we get so much quality time together too, but I also get to just walk around, get design ideas, look at things … I just kind of stroll behind her,” she says.

Lisa grabs herself a tea or coffee, courtesy of Ikea, as she and her toddler stroll around the store. She also mentioned that bathroom access is always easy and if things get dire, Ikea has super cheap snacks.

Then, probably the most shocking and convincing reason why Ikea is just the best: free childcare.

“I’ve never used that, but it looks amazing. And I feel like no one knows about this. I don’t know why Ikea is gatekeeping their own benefits, but okay, Ikea pop off,” she jokes.

And it’s true! Ikea offers a childcare facility called Småland, described as a special play area for the world’s most precious children. Småland is a free play area for the convenience of customers who come to IKEA with their children. They will give you up to an hour of free childcare. There are some requirements, so read the fine print!

The OP also mentioned that Ikea has some great meal deals if you and your kids want to make a day of it.

“We also happened to be in on a Tuesday, which is ‘half-price meals’ days. And then on Wednesday, if you buy one adult entree, which if you’ve never eaten there, their food is wonderful and they have so many choices. And then it’s already very cheap to begin with. Like I think the entrees are generally between $6 and $10. So on Wednesdays, you buy one adult entree and you get free kids meals,” she shared.

“I only have one child, but you can literally go and get one adult meal for $6 and feed all of your children for free, which is crazy because the kid’s meals are nearly the size of the adult entrees.”

Lastly, and most importantly, Lisa explains that Ikea makes her feel welcome with her kid. What a novel concept!

“Everyone is so sweet and welcoming with the kids. I never feel like she’s really being a bother. Of course, I try my best to have her be very polite, not touching glass, etc. But I’ve seen kids just wild out in there and everyone’s still really welcoming. So yeah, if you need a rainy-day idea!”

If you have an Ikea near you, definitely add this to the winter bucket list!

This article was originally published on scarymommy.com.