Imaginative option meets economic reality

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This article was published 01/11/2024 (399 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Play time will soon end for a Kildonan Drive neighbourhood business focused on early years children.

Two years after opening, Rebecca Rands sees the same issue that led her to start the Play Pen: a lack of low-cost, unstructured play areas focused on children in their first years of life.

She aimed to offer such an experience. However, as debt mounts, the company’s operations are coming to an end. Rands has stamped Nov. 24 as the final day.

“I have so much respect for the structured programs,” Rands said. “But I also feel like the imaginative play is important for development, as well.”

Her daughter turned one year old in January 2022. The family was feeling isolated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“She wanted to play, but there just wasn’t very many options,” said Rands, 28.

The pair could go to public play structures, but those seem to be geared towards older youth, and there was a chance of pre-teens running around. Many children’s programs were paused because of the global pandemic; often, though, they don’t allow much time for kids to explore and get comfortable with each other, Rands said.

Winnipeg’s south end seems to have more choices — but Rands wanted to launch something in its northern area.

So in late 2022, she opened the Play Pen at 1042 Henderson Hwy. The indoor soft play gym has toys for climbing and rocking. There’s a ball pit to jump into.

The clientele has grown over the past two years and the small facility has settled into a rhythm — toddler time most mornings, open gym on Sundays, private bookings Saturdays.

But the debt grew as days passed, Rands relayed.

She points to a few reasons. First, the Play Pen’s operating costs hiked probably 20 per cent over a couple years, Rands estimated. Cleaning products, toilet paper, accounting software, wages — all are more expensive.

However, Rands didn’t want to raise the price of toddler time and open gym ($9.99 and a free parent).

“It was really important to me, as a mom, to create something that was accessible for the average family,” Rands said. “As a mom on (maternity) leave … how much would I be able to spend to go out once a week?”

She also worried raising prices would detract customers.

It didn’t help summertime was typically slow for the Play Pen, making winter a catch-up period, Rands stated. If she were to restart, she’d save more cash flow when she first opened and she’d invest more in marketing.

Ukrainian migrants met at the Play Pen; infants socialized. Parents who weren’t working because they couldn’t secure a daycare spot trekked to the site, Rands said. A maximum of 20 parents and 20 children might be inside.

“I think it’s very important to try to offer more for the younger children,” Rands emphasized. “I would love to see other child care-centred businesses focus on providing a safe and inviting experience for children under four.”

There seems to be a “particular need” for low- to no-cost options for families, noted Leslie Roos, a University of Manitoba psychology professor who specializes in family mental health.

Places like the Play Pen can be valuable for toddlers in Manitoba’s colder months, Roos wrote in a statement.

“I’m very sad to see it go,” Tianna Denning said of the Play Pen’s impending closure. “It’s a great thing to have in the community.”

Denning, who considers Rands her best friend, have brought her two sons to the Play Pen since its 2022 inception. Her youngest child was roughly a year old when he first entered; he was soon making friends and getting out of his comfort zone, she said.

“I just love that (Rands) had all the safety precautions in place,” added Tianna’s mother Roxi Denning. “You could let them run and they would be safe.

“I just thought it was very good for them to be able to think on their own and find ways to play with all the different items that she had available.”

Ryan Kochie said he regrets not taking his children, who are a bit older than the Play Pen’s typical demographic.

“I feel this gym was a bit unique,” he wrote in a Facebook message. “It exclusively targeted the early years in such a big space.”

Nearby, there are family meet-up groups and places like Scout: Coffee + Community, a play café, Kochie noted.

Entrepreneurs generally feel it’s tougher to operate now than during the height of the pandemic, according to Brianna Solberg, Canadian Federation of Independent Business director of legislative affairs for the Prairies and northern Canada.

“Just because of all the rising costs — it adds a lot of unpredictability,” Solberg said, adding it’s hard to gauge how much customers will spend.

Even so, Manitoba businesses are estimating they’ll increase their prices by 2.5 per cent over the next year.

It’s a “relatively moderate” forecast compared to past CFIB survey findings. Inflation is cooling, but prices are well above pre-pandemic norms, Solberg noted.

Rands said she’ll consider another job working with children after the Play Pen winds down.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com