The Trafford Centre, Manchester

We have never used the crèche element of the Trafford Centre Crèche and Play Area but we did allow our little boy to play in the soft play area. There was plenty to do for younger toddlers as well as older children. There is a designated area for tots including lots of musical toys and big trucks to play with as well as a basic climbing frame which seemed to be really well constructed and cushioned in all the right places. I also felt it was great for developing walking/climbing/crawling skills and found my son was doing a lot of things on his own which was a nice change. To explore the bigger areas you have to be rough and ready (as with all soft play areas) and my son just used the ball pool area as larger kids were knocking the smaller ones about. A great facility and a nice break away from shopping. We used it when we stayed over night at the Premier Inn - we had a mini Trafford Centre holiday. With all the shops, restaurants and Legoland Discover (not to mention the cinema and mini golf area) there's plenty to do and it makes a fab weekend away.

The trafford centre got good for kids! It really did. There is just so much to do there now for children you could easily spend the weekend there. There is a fantastic crèche and soft play area which has a supberb section for younger children with loads of diggers and musical toy instruments. This is also nearby the Odeon cinema and the fantastic Paradise Island Adventure Golf. The Golfing activity is very child friendly, they have golf clubs for adults but they also have smaller plastic ones for children so they can join in to. It's easy to walk round and it's definitely fun for everyone. Of course there are tons of restaurants in the Trafford Centre. We found Pesto particularly child friendly, it offers smaller dishes of italian food to try - a bit like tapas style portions. However, children's dishes were just the same as one adult small dish. Meaning that they could pretty much have what they wanted. Highchairs were available and the tables were nicely spaced. Of course Legoland Discovery Centre is now a part of the Barton Square section of the Trafford Centre, which is a good afternoon's activity for children. And all this without shopping! Toilets are spread throughout and baby changing facilities are excellent.

The Trafford Centre in Manchester is obviously a great place for adults who like to shop but it can also be a good place to take children. They have the Barney Bear Club which is specifically for children and arranges activities and games for children to do whilst visiting the centre. They can also meet Barney Bear themselves every afternoon in the shopping centre. There is also a crèche and play area where children can go whilst adults are shopping and be entertained. There are plenty of baby changing facilities also and lots of child friendly eating areas with facilities to warm up food and bottles.

The Trafford Centre Shopping Centre in Manchester is a surprisingly good place to take children. Not only are there they shops for older children but there are also plenty of things for younger children to do. There is a play area which is suitable for 1-10 year olds, children are allowed in here under parental supervision and has a ball pit, slides and a little tykes area. There is also a crèche where you can leave children age 2-7 and they will be looked after by fully qualified staff. A recent, but very popular, addition to the Trafford Centre is the Legoland Discovery Centre where children (and adults) can experience a mini-legoland in the shopping centre.

I often visit the Trafford Centre and end up spending hours there. With the very large FREE car park (dont be suprised if you cant find your car!!) and the vast array of restaurants available in the Food Hall and The Orient, which caters for everyones tastes, you will have a great day or night out here. Apart from the shops and restaurants, is the Laser Quest (which the kids love and is great for childrens parties), there is a large cinema and amusement games area. Often there is some live entertainments, like bands, and even Gok Wan from TV has done a programme there, X Factor contenstants, and Peter Andre have all performed there, which obviously gets very busy but adds to the great atmosphere. The Chil Factore snow place is nearby too. Expect to spend alot, eat alot and walk alot! Little push cars are available to hire for toddlers and you need to keep a close eye on small children as this place gets very busy (especially at weekends and holidays). Easy to find just off the motorway and open till late every night.

We went for our tea one weekend and to try out the crazy golf before watching a film at the cinema. The golf was great, we really enjoyed it, especially me as i won! Its set up just in front of the cinema so you have to go up the escalators as if you were going to the cinema and its next to lazer quest. Its called paradise island and is set as if in the tropics. There are two 18 hole courses to choose from and sometimes they do 2for1 and other family offers, just check the website to see whats on. Next we moved on the the cinema to watch the latest Princess and the Frog fim, which my daughter loved. Before going in we all chose pickNmix and had so Ben and Jerry's icecream for the ice-cream shop. The screen we were in was clean and had great seating. We all enjoyed the film and will look forward to the next trip there.

Out for a day of shopping and then we went to the kids play area and creche. Its a good price for them to play in the climbing frame soft area. It has ball pools and four heights to the frame. There is also a toddler area with small toys and ride-ons. Parents can play in the area with their children and there are soft bench areas all around the play zone for parents to sit and watch. Th kids wear a belt with a number that identifies them so they cannot leave without being checked out by the person they came in with. There is also a creche where you can leave your kids while you shop where they do painting etc. Our kids loved the play area, and wouldn't leave.