In January 2022 we were contacted by a Mum whose toddler was undergoing chemotherapy. The little lady was 2 years old and since being 17 months had been battling a cancerous brain tumour. At the time she was on her 7th round of chemotherapy but still needed to undergo the treatment for a further 7 months. She was therefore immunocompromised but at the time was at home and not in hospital. Her mother was looking for opportunities to build up her strength (she had already re-learned to walk several times) but was conscious of any risk of infection, not just Covid but from regular bugs and germs that most children can tolerate. We were keen to help and pleased to be able to offer her the opportunity to have the whole soft play to herself first thing in the morning before we opened to the public – the equipment would be squeaky clean and free from anything that she could inadvertently pick up. She has returned several times now and absolutely loves her Gym Jams sessions, reportedly she regularly asks for “soft play?!”. Seeing how much she gets out of her sessions has had a profound impact on us, so we decided to open up this opportunity to other toddlers going through similar illnesses. Being able to actively play is so important for children and we are proud to be supporting children’s learning journey through our little soft play.
