Our Inspiration: Korean Kids Cafes
Several months ago my family and I traveled to South Korea to introduce our children to extended family and to a country that we love and are very connected to. Excluding the adjustment to the major time difference (14 hours), our family had a really lovely time in South Korea all together. Mind you, at the time I had a very-recently-potty-trained 2-year-old (I’ll refer to him as G) and a still-nursing 18-month-old (I’ll refer to him as A). I wouldn’t recommend traveling internationally with children that young, but there were several accommodations and businesses I noticed and really appreciated as we were traveling with such young children. The biggest and most helpful things that come to mind are child-friendly restrooms, really nice baby feeding areas, and what they call “Kids Cafes”.
I was nervous at first because G had really just caught on to using the toilet probably about four weeks before our trip. I was worried that the major time difference plus change in routine and environment would totally throw him off and inhibit this new skill. But he did really well and we had no accidents! It was honestly a miracle. One thing that was super convenient for me as a parent was that a lot of the time I knew I didn’t need to carry around G’s little toilet seat because I could rely on most places we were visiting to have either a built-in child’s seat or a whole complete child size toilet/urinal and sink. It was so extremely convenient and G loved it. He would often tell me “It’s just my size!” It wasn’t just the kids cafes that had these thoughtful child-friendly toilets, we found them in a lot of public restrooms in parks, at museums, and even in shopping malls.
My other favorite thoughtful touch we found in many places were “baby feeding areas”. They often had a comfortable, private place to sit and either nurse or feed your baby a bottle. I remember one place in a mall even had individual stall-type rooms with a curtain you could draw closed and with soft lighting. This made feeding baby A very pleasant. They often would also have a counter and sink. Some had a microwave. I have never seen a mother’s room in the United States that had so many thought-out details and conveniences.
Then we discovered the Kids Cafes. Very much the inspiration for our own business, the Kids Cafes in South Korea were comfortable and fun for both children and adults. Not only were there fun, engaging structures and toys for the children, but there were delicious drinks and food for purchase. Some cafes even served more meal-like dishes like spaghetti or rice dishes. Especially while we were traveling, these cafes were a godsend. Our whole family could take a break. Our kids could have a chance to play and run around freely while my husband and I could sit, chill, and figure out our plans for the rest of the day. Often, some version of these cafes were part of the malls so my husband and I would take turns shopping while the other stayed with the kids. This was like something we had never experienced before. Although there is a wonderful time and place for those big family entertainment centers, this was way more relaxing and comfortable for me as a parent. I could practically see the whole playspace from my seat in the cafe area so I didn’t have to worry about following my kids around. Also the exit/entrance was well controlled so that kids couldn’t just run off.
Now the icing on top was that many of the kids cafes also had access either within the cafe itself or within the same building to the two items I mentioned above: child-friendly restrooms and comfortable and clean baby feeding areas. These two seemingly small things made such a big difference for my experience. They felt thoughtful, intentional, and kind. Like the whole experience was designed by someone who actually had littles and could empathize with me as a parent.
Since returning from Korea, I have shared these things with many friends and family and that’s when the wheels started turning. I thought of how amazing it would be to have a place like this for our family and the families in our area. I was nervous at first, but the more I’ve thought it through, written down my ideas, started making plans, and put the wheels in motion, the more excited and optimistic I’ve become. I hope as I build out our very own Kids Cafe that we can create a comfortable, thoughtfully-created space for families to come play, relax, and get a change of scenery. I welcome you to follow along on our journey (and also give feedback and ideas!) as we build Sunny Village Cafe from the ground up.
