The reason we're so strict about the height requirement is because the room is designed for children who are in a certain range and it would not be safe for children who are too small or too tall to play in there. This limits the amount of children who are allowed to play in Smaland, disappoints those who wanted to play there, and is costly and time-consuming to clean up. Accidents do happen, of course, but if a child were to have an accident in the ball-pit, we have to close it. Also, if a child is wearing a pull-up or diaper, he or she might think that it is okay to have an accident. Our reasoning is that if you think they might have an accident, we have to believe that they might have an accident as well. If the coworker did manhandle a child, rest assured that that is not how we do things in Smaland and I am sure that appropriate action was taken.Īs far as the potty-training thing goes, if we know your child has been wearing a pull-up or diaper that day, we are not allowed to let them come play in Smaland. If a child needs help buttoning their pants or something, we have to make sure another coworker is watching us. We can't hug them, we can't have them sit in our laps, we don't touch them at all. I certainly can't speak for any other store, but in my store, none of the coworkers would ever lay a hand on the children. If the situation was reversed, how would you feel if we allowed in another parent without supervision? I think Anonymous would have some reservations about that as well. I have faced many parents who are frustrated and upset with this rule, but we have very strict guidlines that are meant to keep your children safe. (Not to say that we assume any parent is a threat- it's simply a precaution.) It is a possibility that those coworkers would not release the child because 1.) Anonymous did not sign/have the paperwork, or 2.) Her child was not in a position to leave (unclothed/soiled). The purpose of this is to ensure that no harm comes to the children.

This includes everyone from Housekeeping to Maintanance. The guard Anonymous mentioned is a securty officer of the store who escorts everyone who is not cleared to work in Smaland into the room. I also work in Smaland and I can say that everything we do- all the rules and regulations- are for the safety of your children. Those 3 female employees should be laid off for being unprofessional, rude & totally unprepared for working with kids or people. Bottom line -we spent over 1.5 hours with this, got my baby trembling with crying & fear, felt threatened, humiliated, my basic rights impaired. The workers got scared & released my baby right before police arrived. They refused, saying they're NOT going to release my child until a guard is coming! At that point I got really aggravated, as the situation turned into kidnapping: THEY WERE HOLDING MY CHILD AGAINST MY WILL! I could see my girl becoming very distressed on the other side of the fence, and the rudest worker actually HANDLING her arm brutally (AGAINST their rule), trying to get her in the bathroom. We were informed my baby neede to go potty -which she does very well by herself- but they discovered her with pull-ups -and that's not allowed! Also it's not allowed for me to go inside & help her- so I decided go get her out. Less than 15 min after I checked her in, they call us back.

Yesterday I put my 3 yrs old in Ikea Brooklyn Smaland.

Smalland ikea