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Baby Hints & Tips

The Shine Shed: A play centre for all-abilities

When I think of play centres, I think loud, crowded and with my son who is very sensitive to loud noises, it means not being able to use more than half of the centre. You see he loves the idea of a play centre but forgets the stimulation, although exciting for most kids can become quite overwhelming for him.

Last October Lisa Fruhstuck and her team of allied health specialists opened The Shine Shed, a purpose built all-abilities play centre for children, teens and adults.

The shine shed - all abilities play centre

The Shine Shed is a safe haven for those with special needs to let loose and have fun. I couldn’t have been more impressed with what Lisa and her team have worked tirelessly to build. 

“I’m a speech pathologist and have always worked within disability. Many of our parents would express that they were unable to take their kids to some activities as they didn’t cater to special needs or their child’s behaviour issues made it unsafe for them,” Lisa explained, “I wanted to create a place for them to meet their sensory needs while in a safe and inclusive place where they could have fun.”

The centre is extremely clean, there’s loads to do without being overwhelming, the staff are friendly and seem to know all their visitors by name (which is so lovely), and the best part – everyone feels like there’s something for them to enjoy.

“We made sure we had equipment that could not just be used by small children but by young adults simply because there’s not much that caters past the childhood stages.”

“With adults there are some pieces of equipment that are weight limited but most do up to or over a 100kg.” 

There’s trampolines, a flying fox, a foam pit, swings (one purpose-built for wheelchair bound people) and even a quiet room.

 

The quiet room is great with people with Autism or challenging behavioural issues when they become overwhelmed and need a quiet space to themselves. It is fitted out with a swing chair, a comfy hammock and a beautiful light installation.

“We have hammocks, pod swings, and lycra swings because it helps regulate emotions,” Lisa explains, “particularly for Autistic people, the swinging can calm them down.”

The Shine Shed caters for birthday parties, nerf nights, social gatherings and school bookings.

“Many of our kids haven’t had a birthday party before because there isn’t something suitable for their needs, and some have never attended a party for the same reason so creating this space to celebrate is very special.”

I can’t speak highly enough of The Shine Shed, my little man absolutely had a ball and I recommend it to any parent whether their child has a disability or not. If your child has a disability you may want to read our story on what special needs parents hate hearing

The Shine Shed
Costs: $16 per person for 1 hr, $27 for 2 hrs
Trading hours:
Monday and Tuesday – Group Bookings only
Wednesday and Friday – 9am to 5pm
Saturday and Sunday – 9am to 4pm
Parking: Available
Contact: 02 4629 5555
Address: 5 Mount Erin Rd Campbelltown NSW 2560

About the Author:

Alex is your average caffeine addicted mum on a quest to share her experiences and learn from yours. Her world revolves around her baby girl, four-year-old son and hubby Rob. She lives with her family in Sydney's South West and when she's not writing, you can find her engrossed in the latest true crime docu-series or trying to get kids to at least try the broccoli.

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