Sharing our stories

Become part of the Playcentre story

All of our members create the Playcentre story and we would love you to join.

With over 420 Playcentres across New Zealand there is one in your neighbourhood.

Sharing our stories

Inā kei te mohio koe ko wai koe, I anga mai koe i hea, kei te mohio koe. Kei te anga atu ki hea
If you know who you are and where you are from, then you will know where you are going

“My original concern with Ruby was that she wasn’t making friends that well. She goes to daycare but never talked about people, so I really wanted to see how she was in action, with everybody else… Ruby has flourished here and every day she’s asking, ‘when am I going to Playcentre?”

“Everyone is very nice, everyone is very welcoming, it’s a warm welcome; that was the first impression for me. And the boys love it here. That’s another thing, the very first time we came, they just had such an amazing time here”.

“I’m very happy I came here, I chose the correct place. I felt my Grandson was not mixing with other kids, which he is now”

“What made you return to Playcentre for a second time?”

“Community. Needing friends and support for raising your children. And fun. I needed some friends, Lena needed some friends, we were new to Templeton, so we had to create a new village. We tried Kindy, but it just didn’t work for Lena, she’s a mummy’s girl; I was leaving her crying everyday. Now she gets up and she’s like ‘ I want to go to Playcentre… I love Playcentre… are my friends coming’?”

“We visited other Playcentres but this one just felt like us. It’s nice to come here and relax a little bit. I’m coming twice a week with both of them actually; I’m just here with Max today. But, I think I will see how my older boy goes at Kindy. I think we might just come to Playcentre. I think he is a Playcentre kid at heart, you know what I mean?”

“I just love being here, I love seeing what she [Zoe] can do and how quickly she’s learning new things. What I also love is seeing how the mums are with the children. How they interact with them. You know, back in my day, it was like “do it this way” and “do as you are told”. Now, there’s more negotiation, more listening. 

“It’s nice for Ezra and I to have a fun thing to do together each week, and it’s great him being able to interact with other kids and me to meet other mums. Up till now I’ve kind of had a community, but I think now he’s getting older as well it’s fun for us to have something set each week that we do together as a fun thing. It’s, like, more structured and lots of opportunity for learning; more than just the home environment.”

“When my daughter was 14 months we start Playcentre, ‘cause I have a friend here, our neighbour next to us; she came here first and she invited us. I’ve been coming to this Playcentre for 4 1/2 years. Playcentre has taught me a lot – I thought ‘I can’t survive’, but yeah, I’m here!”.

“Sometimes it’s just the tiredness, as an older mum; … Playcentre has forced me out of the house when you don’t want to socialise, and you’ve got other mums to talk to, which is good ‘cause otherwise you’d get stuck in a rut”.

“At the beginning, when he born, he had severe allergies. He has a peanut and cashew allergy, so here – I love it here, as it’s nut-free Playcentre! I’m a full-time mum at the moment, especially for all his allergies, I’m looking after him. I have to prepare all his food for him, cause he’s got egg, dairy, cashew, wheat, soy… so many.”

Those moments when your kids reach something. Like, Angus was very shy and reserved and would cling to me. This year he suddenly opened up and is making little friendships. Just seeing him in the sandpit with his wee mates, for like half an hour and not even come to me. It’s amazing being able to witness that.

Why Playcentre?

“My children have a whole village of like-minded parents who know their every likes and dislikes as if they were their own children, and I have beautiful friends who are like sisters and taught me how to be a mum! I am forever grateful for my village.”

- Laura

Really great quality education for your little ones. And a supportive network for your whānau that is so much greater than you can anticipate at the beginning.

- Jesse