in beauty parlors, doctors’ waiting rooms, restaurants, you name it, we couldn’t but notice all the restless little faces. It made us think…yes, kids can accompany you everywhere, they can be patient and quiet so you can meet an important deadline… but why should they have to? I can’t remember us -my siblings and I – having to accompany our mom to any boring places when we were kids. What I do remember is her dropping us off at Miriam’s. Miriam was French, she had come to our neighborhood only recently and was running a small play/learn group for pre-school kids at her own home. This is where my sister and I learned French while playing, cooking, drawing.... Very similar a concept to today’s childcare centers, playgroups, crèches or any other type of childcare available. But for one difference, Miriam would also take on kids on short notice when space was available. She did that for all the kids and parents she knew whether they were registered in a playgroup or not.

That was back in the early 80s when most had a 9-5 work schedule and required little flexibility. We expected that by now with all the different work models it would be mainstream. Turns out it isn’t. For all the childcare options available today, you barely find places to leave your kids on short notice to attend a last-minute work meeting or catch up with a friend that needs help. After speaking with young parents and friends with kids, we started brainstorming on how to bridge this gap between what is out there and what parents and kids actually need. We imagined what highest flexibility without any compromise on quality would look like. 

We imagined poplay!