If you have toddlers or young kids, you may well have heard of PlayDate PDX. A couple of doctors started PlayDate PDX and actively market this play place for kids as being a healthy alternative to other indoor play areas in town. They point out that their menu is not like the other play places that have greasy and gluttonous menu options. They did quite a good job at marketing themselves. They even offer coffee, beer and wine for the parents as they are watching their kids from outside the play area.

Natalie and I have toddlers who love to go to PlayDate PDX. Unfortunately, we are now very concerned about the safety of this establishment. In recent months, PlayDate PDX and their insurer have been informed of at least three accidents that resulted in mothers of children getting injured on the slide. PlayDate PDX has done nothing to fix the slide.

Another mother of twins who was recently at PlayDate PDX witnessed at least four different children crying when they became airborne on the slide and bumped against the slide on the way down. Each of these four children had to be carried out by their mothers after crying. These four incidents happened within one hour.

At left is a picture of the warning that PlayDatePDX posted.

The sign is ridiculous. The employees and owners of PlayDatePDX know that the slide is way too steep and that toddlers and adults cannot defeat gravity. These slides are even more dangerous for adults, as they do not possess the resiliency that small children do and one good slam to the tailbone, for example, can be devastating. We are currently investigating several claims against PlayDatePDX. If you were injured by one of their slides, please contact us.

As an aside, it should be noted that almost every other place that we take our toddlers to has someone stationed at the door to make sure that toddlers cannot get outside without being with their parents. At PlayDate PDX, there is nobody by the door. A small child could walk out, or be absconded with. You might say, “Well, at a place like that, shouldn’t you keep an eye on your child?” Remember, the place is designed for the parents to sit outside of the play area and the play area is designed so the children will quite often not be visible to the parents.

Here’s a link to a Youtube video containing yet another person complaining about the slide, along with a link to a KATU news story investigating the safety of the slides at PlayDate PDX.

Kafoury & McDougal filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than a dozen women and children who were hurt at the bottom of the PlayDate PDX slide, click here to see the recent news coverage