Madison Smith moved back to San Juan County after nine years away and found little for young children to do. So she opened Piper’s Play Cafe in Aztec, a sensory-inclusive indoor toddler play cafe designed for kids and the parents who need a break.
The cafe offers slides, dramatic play areas, a pretend kitchen and a market corner, all built around free-range exploration for toddlers. Smith also stocks free snacks, drinks and coffee for parents, runs a free little library outside and keeps a donation bin filled with women’s and children’s clothing. For Smith, the point is as much about the moms as the kids: many in the area are newcomers without a nearby support network, and Piper’s Play Cafe gives them somewhere to land.
This story is sponsored by Sunray Park & Casino and The Big Idea Makerspace at San Juan College.
Transcript
So moving back to Farmington after nine years, I have a 3-year-old and we came back and there’s not a lot for kiddos to do in the area. So one, the need for activities for children to participate in, and two, the amount of mamas that are implants here and just don’t have a large village around them and a support system. I was really motivated to provide that to our community and build that so we can build a stronger community for our kiddos and our mamas who need support.
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My name’s Madison Smith and I’m the owner of Piper’s Play Cafe. We are a sensory inclusive indoor toddler play cafe. We offer gross kinetic play for kiddos on the slide structure and dramatic play opportunities for kiddos to pretend to play in the kitchen or our market area, which helps kiddos develop social and emotional skills.
It’s given me the perspective to see like all of the kids in San Juan County who do need an extra hand, and I think it makes it super fun to be able to get to help the kids play, but also get to see the moms kind of relax and get to meet their friends too, because it gives them an opportunity to meet new people and have a new conversation with somebody too.
I hope to impact the community by bringing a safe place for mamas to bring their kiddos where they can sit back and take a moment and a breath. ’cause sometimes it’s really difficult when you’re a mom and you don’t have a large support system around you, but also give the kiddos an opportunity to free plate and explore and a safe environment if anybody’s interested in donations. We also offer all of our clients who come in the door, free snacks and free drinks and coffee. And we also have our free little library outside, so you can donate books to our library. And then we have our donation bin outside as well. That is free for mamas or anybody walking by to go through which we have women’s clothes and kiddos clothes in there, so donations can go through our website. My contact information is in there as well.
Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Network. To learn more, visit pipersplaycafe.org. And for more stories like this, visit LNN.news.
