IKEA's Småland wins Mumsnet Rated

While many think of IKEA as a great family day out, shopping can still be a stressful time, especially if you have restless and unhelpful children in tow.

Enter Småland, IKEA’s very own play area and crèche located in every IKEA store across the UK and beyond.

What makes IKEA’s Småland so special?

The Småland play area helps to make trips to IKEA fun for the entire family. With Småland, customers are offered an Ofsted-registered, free-of-charge play facility where at least 50% of staff hold a childcare qualification.

Småland not only makes it possible for parents to enjoy IKEA knowing that their children are having fun and being well looked after, but it also gives children around the world a real taste of Sweden.

IKEA knows how important it is to provide children with one-to-one care and, on your first visit, the Småland team will assess your child's individual needs. In some cases, during busy times, you may be asked to take a later booking time, but during check-in the team will also determine if your child requires the same level of care for future sessions.

Activities within the facility are designed to give children a wide variety of experience to enhance their learning and development. These include crafts and messy play, physical activity and games, interactive smart boards and special events.

Related: Find out how Mumsnet Rated works and see which other brands have been awarded the badge.

Here’s what Mumsnet users have to say

"Would absolutely recommend. The staff were lovely and very professional. My five-year-old DD couldn’t wait to go in at the start and thoroughly enjoyed it."

"The staff were very friendly and welcoming, explained everything clearly and I felt reassured by their signing in/out policy. I was really impressed with the level of care and interaction, particularly for a free service!"

"My four-year-old was very hesitant to enter on his own, but as soon as he saw what was in there he hardly gave me a second glance! I liked that I was able to enter the area with my son and get him settled and that each child had a locker for their coats. There was some great equipment for him to use."

"I was impressed that the staff referred to my son by name when I turned up to collect him and gave me a breakdown of how he had spent his time."

"I have a son with SEN and they were great with meeting his needs."

"It was easy to get set up and the beeper is an amazing idea to inform you you're needed especially as my phone has no signal in IKEA. DD came out telling me all about making a new friend and had drawn me a lovely picture. She was happy and settled. It felt extremely safe to leave her there."

"I was especially impressed with the safety precautions – the staff ensured that I was the only one who could collect my child at the end of the 45 minutes. My daughter loved playing there, despite not being a fan of new places."

"Easy process. Takes some of the stress out of shopping with having the childcare facilities there."

"When I asked my son what the best bit of his day was he said 'Småland'! He really loved the ball pit."

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Here's what IKEA has to say

“We are so delighted to have received a Mumsnet award for our Småland play areas. At IKEA, we believe that children are the most important people in the world, and our unique free play areas offer an opportunity for children to have fun and be well looked after by our qualified co-workers whilst parents and carers can enjoy their IKEA shopping experience.

Last year we welcomed 350,000 children into our Småland play areas across the UK, and we look forward to inviting many more to join us for new adventures through play. After all, Småland means ‘little land’, so our play areas truly are the perfect place for our smallest IKEA fans.”

What to try out Småland for yourself?

Visit the IKEA website for FAQs and more.

95 Mumsnet testers tried out Småland: 95% would recommend