If you’re like us, you probably spend most of your day trying to entertain and appease your kid(s). Those little ones, God love them, just have more energy than seems humanly possible, and they tend to like to let that energy out.
But, you may also be like us in that we don’t really have a ton of space at home (or patience) for them to let it all out in a safe, nondestructive manner.
That’s where these places come in.
Concord has all kinds of things that are fun for a whole family, and lots of them can be done without having to brave the elements (once you get there, of course). Here’s a little sampling of some of our picks:
Flipz Gymnastics
Flipz Gymnastics (14 Chenell Drive) is a gymnastics and ninja gym for kids under 18, and the place is wildly popular among the aspiring Olympic medalists and American Ninja Warriors in the city.
Flipz is a place where you can be fun or serious, whichever you prefer (guess which one we’d pick?). It is a legit gymnastics training gym, so if your youngster wants to work on vault, bars, beam or floor routines, the gym has everything you need.
If your kid is literally climbing up the walls all day, he or she might enjoy the USA Ninja Challenge course, which is a really intense and fun obstacle course based on the one from the show American Ninja Warrior.
To learn more about specific programs and offerings, go to flipzgymnastics.com or call 224-3223.
Steeplegate Mall
When you think of a mall, you may instinctively think of shopping, which may not be your idea of a fun winter day with the family.
However, the Steeplegate Mall is not like most. At Concord’s mall, you can do two things you really can’t do at any other mall: ride electric animals around the corridors and put on a sumo suit and crush your friend.
The latter part is possible thanks to Village Idiotz Party Rentals Entertainment Center – the bouncy house place, to the kids – where kids can jump through all kinds of inflatable structures, play laser tag and generally tire themselves out (which is really the goal, isn’t it?). You can even order pizza here.
The former part, about riding animals, is because you can, well, rent an electric animal to ride around. One of the kisoks near the middle of the mall has a selection of ride-ons that look like farm animals, and you can take them anywhere in the mall except inside stores.
Head over to the mall the next chance you get and check these things out.
YMCA
Another place where the kiddos can let out some pent-up energy is the Concord Family YMCA.
Established in 1852, the Y has been providing physical fun for the masses for more than a century, so it’s safe to say they probably know what they’re doing.
If your child is looking to work out for a sport, this is a good place for that. If they want to try some rock wall climbing, that can be arranged, too. If they need swimming lessons, sign them up.
There is also plenty of unstructured fun to be had at the Y, courtesy of the small gym. The small gym is open for a few time blocks a day and it’s a free-for-all: run around, play ball, climb on some cushioned structures, play tag – do whatever, just don’t climb the rock wall unless a YMCA staffer is in there making sure nobody gets hurt.
Check out concordymca.org or call 228-9622 for more info.
