You have to go through the entrance turnstile, then put your shoes in small storage spaces, before finding yourself in front of a multitude of slides, ball pits and structures of all kinds to climb up, slide down, climb up again: all padded and safe as if a boxing match were taking place there. On the ceiling, points of light tirelessly change colour, from pink to blue, from blue to green and then back to pink. Speakers play ambient music (if necessary) in techno or pop style. The child loves it. The father wonders how he could have found himself in such a trap on a Saturday morning, at 10am, in his socks.
At Westgate, a large shopping centre in the heart of Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, the “kids club”, located just below the cinema, has opted for a “jungle” decoration: green everywhere, even on the floor and on the small sofas under a plastic cover, topped with artificial palm leaves, intended to accommodate parents.
Derrick (who declined to give his name), 37, leans against one of them, scrolling on his phone as his two daughters, ages 6 and 8, run, climb, jump, slide and then do it again. “It’s a good option for kids, getting them out of the house, and it’s really designed so they don’t get hurt.”He says hello, admitting that the day promises to be long: he won’t be leaving before 5:00 p.m. “They’ll want to go to lunch and come back later. You’re there, you sit down, you’re a bit bored. Your mother? She can’t sit like that all day.. It doesn’t bother me. »
Expatriates and wealthy classes
As the morning begins, the noise level, as well as the number of children, remains bearable. From midday onwards, birthday parties begin, usually themed, with their energetic entertainers, their colourful cakes and their bags of small gifts offered to each guest.
Nairobi, like most capitals in developing countries, is highly unequal. Shopping malls are seen as real magnets for the middle class, places of socialisation where people come on weekends to shop but also to have an ice cream, stroll past the shop windows or have lunch at the food courtsBut at an entrance fee of 1,000 shillings (about 7 euros) or more per child, and sometimes per parent, the kids’ club is frequented mainly by expatriates and the wealthy classes.
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