Kellyville – ParentRooms

Bernie Mullane Sports Complex (Poor Form) – Kellyville NSW

********UPDATE*********

This week we got in touch with the people who run Bernie Mullane Sports Complex, to get their feedback on the below review – ie where is the ‘parents room’?

The response was both surprising and disappointing. The Admin Coord replied to our email and was quite short and not that understanding in her response.

We have been advised there is only a change table available in the female toilets. There is not a stand alone parents room.

It was added to ‘Please note this is a sports centre and gym, not a purpose built children’s facility’. How charming. For a facility that has a sign posted opposite reception saying ‘PARENTS ROOM’ with an arrow pointing to where it’s meant to be, you’d reasonably expect to find one. We were also advised that if parents do choose to bring small children to the centre, they can use the disabled bathroom (no change table in there).

We replied to this response saying we understand it’s not a purpose built children’s centre, but since there is a sign saying there is a ‘PARENTS ROOM’ people do expect to find one.

A few hours later a reply came through – ‘the sign has now been removed’.

For a sports centre and gym, with a big undercover childrens playground attached to it, plus a creche inside the centre, it’s perfectly reasonable to expect a parent room would be found…..especially since there was a sign saying so.

The response from the centre is disappointing. In an area of Sydney where the number of young families moving into the area grows every single day, we’d expect a whole lot better from a business that’s meant to provide services to the community.

Poor form.

Overall: Basic and pretty poor. Change table only in the female toilets.

Good Points: Wide door way. No steps. Clean change table. Decent size nappy bin.

Bad Points: The signs say there is a parents room, but there isn’t (unless it’s hiding somewhere). No sign on the toilet door to let you know there is a baby change table inside.

Home » Bernie Mullane Sports Complex (Poor Form) - Kellyville NSW » Bernie Mullane Complex

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This sporting complex has lots of pluses. The playground outside is now covered by shade sails, so you can hang out there with the kids pretty much all day long. The sports building is all on one level, so there are no steps to worry about.

As far as parent rooms go, it’s very disappointing. There’s a sign inside the centre, just opposite the reception desk, saying there’s a parent room. Well we looked and searched and found……..nothing. Taking a punt, based on experience, we decided to go inside the female toilets and see if there was a baby change area of some sort. Surprise, surprise, we found a wall mounted fold out baby change table plus nappy disposal bin.

So what happened to the parents room? Is there one in the Bernie Mullane Sports Complex at all? Or is it really just the change table in the female toilets? What are the Dads meant to do? Why isn’t there a sign on the front of the female toilets indicating the change table is in there?

If you’ve been to this place and have found the missing parents room, please let us know where it is. We’d really love to know.

Reviewed by B

Overall: Tired and worn out, like many of us parents. Easy to find. Nappy change, feed and rest.

Good Points: Easy to find. No stairs. Two private feeding cubicles. Change table, nappy bin and armchair in each feeding cubicle. Extra armchairs and table in main area of the room. Microwave, two sinks. Little kids loo.

Bad Points: Armchairs are marked, worn and torn. No additional powerpoints. No papertowel. Needs a refurb, or at least a good detailing.

Follow the signs hanging from the ceiling

Keep following the signs…nearly there…

Haven’t been out to Kellyville in a long time. Castle Hill is about as far as we get most weeks, but on this occasion we thought we’d extend our circle a little further and check out what Kellyville shops have to offer. First plus is the car park. It now has shade cover over most of the car spaces. Very good to see!

Found it!

Push the door to enter

The shopping centre is all on one level which is very handy for those of us with prams. No stairs to navigate. Just wide walkways and ramps. To find the Parent Room, head inside the shopping centre and look for the signs hanging from the ceiling pointing you to the toilets and Parent Room. If you can’t see the sign, just head left once inside. Past the nail salon is the hallway where the toilets and Parent Room are located. Loads of signage along the way to help you find it.

The door to the Parent Room isn’t one of my favourites. The regular old style swing door where you need one hand to keep the door open and the other to push the pram inside. But that’s pretty common. We’ve been spoilt by refurbished/newer parent rooms with push button sliding doors…….they make life so much easier.

Little rest area

Inside the room to your right is a little rest area, complete with a couple of armchairs and a side table for your nappy bag. The armchairs are in need of some TLC. Tired, marked, and torn, they look as though they haven’t been cleaned in a long time. I would have like to have sat down for a minute but they really did look a bit grubby. The best part is the cute artwork by local children above the chairs. A big painting of kids handprints. Very cute.

Food prep and hand washing area

Clean and working microwave

Against the far wall is the food prep and hand washing area. There’s a clean and working microwave above the food prep sink. And another low height sink to the right of the microwave. This lower one seems to be for hand washing after using the toilet or changing nappies as it has a hand dryer next to it. However the soap dispenser is at the other end of the wall at the far end of the food prep bench. Not so handy over there.

But the area is clean and tidy.

One of the two feeding cubicles

Change table in each cubicle

On the left and right hand sides of the Parent Room are two private feeding cubicles. Each has a change table and nappy bin, plus an armchair so you can be comfortable while feeding your little one. Again the armchairs are in dire need of repair, or at least a detailed clean. Probably be better to chuck them out and get brand new ones! The change tables are clean and in good condition so that’s a plus.

Armchairs in desperate need of repair – or tossing out

Enough room for the pram

There’s one little toilet in here for little ones to use. The space is quite narrow, so it might be a tight squeeze if mum or dad need to be in there too for a helping hand. It’d probably be easier to keep the toilet door open so you have a little bit more room.

Loo for the little ones

For a little shopping centre Parent Room, this isn’t too bad. It does need some TLC by way of new armchairs, paper towels, extra powerpoints and maybe some wall mounted activity centres. But for a quick nappy change, loo visit, rest and feed, it does the job.