Children Animal farms- extortion or what?

As the parent to a very active 19 month old , I have quickly been introduced into that costly  routine of  over priced nurseries, exorbitantt soft play centres and extortionate children's animal farms.The last one being my favourite. For the joys of seeing Nellie the donkey ( no elephants here I'm afraid) or Larry the 3 Legged Llizard from somewhere warmer than the Scily isles, you too can fork out a quick £35-£40 pounds for a family of 4 ( that's 2 adults and 2 children under 2( yes he may be big but he's still under two!"

Now here's the best bit.. most of these so called animal farms look like something out of Stalag 19 with multiple fences and barriers erected wherever you go. Mind you.. with all the 'elf and safety regulations floating about, getting anywhere near the animals is almost impossible. In fact you re better off booking a trip to one of the Greek Isles, if you want to let your children near a real "wild" goat or sheep.

And yet the children love it, the adults even more, as for a brief 3-4 hours, the joys of channelling ones child's energy is "outsourced" to a third party. A third party that has recognised very quickly that when it comes to the well being and intellectual stimulation of our little ones .. money is no object. Or is it?

At the heart of this childrens entertainment , is the question of whether the government , more importantly local councils , are doing enough to provide, if not free then more subsidised children's entertainment venues.
 In some countries, e.g the Netherlands, local communities subsidise such entertainment, to allow children from all economic walks of life to enjoy themselves, hence avoiding such activities from becoming the exclusive domain of the rich. For a 2-3 euro donation, children are able to enjoy feeding farm animals, playing in barnyards and doing whatever children love to do in such settings. In a well supervised, orderly environment , children, at very little cost to their parents, are able to expend some of that energy in a positive and fulfilling manner.

In the UK  giving youngsters access to such rewarding experiences, seems to be out of the reach of the average working class family.

My suggestion is as follows: Local councils must do more to subsidise children's entertainment., whether this is in the form of cheaper entrance fees to soft ball parks or children zoos, or community linked projects.Giving children access to safe environments where they are able to channel some of that limitless energy they have should be a right, not a luxury. In this respect we all have a duty of care to the next generation , even if this means giving children from poor backgrounds the opportunity of visiting an animal farm at no cost.