If you’re anything like me and the idea of actually looking after a child is putting you off having them, then the natty Japanese have the solution for you—the Tokyo Baby Café. Located in the Aoyama prefecture of Tokyo, the café is designed by Japanese designer, Nendo to allow parents and their offspring coexist without destroying one’s social life.
The ‘parent and child café’ is meant to be a place in which parents can enjoy having a coffee, catching up with friends etc., without having to worry about their children’s surroundings. The café houses a playroom and is stocked with books and toys to occupy the children. Separate rooms for nursing and changing provide privacy. Wide aisles take into consideration the use of strollers. in terms of safety, light switches and door handles are placed up high, out of children’s reach.
The nattiest idea of the fit-out, perhaps, are the oversized sofas that act as change tables and play areas and provide cranial injuries for the more active of infants. These need to be rolled out on the Upper East Side of New York City for the mothers whose children speak Spanish before they learn English. I’m not one to speak, my child will be able to mix a dirty martini before it can ever verbalise!
(via designboom)
Published on 13 April 2010 by Agony Uncle