Under Fives
Strathbungo is a great place to raise a young family. It’s possible to go to an organised toddler group or activity, within walking distance, pretty much every day of the week but if you fancy organising yourself there are also tons of great child-friendly museums, cafes and of course parks in the area. Here are a few of our family’s favourites:
Regular groups
Mondays
Event: Bounce And Rhyme
Where: Langside Library
Time: 10:30am-11:15am
Cost: Free
What: Singing nursery rhymes and action songs with your wee ones. Great for language development and often lead by a speech and language therapist.
Event: Toddlers Arts And Crafts Group
Where: Pollokshields Church of Scotland on the corner of Albert Drive and Shields Rd
Time: 10.30am-12pm
Cost: £2 per child
What: Parent-run arts and crafts playgroup with plenty of space to get creative and other parents to help with the tidying up!
Tuesdays
Event: Play Break
Where: Queens Park Baptist Church (next to the park on Balvicar St)
Time: 10am-11:15am
Cost: £1.50 per family
What: Lovely, welcoming playgroup. Just turn up with your under 5s. There are two separate play rooms, one for babies and one for toddlers. Carers are encouraged to leave their children in the capable hands of the Aunties and can enjoy a cuppa and a natter with other carers in the lounge.
Event: Bookbug
Where: Poppins Kindergarten, 172 Queens Drive, Queens Park
Time: 1.30pm-2.30pm
Cost: FREE
What: Bookbug sessions are free, fun and friendly events for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their families to enjoy together. They include songs, stories and rhymes and aim to build up confidence and social skills, giving speech and language development a real boost.
Wednesdays
Event: Bounce And Rhyme
Where: Govanhill Library, Calder St
Time: 1:30pm-2:15pm
Cost: Free
What: Singing nursery rhymes and action songs with your wee ones. Great for language development and often lead by a speech and language therapist.
Event: Wee Wednesdays (First Wednesday of the Month only)
Where: Burrell Collection, Pollok Park
Time: 2pm-4pm
Cost: Free
What: Monthly learning session aimed at pre-schoolers based on the Burrell’s collection. There’s dressing up, stories songs and art activities based on a different theme each week. There’s plenty of time afterwards to follow up the session by exploring the museum itself.
Thursdays
Event: Play break
Where: Queens Park Baptist Church (next to the park on Balvicar St)
Time: 10am-11:15am
Cost: £1.50 per family
What: Lovely, welcoming playgroup. Just turn up with your under 5s. There are two separate play rooms, one for babies and one for toddlers. Carers are encouraged to leave their children in the capable hands of the Aunties and can enjoy a cuppa and a natter with other carers in the lounge. A God-send on difficult days.
Event: Book Bug
Where: Goals Soccer Centre
Time: 10-11am
Cost: Free
What: Bookbug sessions are free, fun and friendly events for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their families to enjoy together. They include songs, stories and rhymes and aim to build up confidence and social skills, giving speech and language development a real boost.
Event: Book Bug
Where: Melville St Early Years Centre
Time: 1-2pm
Cost: Free
What: Bookbug sessions are free, fun and friendly events for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their families to enjoy together. They include songs, stories and rhymes and aim to build up confidence and social skills, giving speech and language development a real boost.
Event: Hidden Gardens toddler group
Where: Hidden Gardens/Tramway
When: 1-3pm
Cost: Free
What: Drop-in toddler group – it can be very busy so get their early.
Fridays
Event: Pollokshields Church Play Group
Where: Pollokshields Church of Scotland on the corner of Albert Drive and Shields Rd
Time: 10am-12pm
Cost: £1 per child
What: Play group with lots of toys for the children and tea and biccies for their carers.
Event: Bounce And Rhyme
Where: Pollokshields Library, corner of Leven St and Kenmure St
Time: 10:30am-11:15am
Cost: Free
What: Singing nursery rhymes and action songs with your wee ones. Great for language development and often lead by a speech and language therapist.
Other groups and activities in the area
Destiny Church Parents and Tots
Destiny Church, 1120 Pollokshaws Rd
Tues, Weds and Thurs 10:30am-12pm
Open activities
Soft play area at Queens Park Glasshouse
Recover from pushing your pram up the steep hill with a cuppa while the wee ones exhaust themselves in the huge soft play area. If it’s sunny, take them to the play park afterwards or admire the ducks and swans on the ponds. Feeling really energetic? Continue the uphill walk to the flagpole for a panoramic view of the city.
The Hidden Gardens and Tramway
A regular toddler group takes place in the boiler house on Thursdays but it is very busy. If you miss out, there’s plenty to look at in the lovely gardens, a great menu in the café and they’ll do half portions of any items on the main menu in addition to the children’s options. Tramway also runs regular family-friendly activities and is a venue for Mini Music Makers sessions, run by the National Youth Choir of Scotland.
Burrell Collection and Pollok Park
Well worth the 10-minute bus ride or 30-minute walk as it’s easy to spend all day here. The Burrell is fantastically child-friendly (see Wee Wednesdays). There’s a tea pagoda designed to attract under 5s and my 4-year-old always makes a beeline for it. You can pick up free activity packs at the information desk to add structure to your visit or just have fun spotting the weird and wonderful – counting dragons and unicorns or hunting for knights in shining armour and princesses. The play park opposite the Burrell is one of the best in Glasgow with lots of equipment suitable for children of all ages.
The gardens around Pollok House are lovely for a wander, especially the walled vegetable garden, and during the school holidays there are often free rides on the horse-drawn cart, special activities in the courtyard and a chance to see the Clydesdale horses being groomed and reshoed.
Unless you’re a member you have to pay to look around the NTS’s Pollok House but it’s a gem of a stately home and is fantastic at Christmas when children can visit Mrs Claus and enjoy spying on what the teddy bears are getting up to over Christmas.
A nice 20-minute walk through Pollokshields gets you to this gorgeous Rennnie Mackintosh building. It has a lovely café and a wide range of exhibitions, usually on a childhood/school theme. To be honest, my eldest just loves to pretend being at school, sitting on the benches and behind old-fashioned desks.
Gymboree
Gymboree’s Play & Learn activity classes cater for newborns to pre-schoolers. Using puppets, slides, tunnels and climbers, infant singing, songs and musical instruments they aim to encourage and build on development. Their Music & Baby classes cover from 5 months to 4 years. Classes take place in pollokshaws Burgh Halls opposite Pollok Park and you can take a trial class to test the waters. Phone 07545957040 or email glasgowsouth@gymboree-uk.com
Looking for more ideas, check out Glasgow Life and, for school holiday activities, Zest for their latest events.
Outside the area
Lots of childrens books in the downstairs library and a good toddlers’ play area.
No need to sing the praises of everyone’s favourite museum but did you know it also has special toddler time sessions on Fridays at 11:30-11:55 and 2:30-2:55? They’re free and you just turn up on the day.
National Museum of Rural Life ( near East Kilbride)
Awkward to get to if you don’t drive and you have to pay to enter (unless you’re an NTS or NMS member) but a great day out for wee ones with a visit to a 1950s-style working farm and tractor rides. There’s also a nice café and great wee shop. They have regular events through the year and some great interactive exhibits. Did I mention the tractors?!
hi, just phoned poppins kindergarten queens dr on 25 oct 2011, they said book bug finished a few wks ago, please can someone update this website to avoid dissapointment thanx