Taiwan: Baby Boss, Taipei
As mentioned in my previous post, one of the places we really enjoyed in Taipei was Baby Boss.
Baby Boss is a 'simulation city' that is designed for children to explore over 70 different real-life occupations. The children spend about 40-50mins at each station participating in realistic role-playing scenarios. They even earn a 'salary' for every occupation they take on.
We were actually not planning to visit the place at all, despite all the good reviews I have read and heard from friends. I thought Sean may be too young for it and didn't like the idea of being stuck in an aircon mall-like environment the entire day.
But when the extremely wet weather thwarted our plans to visit the open-air markets, we decided to make a trip to Baby Boss on the recommendation of our guide. We got there at 230pm - not a lot of time to spare because they close at 6pm. We paid for full day tickets (NT900/SGD40 for a child, NT500/SGD20 for adults) so I was determined to make the best of our time there!
Sean was quite excited when I explained the various jobs the place offered. We saw children dressed as cheerleaders and children marching past in army uniforms. I asked him what he wanted to do and not surprisingly, he said he wanted to be a doctor, fireman and policeman.
First job I managed to get for him (at that time slot): a construction worker. HAHA, hey everyone has to start somewhere!
Sean was the youngest in his group. I was a bit worried he wouldn't be able to understand the instructions (everyone spoke in perfect Mandarin) but the lady instructor was really patient with him. She tried to speak to him in English and assigned two older girls to keep an eye on him :)
The children put on bright orange safety vests and sat through a safety briefing of sorts. Then they were split into rotating groups to mix cement (or rather, rake sand) and 'build' things out of coloured tiles.
So cute to see tiny construction worker Sean go through the motion and try to keep up with everyone else.
At the end of it, they posed for pics in front of a cement mixer and were paid with ten Baby Boss dollars for their hard day's work :)
Sean's next job was a nurse in a baby nursery. That was about as close as we could get to a doctor or a surgeon, HAHA. (Apparently, the girls really like this station coz they get to play with baby dolls!)
Sean looked oh-so-cute in his pink frilly apron (which kept sliding off his tiny shoulders) and floppy hat. The children were each given a baby doll and taught how to carry them, swaddle them, change their diapers, clean their belly button.
One of the boys was quite rough with his baby and he accidentally yanked off one of his poor baby's leg. I nearly died laughing!
Then, Sean finally got his dream job as a fireman.
The guy instructor was very animated and enthusiastic - the children loved him. They donned reflective suits and sat through a safety briefing. Then, they slid down a fireman pole, put on their helmets and hopped into a fire engine. Sirens blaring, they sped off put out their first fire. It was very realistic - they took turns holding the safety cordon and using the hoses to put out the fire from a 'burning' building. Whenever anyone went too close, the children would stick out their hands and go '危险! 危险!'.
Sean's last job of the day was as an astronaut.
I laughed so hard when I saw him come out dressed in a spacesuit. HAHAHA, he looked like a little Michelin Man!
The children zoomed off to 'outer space' in a spaceship. They then explored the crater-like surface of the moon and studied moon rocks before returning to Earth. The children looked so cute when they emerged from the spaceship wearing flowery leis and shouting '我们回來了'!
Sean had so much fun. There were still many jobs we didn't manage to try out - a pastry chef, petrol attendant, policeman, pilot, flight attendant, etc.
At the end of the day, I brought him to the Baby Boss gift shop and told him to buy a little something for himself with his 'hard-earned' money. He chose a pencil which came with a fire engine eraser :)
And where was Ryan in all of this? He slept in the stroller in a quiet corner for three whole hours! Bliss.
I was quite impressed by how well-run the whole place was and how the children were given plenty of opportunities to participate in role-play scenarios and interact with parents/other children/public.
Want to know what I liked the most? The full-on immersion in Mandarin for Sean - I would send him there everyday if I could!
Would highly recommend Baby Boss if you are ever in Taipei with kids - and be prepared to spend an entire day there. I really hope to bring both boys back one day!
Baby Boss is a 'simulation city' that is designed for children to explore over 70 different real-life occupations. The children spend about 40-50mins at each station participating in realistic role-playing scenarios. They even earn a 'salary' for every occupation they take on.
We were actually not planning to visit the place at all, despite all the good reviews I have read and heard from friends. I thought Sean may be too young for it and didn't like the idea of being stuck in an aircon mall-like environment the entire day.
But when the extremely wet weather thwarted our plans to visit the open-air markets, we decided to make a trip to Baby Boss on the recommendation of our guide. We got there at 230pm - not a lot of time to spare because they close at 6pm. We paid for full day tickets (NT900/SGD40 for a child, NT500/SGD20 for adults) so I was determined to make the best of our time there!
Sean was quite excited when I explained the various jobs the place offered. We saw children dressed as cheerleaders and children marching past in army uniforms. I asked him what he wanted to do and not surprisingly, he said he wanted to be a doctor, fireman and policeman.
First job I managed to get for him (at that time slot): a construction worker. HAHA, hey everyone has to start somewhere!
Sean was the youngest in his group. I was a bit worried he wouldn't be able to understand the instructions (everyone spoke in perfect Mandarin) but the lady instructor was really patient with him. She tried to speak to him in English and assigned two older girls to keep an eye on him :)
The children put on bright orange safety vests and sat through a safety briefing of sorts. Then they were split into rotating groups to mix cement (or rather, rake sand) and 'build' things out of coloured tiles.
So cute to see tiny construction worker Sean go through the motion and try to keep up with everyone else.
At the end of it, they posed for pics in front of a cement mixer and were paid with ten Baby Boss dollars for their hard day's work :)
Sean's next job was a nurse in a baby nursery. That was about as close as we could get to a doctor or a surgeon, HAHA. (Apparently, the girls really like this station coz they get to play with baby dolls!)
Sean looked oh-so-cute in his pink frilly apron (which kept sliding off his tiny shoulders) and floppy hat. The children were each given a baby doll and taught how to carry them, swaddle them, change their diapers, clean their belly button.
One of the boys was quite rough with his baby and he accidentally yanked off one of his poor baby's leg. I nearly died laughing!
Then, Sean finally got his dream job as a fireman.
The guy instructor was very animated and enthusiastic - the children loved him. They donned reflective suits and sat through a safety briefing. Then, they slid down a fireman pole, put on their helmets and hopped into a fire engine. Sirens blaring, they sped off put out their first fire. It was very realistic - they took turns holding the safety cordon and using the hoses to put out the fire from a 'burning' building. Whenever anyone went too close, the children would stick out their hands and go '危险! 危险!'.
Sean's last job of the day was as an astronaut.
I laughed so hard when I saw him come out dressed in a spacesuit. HAHAHA, he looked like a little Michelin Man!
The children zoomed off to 'outer space' in a spaceship. They then explored the crater-like surface of the moon and studied moon rocks before returning to Earth. The children looked so cute when they emerged from the spaceship wearing flowery leis and shouting '我们回來了'!
Sean had so much fun. There were still many jobs we didn't manage to try out - a pastry chef, petrol attendant, policeman, pilot, flight attendant, etc.
At the end of the day, I brought him to the Baby Boss gift shop and told him to buy a little something for himself with his 'hard-earned' money. He chose a pencil which came with a fire engine eraser :)
And where was Ryan in all of this? He slept in the stroller in a quiet corner for three whole hours! Bliss.
I was quite impressed by how well-run the whole place was and how the children were given plenty of opportunities to participate in role-play scenarios and interact with parents/other children/public.
Want to know what I liked the most? The full-on immersion in Mandarin for Sean - I would send him there everyday if I could!
Would highly recommend Baby Boss if you are ever in Taipei with kids - and be prepared to spend an entire day there. I really hope to bring both boys back one day!