Three-year-old Jade Lua walked through the front doors of The Kids Clubhouse in La Quinta with her mother and younger sister, took a quick right, and ran as fast as her tiny legs would take her to the playroom, where she kicked off her shoes and left to the slides.
Within her first 10 minutes at The Kids Clubhouse, Jade had slid down slides, including one that spins in spirals and drops riders into a ball pit, climbed various platforms, ridden on a Thomas the Tank Engine mini self-propelled roller coaster, on and jumped on a mini trampoline with energy left to burn.
The Kids Clubhouse is the creation of Aileen Lin, who realized the Coachella Valley lacked indoor play areas for young children while raising her two children, who are now 17 and 16 years old.
Originally from Los Angeles, Lin moved to the Valley more than 20 years ago.
When her children were about 2 and 3 years old, she was often invited to LA to attend birthday parties for her sister’s children.
“In Los Angeles, there are things like that on literally every corner,” Lin said.
When she came home she wondered why there was nothing similar in the valley. She wanted to start something like The Kids Clubhouse at the time, but her husband discouraged her, saying she would invest time in starting a new business that would separate her from her family.
“The dream never died for me,” Lin said, although she agreed with her husband to put it off until their children were older.
“As soon as they were in middle school, I decided to go ahead and do it,” Lin said.
“It’s literally just my passion to do something good for the kids of the Coachella Valley. Family means everything to me…” she said.
Children can exercise both body and mind
She founded The Kids Clubhouse at The River in Rancho Mirage in March 2020 and moved it to La Quinta in April, adjacent to Angel View at La Quinta Valley Plaza, 79-390 Highway 111.
The move made sense, she said.
While The Kids Clubhouse draws families from all over the valley, as well as Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley, most are from Indio and La Quinta.
Also, Lin lives in Indio, so moving the clubhouse to La Quinta will make it easier for her to spend more time there, she said.
The La Quinta area is slightly smaller than the area at Rancho Mirage, Lin said, but is more open, allowing for better visibility for parents with multiple children playing in different areas.
Formerly home to Shadow Rock Church, the 7,000-square-foot space is brightly decorated and features activities that allow children ages 6 months to 12 years to exercise their minds and bodies.
Children under the age of 8 benefit the most from the clubhouse, she said.
“We have a little Switch gaming station for the older kids, 9, 10, 11, where they can play (video games),” Lin said.
A gated area for children aged 3 and under, ‘Toddler Town’ has all the soft floors and play equipment including a small carousel for them to ride, tunnels to crawl through and their own ball pit.
There are climbing toys, activity tables where kids can build cars and houses, paint and more.
There are six themed playhouses including a grocery store, fire department, police station and jail.
Children can shop or check out in the grocery store.
“The kids love to pretend and interact,” Lin said.
Among the most popular is a pizzeria/bakery, she said.
“We will always see children playing here. They like to make pizza and buy desserts,” Lin said.
At the post office kids can sort mail and at the police station they can put people in jail – no lockable door.
“The kids love to put their parents in jail,” Lin said.
Also popular are the ice cream kiosk, which can sell non-edible treats, and a diner with set menus and condiments on the tables.
There are benches for parents and guardians throughout, though Lin said the play areas are also open for adults to be with their children.
Soon, Lin is planning a weekly session for children on the autism spectrum.
“I’ve had inquiries about it,” she says.
She has three to four full-time employees and also hires local high school students during the summer to give them an opportunity to gain work experience.
There’s also a 600-square-foot party room, and an option for families to rent the entire facility for a private party. Families can decorate themselves, or Lin and her staff will do it.
The Kids Clubhouse also hosts field trips for elementary schools, Lin said, as do the YMCA and other youth organizations.
Drop off program available
The Kids Clubhouse is open seven days a week in two-hour blocks that vary from weekdays to weekends, usually starting at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, although times may vary if it’s a private party are. The cost is USD 12 per child on weekdays and USD 15 per child on weekends.
Up to 70 people, including 30 to 35 children, can be comfortably accommodated in each two-hour session, with plenty of room for everyone to play, Lin said.
Between each of the two-hour blocks, there’s a 30-minute break during which staff clean and disinfect everything in the play area and toys, Lin said.
Lin also offers a drop-off program, which can be reserved only for children ages 5 to 12, which allows parents or guardians to leave children for up to two hours while they run errands or eat near where they are can return immediately to The Kids Clubhouse if there is a problem.
She plans to extend this to a few evening hours.
“It can help families have a little downtime, even for a few hours, to run errands or enjoy a nice meal,” Lin said, and it may help boost business at nearby shops and restaurants.
Jacqueline Lua has brought her two daughters to The Kids Clubhouse since it was at Rancho Mirage and made her first visit to the new La Quinta location on Friday.
While Jade ran around excitedly trying everything, 1-year-old Jordyn initially stayed in her mother’s arms but soon began exploring all the toys and amenities in Toddler Town.
The facility provides a cool indoor space for the kids to run and play and burn off their energy, she said.
“The kids can run and do things that they can’t do at home,” Lua said.
For more information about The Kids Clubhouse, including hours of operation, programs, party rentals and more, visit www.thekidsclubhousecv.com, on Facebook, call (760) 625-1149 or text (442) 272-1449.
Desert Sun reporter Sherry Barkas covers the cities of La Quinta, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage and Palm Desert. She can be reached at sherry.barkas@thedesertsun.com. Follow her on Twitter @TDSsherryBarkas