A mother and daughter have opened a new play café in Sunderland, designed for children aged four and under, with plans to offer support groups for young mams and medical mams. Abbey Henderson, 32, and her mother Monica Dooley, 54, opened Thrive on Norfolk Street in the Sunniside area on July 20.
The venue aims to help children learn, play, and explore. Abbey, a former primary school teacher, decided to open Thrive after having her two daughters, Hallie, two, and Heidi, 14 months. Her mother Monica brings over 20 years of experience from working for a children's charity. The pair have set up as a community interest company.
Offerings and Support Groups
Thrive offers a range of activities including messy play sessions, tuff tray experiences, stay and play, baby yoga, and soft play Saturdays. The team also plans to hold support groups for young mams and medical mams.
Abbey, who lives in Seaburn, said: "I absolutely loved teaching. My passion was early child development. I had my two little girls close together and, as much as I loved teaching, it's not very flexible. I wanted to be able to pick my children up from school. I had thought about something like this for a long time and it was the perfect time to take the leap."
She added: "I'm doing this with support from my mam. She worked for 22 years for a children's charity supporting families with children who have terminal and life threatening illnesses - the Rainbow Trust. We wanted to use our experience and our background so we set up as a community interest company. We plan to do support groups. We want to do one for medical mams. It'll be a chance for them to meet other likeminded people and because of our size, we can ensure we're really clean. Hygiene and safety are our number one priority."
Abbey also mentioned plans for a young mams support group: "We also want to do a young mams support group. We have done a lot of research and a lot of younger parents under 21 might not feel comfortable going to regular baby groups. They might feel judged or be the youngest one there. They will be able to meet other parents a similar age."
Background and Inclusivity
Abbey, married to Lee, 32, a deputy head teacher, previously worked at St Anne's Primary School in Pennywell, Sunderland, and Fell Dyke in Wrekenton, Gateshead. She ended her career as an assistant head teacher and a special educational needs coordinator.
She said: "Our main priority is inclusiveness. As my background is special educational needs, we want to put on SEND sessions where we make it quieter and turn down the lights."
The small, cosy space is designed to be enjoyable for parents as well as children. The layout allows parents to see their child at all times. Abbey said: "When you have a baby it can be quite isolating. You can feel quite lonely when your on maternity leave and your friends and husband are at work. We wanted to create a space that has a real community feel. It's for the parents as much as it is the for the kids. It's not a big space and it's not overwhelming. It's a nice, chilled atmosphere for parents to come to. They can see their children at all times so they can drink a hot drink while it's hot! You're only a few steps away from them at all times."
Early Success
Abbey said they have been fully booked since opening the doors just under three weeks ago. She said: "It's going really well. We have had lots of positive feedback and we're enjoying it so far. Every session we've had has been fully booked which is amazing. We're also fully booked for next week. We didn't anticipate the reaction that we've had. We're in Sunniside so we're not right in the hustle and bustle but we're only a four-minute walk away. We're close enough for people to get public transport links. Where we are it's quiet, it's a lovely street."
