[Family-Friendly Space]The Educational and Fun Da’an Parent-Child Center

Yongyong’s mommy

In August 2014, the “Da’an Parent-Child Center” also officially opened with a bang!!

This super popular

Because all online reservations were fully booked, I thought I’d get up early with Yongyong and Fufu to check it out today!! Little did we know, after getting off the MRT... it was really hard to find!! On the way looking for the parent-child center, we even ran into more than one parent also asking in confusion where it was? Fortunately—after walking for nearly ten minutes and still not finding the place, I decided to take a taxi and finally found this mysterious parent-child center.

Now here's how to get there:

Then confirm that the address is No. 263-1, Section 4, Xinyi Road, and quickly turn left into the alley.

Walking with your child will also take about 8–10 minutes, and then you’ll see another intersection. The street sign on the traffic light on the right-hand side indicates Yanji Street as shown in the following picture (this image is from Google Maps Street View): When you see this intersection, make an immediate left turn.

Walk for less than a minute and “turn left into the first alleyway” to see Up!! Finding Yanji Street really took me a bit of effort. Even worse, when we arrived, it was only 9:10 AM on a Thursday morning—20 minutes before entry time—and there were already 20 pairs of parents and kids waiting in line ahead of us. We truly witnessed the appeal of the Da’an Parent-Child Center.

The first 10 pairs in the on-site queue could enter, and then when it reached 9:45 AM, another 5 online registrants didn’t show up, so five more pairs got in. I had pretty much given up hope and thought we'd have to go home, but the kind director said they would assess the age groups of children each day and, if there was still space, they might open up more spots. And we actually got lucky enough to be the very last pair allowed in after the “re-evaluation.” It felt even better than winning the sixth prize in the Uniform Invoice lottery!! And I’m really grateful that I wisely chose to take a taxi over around 9 AM—because being even a little later would’ve meant no chance at all!!

And the nearly 15 parent-child pairs behind me had no choice but to go home, or walk around the area. Or they could keep waiting... until some families came out of the center. The last 30 minutes before closing (12:00 PM) are open for entry—meaning anyone can come in as long as someone leaves before 11:30 AM. So maybe going a bit later could be a lucky break too!!

As soon as we entered the first floor, we felt it was so new—the materials used for the facilities were great and very safe.

~ Trains hand-eye coordination.

You can observe animals and plants such as stick insects, rhinoceros beetles, and aquatic plants.

There are even dinosaurs behind.

The chairs are so big and comfortable!!

Open to infants aged 0–2 years old, it’s a classroom-like space with doors separating activity areas, so the management is very good—the older kids can’t just run in and cause chaos. I think this design is really wonderful!!

The little babies are so comfy on the mats!!

There are lots of art supplies available for use.

Little wooden frames can be freely taken and used for creation, and the artworks can be taken home too!!

You can also do weaving, but... this seems pretty hard haha^^ (I’m terrible at crafts...)

Beaded works can also be taken home!!

The stairs are designed with style, non-slip, and very safe for going up and down.

The ceiling is decorated with stars, and even the small details are well thought out.

You can put on a parent-child shadow puppet show.

(Fufu loved it)

At first, Fufu didn’t want to wear an apron, but after patient assistance from the staff, he obediently put it on Up!! The staff are so friendly and thoughtful!! By the way, this apron looks really cute—it’s stylish silver!!!

The staff in charge of the water area mop the floor almost every few minutes, so the floor stays pretty dry.

The three-floor space is wonderfully designed!! With over 40 families, there’s absolutely no noisy or chaotic feeling. It’s very well-managed and orderly.

The teaching tools and equipment are novel and thoughtfully designed, the kids have a great time, and parents feel safe and reassured. I’ve been to Zhongshan Parent-Child Hall before (its facilities were a bit simpler). Today, the Da’an Parent-Child Hall (novel, fun, and also covering natural science and art education) is really worth a strong recommendation!

Children aged 6 and under (including those over 6 but not yet 7) can enter. However, I’ve noticed that kids around 5 and older aren’t as attracted to the Parent-Child Hall. For example, Yongyong, who is currently six months past his sixth birthday, seems to enjoy it, but visiting exhibitions or museums seems to spark his learning interest more. On the other hand, Fufu, who is almost three, had a blast playing from almost 10 a.m. until noon and didn’t want to stop ^^.

Address: No. 10, Lane 246, Yanji Street, Da’an District, Taipei City

1. MRT:

Xinyi-Anhe Station, Brown Line: Exit 5, about a 6-minute walk
Zhongxiao-Dunhua Station, Blue Line: Exit 2, about a 15-minute walk

2. Bus: Take buses such as No. 20, 22, 226, Xinyi Trunk Line, 33, 37, 38, 292, etc., get off at the Xinyi-Tonghua Street intersection, and walk about 5 minutes.

3. The building has a paid parking lot.

Operating hours: Tuesday to Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.;
Saturday to Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Each session accommodates 40 parent-child pairs, with reservations available online or on-site (30 pairs online, 10 pairs on-site queue).

Reservation phone: (02) 2325-4399, fax 2325-4398.

Further reading: