What People Say About Us
Don’t just take our word for it.
We get what we’re trying to do, but it’s better if you do too – we know the idea of a co-work and social space with integrated childcare is a great idea, one that serves all parents at large but we’re also British and don’t like to brag so here’s what our members think of our service.
We asked each member the same questions – what was life like before and after children, what are the best bits as well as the challenges, how has Peace + Riot helped in the day to day comings and goings of family life and what was the alternative if we weren’t available. Here’s what they said:
Russell W-P
“Being a member has meant I can combine my two favourite things of remote working and being a dad.”
Bespoke Membership
We are a freelance couple. Pre children we had extended periods of working, playing and travelling (months at time). Our life is similar to before, albeit one of our jobs is now looking after the baby (unpaid but rewarding work!) and our trips to the Everyman Cinema are now a distant memory- thankfully Peace + Riot has kept our brunch flame alive.
The freelance nature of our work means we have been able to balance full time child care with not so full time work. We have increased the work quota while also giving our child a chance to mix with other children and people, which up until now was fairly limited. Taken a hit on the amount of work we do as freelancers or looked into part-time child care options. We’ve arrived at a place where we can be productive and “there” for our child and this means the world to us.
Allan H
“My family lives out of town. They would help if they could, but they can’t. Peace + Riot fills that childcare gap.”
Every Day, Any Day Member
Looking back on how I navigated life with my first without Peace + Riot feels utterly alien to me now. Like many others, my family lives out of town, so I was staring down the barrel of booking a nursery place or a nanny which would’ve taken up my salary.
The period pre Peace + Riot was what I now call the sticking plaster childcare phase. I’d do what I could to make it all come together but I felt drained financially, mentally and emotionally. There were no winners. I felt like I was failing as a parent and an employee. Now I come here to integrate the two and it works- my children play, I work whilst also enjoying the social aspects.
Blake G
“Working out of home never seemed to work with my children. Here they are entertained, happy and I am more productive.”
Every Day, Any Day Member
I found that having children was like you’re going through your childhood again – you’re learning as they learn but it’s hard to find time (and easy to forget) to look after yourself as you spend all your time looking after them.
Working out of home never seemed to work with my children – you know it’s that thing when children go to other peoples homes, you have the same toys as they do, the only difference is that they play with them at the friends house for hours and just not at yours.
My kids just seem to be happy here, and wouldn’t be able to go anywhere else. We tried conventional cafe’s – they would be bored within 5 minutes. Either that or they’d have to constantly be eating cakes and muffins for 2 hours.
Soft play cafes- I ended up having to watch them the whole time. Here we all have a sense of freedom. Freedom to go somewhere in which you know that they are not just welcomed, but entertained – and they love it.
Heather B
“I’m a performance artist who can’t afford childcare so until now all of my work has been done in nap times, after bedtime or in snatches of time.”
Every Day, Any Day Member
My partner is still in his day job but on paper I’m an alcoholic housewife aka I’m a freelance performance artist. We are still weird but now our audience is our kids. We are a lot more tired. Now with a family I’ve realised how geared society is towards people without caring responsibilities.
Because I’m a weird performance artist I can’t afford childcare so until now all of my work has been done in nap times, after bedtime or in snatches of time when people could watch my kids for an hour. Since I’ve been able to have affordable, flexible childcare I’ve literally got my evenings back and a huge weight has been lifted. It’s improved so much for my family I can’t really explain it. I would have probably given up art and gone back to a muggle job. And probably felt a lot of regret for that. At the time there were no other options. Now I have evenings and a sense of self that definitely got taken away when I couldn’t make work. It’s given me back my swag.
Sophie S
“Peace + Riot is great for my pandemic baby who had deep-rooted separation anxiety – a place where we can both hang out.”
Standard Member
Life was full of working and travelling but the pandemic and having a child coincided meaning we very quickly became home based and very tired. I now know that I can only do a finite amount of work instead of always working until it’s done, this has been a big shift.
Peace + Riot is a good middle space for my pandemic baby who had deep rooted separation anxiety – a space with supportive people where we could both hang out with other people. It really built her confidence- she’s happy to hang out with the Peacekeepers and I’m using my visits to deal with extra work that doesn’t fit neatly into my one day a week of childcare.
Like others I’ve met I’m far away from all our family and the team at Peace + Riot helps fill that need of a place where you confidently bring your child for a couple of hours. A childminder didn’t work out for us, so it ended up being a nanny, Peace + Riot, or nothing. If I didn’t have this option I would have resorted to getting an expensive nanny or simply have not tried to do any work until much later down the parenting road. This format helps me see my child blossom as I get some actual work done.