INSEAD family room

Ever since I heard about INSEAD’s Family Room, I was so curious to find out all about it -  to see how big it was, what was in it, how it looked.. but couldn’t really find a lot of info about it when I searched online.  So I decided that I have to blog about this room in detail as soon as I get there because I know there are people like me out there who are as curious as I am :)

As you can imagine, visiting the family room was one of the first things I wanted to do when I got here. After taking a few days to settle in, I finally decided to visit the family room on a Wednesday evening.

The room in the lower ground floor of the main building.   I enter and see three kids running around and two women chatting in a language that was completely alien to me.

I scan the room – I see plenty of toys, tricycles, small bicycles, two slides, carpets, cushions, small house, small play kitchen, a microwave, highchair and a couch for breastfeeding.

Before I could find a spot to put my little boy down, the two women asked me to come and join them. They were partners from the December intake. Brazilian and super friendly :)

They were so warm and friendly. They told me a few things about the room: 

·       It is basically the responsibility of those who use it to keep it clean and tidy

·       The stuff in the room is donated by those who’ve been here

·       One can borrow anything from the room – from tiny toys to strollers to high-chairs to cribs – ANYTHING you see in the room basically

We also got chatting about how it’s been for them so far and I must say, my positive feelings just get stronger. The partners’ community seems to be a very supportive one – just to quote some examples I heard –

·       partners taking turns to baby sit each other’s kids at the family room if one decides to take a language or gym class

·       organise play dates or outings

·       meet-up almost every day at the family room or parks in and around Fonty

So yes, I had finally seen the much heard about Family Room and not just that, I had made two new friends who made me feel so welcomed! 

Will keep you all updated through the months with more on the activities in this room.