A North East shopping centre has made life easier for parents and carers, after upgrading its baby changing facilities.
Sunderland’s the Bridges has spent thousands on revamping its amenities, adding in extra factors to help families juggling more than one child.
The new look facilities – part of the centre’s on-going commitment to being both inclusive and accessible – now includes a breast-feeding chair as well as a low-level table and chairs where other youngsters can sit to eat a snack, read or colour in.
A huge mural map of the world – complete with pictures of various animals next to their native countries – has also been put in place, again to keep children entertained.
A machine which dispenses essentials such as Calpol, nappies and wipes has now also been installed for parents to use.
Karen Eve, centre director at the Bridges, said: “We want our customers to have an enjoyable experience at Bridges. As a mum myself I appreciate the importance of clean, welcoming family facilities.
“We recognised that people might have more than one child with them and having to feed or change a baby while keeping an eye on other youngsters can be really challenging.
“Hopefully they can now sit at the table or interact with the world map and the animals – and we can make the whole experience far less stressful.”
This is one of a number of initiatives carried out at the Bridges in recent times, to ensure that the centre is accessible to everyone.
This includes the purchase of its own mobility scooter and updated autism training for all staff.
“We are completely committed to making the Bridges a centre which both celebrates diversity and inclusion,” said Karen.
“We have consulted with customers about what they might want to see and then have acted on their feedback.”
