CITY BUZZ: '˜Trips with a Tot' celebrates the city

Do you know of somewhere kid-friendly in Sheffield that deserves some celebration?
Trips with a Tot - run by Sheffield mum Naomi CooperTrips with a Tot - run by Sheffield mum Naomi Cooper
Trips with a Tot - run by Sheffield mum Naomi Cooper

Then get ready to shout loud and proud, as Trips With A Tot launches the nominations for its Sheffield For Kids Awards 2018.

Local playgroups, children’s libraries, swimming pools, and indoor play centres received thousands of votes last year from Sheffield parents, and this year’s awards is expected to be even bigger and better.

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“Last year was the first awards we’d held, and I just did it all myself,” explains Naomi Cooper, the Sheffield mum who runs Trips With A Tot - which features reviews, events and blogs and has thousands of local followers.

“The idea came about as I wanted to give Sheffield families the opportunity to showcase the companies and venues who make this city so family-friendly. Trips with a tot is all about inspiring local families for days out, trips and adventures; this is the very idea behind the awards. The awards not only give recognition to places that families truly love visiting but it gives everyone ideas and inspiration for things to do from the extensive list of shortlisters.

“In 2017, the awards received thousands of votes, the voting posts were shared all across the internet and on social media by voters, friends, family, finalists and brands. It was overwhelming to see how the awards went from nothing - to something huge, and almost overnight. If there’s something Sheffield does right, it’s talking loudly about this amazing place!

“I did most of the work for it late at night while my son, Eric, was sleeping! It was very popular, much more than I was expecting. Since last year’s awards, my followers and blog traffic has almost tripled, so I wanted to make sure I listened to my audience, took on their feedback from last year, and make this year’s awards even better. I have a great team of busy bee helpers this year that are going to help me make it bigger and better.”

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This year’s categories include: Best Local Park, Best Farm Animals, Best For Indoor Play, Best Attraction, Best Free Day Out, Best Children’s Library, Best For Water Play, Best For Active Kids, Best Theatre/Music Show, Best Toddler Class, Best Baby Group/Class, Best Local Playgroup, Best For Family Eating Out, Best For Creative, and Special Mentions.

Naomi adds: “This year, the the awards run alongside the school summer holidays. The idea is that families can try out as many of the nominations as they like before voting closes - the whole 6 weeks holidays.”
The awards are completely free and nominations open on May 3, so visit tripswithatot.com or the Facebook page.

This year, the award’s headline sponsor is Stylish Mum - a Sheffield company which creates and sells clothing designed to make breastfeeding easier for mums. Heeley City Farm, Sheffield Sling Surgery & Library, and Sheffield Park Project are also on the list of sponsors, giving their backing to the awards.