And a New Friend of Breastfeeding Families
We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym has opened on Hillsborough Road, and owner Ritz Murphy is already thinking about nursing and pumping parents.
Durham has a new place for kids to play — and it was built with the understanding that not every child plays the same way.
We Rock the Spectrum Kid’s Gym held its ribbon-cutting on Friday, July 25, and welcomed its first families that weekend. The gym is an inclusive, sensory-safe play space designed for children of all abilities, including kids with autism and sensory processing differences. Inside there’s a zip line, a trampoline, a crafts room, and equipment chosen so that children who get overwhelmed in a typical bounce-house birthday party can move, climb, and rest at their own pace. The location also offers occupational, speech, and ABA services, plus sensory-based play groups and a dedicated turf area for therapist-led sessions.
Watch the story: ABC11’s Bianca Holman covered the opening — see the video and full story here. It’s worth two minutes of your day.
Owner Ritz Murphy is a former behavior technician who opened the franchise location after seeing the gaps in what Durham families could find locally. “People need to be seen, and it needs to start at an early age,” she told ABC11. “We’re able to give that safe haven.”
Why we’re excited
That same instinct — that people need to be seen — is why we think Ritz is going to be a real friend to this community.
When Breastfeed Durham’s Becca Brandt-French visited, Ritz shared her own experience attending La Leche League meetings while she was living in Florida, and talked through the ways she’s already thinking about nursing and pumping parents as she finishes designing the space. She has a Breastfeeding Welcome Here cling up, and she’s interested in going further: developing a lactation policy for her staff and families, and carving out a dedicated space for parents who need to nurse or pump while they’re there.
She also floated something we love. What if breastfeeding and parent support groups met at the gym, while the kids play? Ritz has offered to make the space accessible to groups — flexing her hours, reducing or waiving the rate, and even having staff help supervise children so parents can actually finish a sentence. Anyone who has tried to attend a support group with a toddler in tow knows exactly how big that offer is.
Nothing is scheduled yet. We’re sharing this now because it’s good news, and because it’s a good reminder of what a breastfeeding-friendly Durham actually looks like in practice: business owners who think about feeding families before anyone asks them to.
Go say hello
We Rock the Spectrum – Durham 3409 Hillsborough Road, Suite J3, Durham, NC 27705 919-294-4902 | werockthespectrumdurham.com Open play Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. (weekend hours vary — call ahead or check their social media)
If you have a little one who would love a zip line and a quiet corner in the same building, go check it out. Tell Ritz you saw it in the Breastfeed Durham newsletter — and if you spot the cling in the window, that’s what a welcome looks like.
[PHOTO: Ritz Murphy with the new Breastfeed Durham “Breastfeeding Welcome Here” cling. Caption: Ritz Murphy, owner of We Rock the Spectrum – Durham, with her Breastfeed Durham cling.]
Want your business to be next? Learn about our Breastfeeding Welcome Here program.