Scientists agree that the only reason adults have children is so they have a socially acceptable reason to visit amusement parks, eat at novelty pizza arcades, and see movies with Shreks in them. Put some fun in the oven with today's kid-friendly Groupon to Kidsville Playtown in Carlsbad. Choose between the following options:

• For $15, you get a Parents’ Night Out (a $30 value).
• For $20, you get a five-admission punch card (up to a $50 value).

Kidsville Playtown is a safe environment for young children to play, make friends, and learn about how communities work. Kidsville is structured like a small town, with play cars bustling down the drags of mini Main Street, past brightly colored, playhouse-size versions of local businesses. Littler ones can visit Kidsville's neighboring suburb, Babiesville, where kids 2 and younger bounce around in soft-foam blocks for free with paid admission of an older friend or sibling. While the kids busy themselves in putting on a puppet show about the pitfalls of Keynesian economics at Kidsville Theater, Mom or Dad can sit in the adult lounge and check email on the free WiFi or enjoy a refreshing beverage from the concessions stand.

For Parents’ Night Out, on most Saturday nights, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Kidsville crew becomes the most beloved babysitter, conducting craft projects, playing games, and screening films rated two chicken fingers up. Meanwhile, parents can rest easy, knowing their kids are under the watchful eye of attendants trained in CPR and first aid.