Finding places for toddlers and preschoolers to play with kids their own age can sometimes be a challenge, especially if your child isn’t attending preschool or daycare. Creating your own playgroup is a fun, low-cost way to add a regular social event to your schedule. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Choose an Activity or Focus for the Playgroup
Any playgroup or mom and tot drop in will have a common focus that brings the members of the group together. In Vancouver, there are regular baby drop-in groups held at Community Health Offices across the city. The common focus is created by the public health nurse who speaks on a particular topic each week, and the inclusive nature of the group. Anyone is welcome to come and it is free of charge.
Other groups may be focused on attachment parenting, visiting local attractions together, making arts and crafts or simply being friends with the group members. The focus will help you decide whether the group will be open to the public or not.
Invite People to Join In
For an informal playgroup between friends, this may be simply emailing a group of friends and asking if they are interested in forming a playgroup. Larger, more inclusive groups may need a dedicated mailing list for members to join and participate in the running of the group.
Whether you want to spread the word far and wide or keep it intimate will depend on what you want the group to be, so be clear with friends and new members about your expectations. If you only want three or four friends to come by your house each Wednesday morning, it’s best to make that clear so that you don’t suddenly have 25 parents arriving the next week.
Choose a Time and Place for Playgroup Moms and Kids to Meet
When and where a playgroup will meet depends on the climate, season, size of the group and activities the group wants to do. Large, public groups may find it easiest to meet in a city’s public attractions, such as the aquarium, zoo, science centre or children’s museum. Smaller groups may want to meet in member’s homes. Medium sized groups that have a specific focus or topic they wish to discuss may need to find a meeting room that is available each week.
Some places that might have rooms available for low to no cost include:
- community centres
- churches
- schools
- libraries
- pensioner’s halls
Keeping the Momentum Going Once a Playgroup is Created
Once the group is meeting regularly, it’s important to keep the momentum going. Make any cancelled or rescheduled meetings clear to all group members, to avoid anyone having the disappointment and inconvenience of showing up to find that nobody’s there. Keeping meetings in a regular time and place each week helps make it easier for people to schedule it into their week – irregular times and days are difficult to plan for.
Creating a playgroup takes a little bit of planning and organizing, but it can be a great, low-cost way to get some social time with other moms and kids. Like organizing a cooperative childcare arrangement, it’s best to be up front about expectations around how long the playgroup will meet for or who will provide the food. If you can’t find a playgroup that meets your needs in your neighbourhood, why not start one yourself?
Michelle Carchrae - Michelle Carchrae has worked as a Volunteer Phone Counselor at Childline and as a Training Developer and Call Centre Trainer, but the job ...
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