if you breastfeed you should try la leche league. they are great fun and the one i attend meets in a church w/a nice setting and snacks:)

I don't breast feed.

I recently saw an online board that was set up for people interested in starting playgroups in their area. I don't know any of these people personally, so I can't recommend them for sure, but it may be a good place to start.

BTW, I grew up in Hempstead, NY and moved out here to Washington state in 1996.

Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: Playgroups in NY

I live in NY also, do they have any Gymboree places by you? I checked by me and they offer wonderful classes. They also have a Mommy and Me class at the local church. When I get home I will look at the booklet to see if anything is close to you.

I don't breastfeed either and just want classes that offer amusement (music etc).

Jennifer

Sure they have gymboree but as I mentioned we take expensive swimming classes & can't take on another expensive extra curricular activitiy so I was looking to find one just as good but less advertised & thus less expensive. As I mentioned my church group has been booked up for months. Is there a way to find out about different activities for moms & babies? How do I look something like this up in the phone book?

Is there a web site for your community? A small local paper? They might have the information you're looking for.

A local elementary school (Greenwich, CT) has a free mommy & me group, it's great, but they never advertise and I had no idea it existed until recently when a photo was in the local paper. Also try asking your pediatrician or checking the bulletin board there. They might know of some things.

You also might consider putting an ad on a bulletin board, or spreading the word around in your church that you'd like to start an informal group. If the church group has been booked up for months, there must be other mommies out there in the same situation. I'm in an informal group like this and it's wonderful. There are 6 of us, we meet once a week, rotating the host home. It's free (except for the cost of breakfast, which the hostess provides) and we share and learn so much from one another.

Good luck

MOMS (Mom Offering Moms Support) Club is a national organization for stay at home moms. They have thousands of chapters across the country. Besides providing friendship and support for other moms of young children, each local chapter plans a calendar of activities to choose from each month. Those activities usually include informal playgroups, as well as outings to playgrounds, children's museums, etc. It is a great way to meet other moms, children, and to learn what it available in your community for children. And as a member of the group, you can get invovled and help plan activities that are of interest to you. I have been a member of MOMS Club for almost 6 years now. First in Florida, then when we moved to Tennessee it was one of the first calls I made.

To find out if there is a chapter near you email them through this website. If there is a local parenting magazine, one of those free things in the racks at the grocery store, the local contact number is often in the community section of that (that's where I found it both times). If that doesn't work, email me personally and I will get you a phone number for the eastern US region. If there isn't a chapter near you, and you are intersted, they can tell you how to start a chapter.

Here is a link that might be useful: MOMS Club

my local paper, even the parenting papers don't have anything. i don't want an informal group at someone's house - i want more organized activities & MOMS doesn't have a chapter near me - already checked. darn!

mt pediatrician's office doesn't have a bulletin board but i will call to ask if they know.

Have you looked into joining MOPS? Here's a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: MOPS groups

Have you considered creating a MOMS club chapter near you? You can find a chapter close by and ask them for help to get you started. I'm sure there are lots of moms in your town that are going through the same thing. Check it out. I love being a part of my local MOMS Club. I have met many wonderful moms and my children made some great friends too.

Here is a link that might be useful: International MOMS Club

I called the local MOPS location near me, which takes place in a Baptist church but they haven't returned my call. From what I saw on their website though it doens't seem like it's a weekly playgroup, which is what I'm looking for. It looks more like a religious Moms bonding session - definitely not for me.

I am not interested in starting my own group. I want something already established with organized activities & not in someone's home.

I don't think you are being realistic. It sounds like you want to find a group of mothers who already have an established group to meet YOUR needs. They will have something established that meets THEIR needs. Maybe some of those will be the same as your needs, if you join them you should be willing to contribute ideas and planning and in that way you can do things that meet your needs (and probably those of others as well). You have to be flexible, and willing to do some of the work.

Every MOMS Club does a variety of things. Today, we had a Valentine Party with crafts, exchanged cards, and some free play time. I planned it. I personally hardly ever go to playgroups at homes, and host one even less, it's not me. I want outings and planned activities (as planned as you can be with toddlers). The club I used to belong to had certain set activity days, Tuesdays were park days (weather permitting). Every other Wednesday we had an arrangement with a local kids gym to reserve it for a one hour MOMS Club class, with the instructor and everything (we just had to include all ages to have enough kids) for $5 a child. The same gym also had an arrangement with our group that if we filled a class of 8 similar aged kids from our club for a regular weekly class, they gave us 50% off. I participated in that the entire time I lived there with one child or another, what a deal! The other Wednesdays a different mom volunteered to to do a story time and craft to go with it at a local church. Our group had nothing to do with the church/religion, churches are just usually really nice about letting the moms use the room for free provided we clean up. Other things we did included tours of grocery stores and McDonalds (for preschool age -yours will be there before you know it), trips to the zoo and children's museums, and special parties including clowns or petting zoos (when everyone chips in a couple $$ those kinds of things are doable). oh, and moms night out. I don't go to things that don't interst me. If I don't see things that interest me, I get involved and plan activities. I do what I want to do, I just like to put it on the calendar as a way of inviting other moms/kids to come join us. Members joined for different reasons, the ones who contribute get out of it what they want and need. We meet monthly to plan the calendar, so we can continually adjust our activities to best meet the needs of our members and growing children. We also form little circles of friends just by having same aged kids, or sometimes common interests between women regardless the age of our children.

What activities are out there for moms and babes is so often word of mouth, I don't know any way of looking it up in the phone book. Even info about really good preschools comes from other moms, not the phone book. Even if you found something now that meets your needs perfectly, it probably won't in a year as your child grows unless you are willing to be a part of the planning process. So it is really worth your trouble to get involved, give some input, make some friends, and find a niche. If you attend any meeting or group for moms and babies, even if it doesn't sound like exactly what you are looking for, you will get in on the loop. So go even if it's just a fact finding mission. Consider it networking.

Starting a new group of any kind isn't for everyone. But if nothing else comes up for you, it might be the best way to get what you want. I'm not trying to be mean, here, but from what I'm reading it seems like you have a excuse to nix every suggestion made. It's not likely there is a group out there with your name on it. If you don't like the groups that already exist, I'm sure with a little creativity and a few phone calls, maybe a notice in your ped's office (make a few fliers and just leave them in the waiting room) you could organize something to meet your needs. Afterall, no one else is going to knock on your door and offer to tailor something to your needs.

Hi Stepahnie,

Sure I want a playgroup to meet my needs. Doesn't everyone? I think I'm being realistic - what I want is what is offered at Gymboree but since as I already mentioned it's a bit too pricey b/c it is so advertised I figured there would be other similar groups that might be less pricey. I don't know of any other Moms who have kids my daughter's age or who are involved in playgroups to get info that way, which is why I was hoping there'd be anohter way to research one that I haven't already looked into.

Michie

Michie, do you have a community center that has classes maybe? We don't here but we did at our last house in NJ. They had wonderful mom and baby gymboree type classes. Also when my son was a preschooler he took arts and crafts and a cooking class there. He loved it! The neat part was it cost around $38 for a 12 week session!
My DD just turned 2. We do a class called Musical Munchkins which is terrific but it's not cheap.
P.S. While we don't have a program like this in our town the next town over does. We can do classes there and pay just a bit more than residents. My sons are in a chess club there and I noticed that they have baby and mom classes. So, check out your neighboring towns also!

Michie,

Have you tried the local YMCA? The one I used to work at part-time sometimes ran a program where they would set up different stations of activities for young children and their parents. It was called Room to Romp. It costs $3 or $4 a session and you didn't have to commit to any sessions ahead of time. I don't think you had to be a member of the YMCA either (but you probably had to pay a $1 or $2 more if you were a non-member).

Y's aren't really standardized (in either programs or facilities) so you might not find a program exactly like this but you can ask and maybe suggest it.

Dear Parents:

I live in Nassau County and I plan on starting an interactive program for parents and children. I will begin this 10-week program in September.
Some activities will include interaction through learning centers, story time, arts and crafts, and exercising/movement. I am looking for parents to sign up. The location will be anywhere between Bellmore and Massapequa. I am working on that at this point. I am looking at a fee of $30 for 10 ninety-minute sessions. If you are interested you can contact me at Lorraine34@aol.com. I will be more than happy to talk with you. The age group will be from 18 months to 36 months.

I'm looking for a mommy & me club in San Diego, CA. Nothing big or expensive. something to get my son associated with other kids and play with them. something fun and exciting...more like a play date if you would. Suggestions would be great. Thank you!!

The YMCA is a good suggestion. Also check out your local school district, adult education department at the district there too, and the parks department. All these groups do Mommy and Me, but not at all their locations. Good luck.

Try Moms Club International. My daughter just moved and found this group. They group moms by the ages of their kids and have kid appropriate gatherings and also mom events a mixed age group. Perhaps you could google it.

Wow, I can't believe how old this post is. My daughter is turning 6 in a few wks & it seems so long ago that I was having trouble finding activities. We've come a long way & activities are definitely not something we lack for these days. Back then when my daughter wasn't even a yr we did end up doing just about every library class & free trial class everyone offered & we did end up joining Gymboree, which was a wonderful experience & looking back now I feel well worth the $. Since she is an only child & was very verbal at a very young age we started her very early in nursery school (age 2 yrs 3 mos) so she could get more socialization & that worked out great too.

Things are much better financially these days & my daughter has been lucky enough to have been able to attend all sorts of classes & has some very good friends. She is currently in private school, takes Spanish, ballet (next yr Irish Step dance) & I am the leader to the Daisy Girl Scout troop (continuing on to Brownies). Things are good.

Michie

I have Two young kids My oldest is going to be five this month she is very playful and misses playing with other kids my son is one and isnt walking yet we have lived in Flint MI for about a year and in feb I will be giving birth to my third child I would like to be able to take my kids some where safe to play with kids their age if your in the Flint area and have a mommy and me group please email me thank you!!!! a needed mommy lol