Play On! | 0 - 12 Months

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Baby's First Year

6-9 Months

Play On!

Play On!
5 Steps to the Perfect Playgroup

These days finding playmates is serious business. Here are some helpful tips for finding the perfect playgroup.

I remember when my baby finally reached the age where he was gurgling, happy, and playful. It was around this time where I decided that it would be a good idea for him to meet other babies and start developing his social skills. Although I was leery about the idea at first, I became more open to it as I was realizing the differences in my relationships with my friends without children. I was more than ready to meet some women who were going through my day-to-day experiences and could connect with my lifestyle and newfound joys and struggles of having a young baby. I also want my baby to have some fun and learn how to play with other children and meet other adults without having anxiety.

After I started to chat with other moms in my neighborhood, we decided to begin our own playgroup. Playgroups allow you and the baby to get out of the house and meet other infants and parents. They are usually formed through women who live near to one another and whose children share the same doctor or educational environments. When developing a playgroup, you definitely want the children to be around the same age—toddlers can be more aggressive than babies.

Here are some tips on what to consider when forming a playgroup:

Decide how large or small you want the playgroup to be: how many parents should be involved, how many babies would you like to get together? 4-6 babies is usually a good size—you don’t want too many people in the mix because it could get overwhelming, and at the same time you don’t want the group to be too small because cancellations are more likely to occur.
Research a location: do the parents prefer to rotate homes and hosting? If not, the group can look into using a church or community center playroom. Whatever you all decide, you don’t want one mom constantly hosting and being responsible for cleaning and etc…
Figure out which days and times work best for the group: the group needs to decide if you would like a standing appointment every week or every other week. Babies are usually most playful and rested during late mornings. If you wait too late in the day, be prepared for a cryfest.
You want to be sure to choose parents who have similar mindsets and values as your own. It’s important to establish rules within the group that everyone can agree on and enforce such as sick babies should stay at home. Figure out how to discipline baby aggression, such as biting and hitting.
Activities: be sure to have planned activities so that you can make the most out of the play dates. You could share educational videos, read or sing aloud, or allow the kids to play with certain toys together.