Benefits of Playgroups

By: CostaRicaParents.com

Playgroups offer many benefits to parents and especially new moms. They can be a great place to get support, share experiences & ideas and meet friends. As a new Mom it can be overwhelming to tend to the needs of a baby for the majority of your day. It can feel like you have no time to yourself! Playgroups get us out of the house and committing to at least one regular activity.

It might be a little tough at first to go and spend time with a group of people you have never met, however you immediately have something big in common with each other – a child! This always gives us something to talk about. For new Moms it’s even easier because everyone has recently had a child, which gives you a tremendous amount to talk about!

Benefits of playgroups for children

Children who are not in school benefit greatly from the opportunity to learn how to play, share and socialize with others in a playgroup. Kids who are attending school can enjoy playgroups to see their friends and enjoy time with their parents nearby.

Kids have fun and they can try new things. You always get to play, sing, dance or make something at playgroup!

Benefits for Parents

Support - As women, we like to talk about everything. It’s amazing how therapeutic it can be to sit down with other ladies who can relate and understand what you are going through. It’s good for parents in general to share what they are going through. Not all playgroups are just for women.

Friends - You will meet new people and make new friends, some of which may become your friends for life!

Sharing experiences and ideas - it’s nice because you can get feedback and constructive thoughts from your new group of friends. You’ll be surprised at how many people have experienced something similar to you.

How to find a playgroup

Check in your local newspaper under the community groups section, and also in the newspaper calendar. Do an online search in your area, and check out any meet up groups. Start to ask around, and maybe put together an email for the people you know. Call the Public Health Office and see if they have any public groups set up. Public groups are a great way to find your way into a private group.

Start a playgroup

If you can’t find a playgroup in your area, and you are willing to get one together, then you can start one up. Please get well educated on public playgroups by doing plenty of research online.

Decide whether you want it to be a public or private group, and whether you will meet in people’s homes or in public places. Put together a little flier that you can post on public message boards, and put together an email to send out to all of your contacts. In your communications make sure to state your desired age range and when you would like the playdays to be. You can also find message boards to post your information online. Just make sure you are careful when making your group public!

CostaRicaParents.com has started a bi-monthly playgroup that meets within San Jose. The CR Parents playdays and activities are posted online. We encourage parents within Costa Rica to use the www.CostaRicaParents.com Forum to meet other parents and form playgroups in their area.