Playgroup costs - seems excessive at this stage

[Cassius2]

the part of the fee structure you have that i dont understand is the $40...is this to the community house? it just seems excessive that they want the 40 on top of a weekly allowance of $4 (which BTW i also find a tad excessive!).

our MG became a 'playgroup' when our free sessions at the MACH centre also ran out. we had to for insurance purposes for any of the places that we wanted to use. for us currently (in a group of 10) the playgroup VIC fees are $25 p/a pp, and a $14 fee for the community house per term pp. i find the latter exxy as we used to just do a gold coin donation and meant that whatever week you couldnt make, you didnt have to pay for. also, the terms are following school terms and i just dont see the point of that...we used to be able to go all year round (big deal in brunswick where it is baby boom capital and space for kidlets etc to just play and hang out is a premium). BUT that said, the support and friendship and fun that DD has is worth it for us, especially as we do have a space for the kids to play rain, hail or shine. visiting eachothers homes is not practical when many of us live in narrow victorian terraces with no yard lol.

[CrazyLady]

Odd, I am pretty sure the playgroup I am starting Tuesday is free. I asked the nominated lady on the phone about fees and all she said in reply is "just bring a piece of fruit for the share table". The facilities seem pretty nice too with an outside shaded area and inside nice plush rugs for the kids to play on.

[Just Me]

I think 'playgroup' is a registered name and the fees are for joining a playgroup in the Playgroup Australia association which is why there is an annual fee and I have seen other playgroups that charge an annual fee and $4 per week per child or $10 for a family on top of it.

I think if you want less fees but still want to go along to one, look for groups with a variation on the name such as Playtime Group or just Playtime. I go to a playtime group and they charge $1 per week per family. Morning tea and craft are all included but we all go on a roster and take turns at doing different things like bringing morning tea, running craft, telling the story or doing the singing. I think it works well.

Most of these variation groups will be run by community centres, schools or church groups - places where insurance is already covered by the overarching organisation.

Hope that helps

[Cassius2]

I think 'playgroup' is a registered name and the fees are for joining a playgroup in the Playgroup Australia association which is why there is an annual fee and I have seen other playgroups that charge an annual fee and $4 per week per child or $10 for a family on top of it.

Most of these variation groups will be run by community centres, schools or church groups - places where insurance is already covered by the overarching organisation.

Hope that helps

yeah this is the difference i think with the fee structures. Playgroup is a registered association as JM mentioned. if you can find a community centre one then i reckon that's the way to go! the ones we tried to get into (but our original group was too big being the old MACH run group of 11 girls) had awesome playspaces and kitchenettes with great climbing toys and mats etc that grew with the children. so if you had a little baby that was fine, there were couches and coffee, tea facilities and a fridge to store food and microwaves. and then for the bigger toddlers etc there were the climbing frames and mats. man, how i wish we could of been able to do that!

[~*Niadalla*~]

Our playgroup costs $45 per year per family ( half going to the playgroup to cover tea, coffee, milk, paint etc, and hall hire, and half going to Playgroup Victoria). No on going costs at all.
I have been going since DS was 6 months old... more for me at the beginning to get to know people in my area.
All that money PLUS a weekly fee seems a tad overboard.

[Snacks]

Yup seems expensive to me too. Another alternative is to look for church-run groups. The hall doesn't need to be hired out and sometimes there are even volunteers who set up crafts or organise morning teas for you so you can spend the whole time gasbagging... erm... looking after your kids.