is playgroup really necessary?

hi this might not be the right place to post this question but im wondering if play group is really necessary for bubbas under two.what are everybodies thoughts?:D

When they are that young I think it is more for us than for them!!! But my DD always seemed to enjoy it, she was about 16 months when I started taking her.

thanks total frog.that makes me feel better!my son is 17 mnths and doesnt go to anything really other than the park everyday.i was starting to feel like ive been depriving him of something even though he isnt really interested in playing as such with other kids at the parks.

Moving to the playgroup forums

Love

I wish I had taken my first born earlier than what I had. I would have known how severe his speech delay was alot earlier than I did, as I would have had other kids to compare him too.

We started attending when my 2nd born son was crawling about, and now 3rd son who is 10mths old has been attending since he was 4 days old LOL

love

If you arent interested in playgroup, have you found the library story time or rhyme time sessions at the local library? I didnt start playgroup with Sammy until he was your son's age but until then he had really enjoyed the interaction at the local library with other littlies his age.

Jo

playgroups are great - even if you are abit anti-social like me - lol.
you have access to stuff you might not do at home (messy craft??) and your ds can watch the other kids.....(like at the park lol)
but yeah not essential just nice:)

I started my son at play group at 9 months. He is now 20 months and has advanced speech. He can sing and dance along to most of the songs we do after only 2 or 3 times. Considering when we started he wasn't even babbling I think that the playgroup as really helped.

We moved when my son was nearly one so I didn't know anyone in the area, and I couldn't find a playgroup - everyone seemed to have their own friends and were closed to anyone new. I dont need the stimulation (I'm antisocial too :)) but was worried about DS. Now I take him to Art N Move on Tuesdays and swimming lessons on Thursdays (he's 2) and the rest of the time we keep busy with dad and big brother and I try to take him to the park and softplay. He's outgoing and happy and we didnt' really start any classes until he was over 1. At this age at the park they just fight over toys anyway.

I agree JohT, playgroups are great! Even if your child just sits there and watches the other kids play that's ok, they learn a lot from observation. It's also a wonderful time to chat to other mums who are probably just as shy/antisocial as yourself. If the playgroup has a routine: inside play/storytime/fruit-time/out-side play (like mine) then this can be a great preparation for kinder/daycare. Finally i think it's really good for young children to watch you as an adult meet and talk to new people. It will teach your child to have the confidence to be social :) Lastly, it will even boost your child's immune system as they mix with others. This is actually a good thing, frustrating at first, but better in the long run.

I want to take my daughter to a playgroup but finding it hard to find anything out about playgroups. I moved from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast when I was 6 months pregnant and don't really know many people here. Those I do know their kids are already in primary school. Im anti social in a way lol. My husband says i talk too much to complete strangers (too many yrs doing it at a job i suppose). how would one go about finding one around the caloundra/aroona area. All my friends are either in Sydney or back home in the US. at least those with kids around my daughters age that is.

carmen have you tried the playgroups australia website??? or the local early child health centre usually has some information. some of the indoor play centre places often have a "playgroup" on certian days of the week as well

the hardest thing I find is that a lot of the ones near me are "full"!!!! that is really frustrating -and in the end I just give up

thanks i really had no idea what to look for. I moved here from the us in 2003 all the stuff is new to me. Chloe is my first and only child right now. I was told to talk to the local hospital about a 1 yr check up? Supposedly its a group of kids around the same age on a specific date but I feel like a fool calling and not knowing what I am asking for :doh: all this stuff is rather new to me and when i am not working i find it hard to make new friends. Most of my friends were always work related. Thanks for the suggestion I will try that. Hopefully they aren't all full.

there are early childhood health centres around the place - depending on the size of town sometimes they are attached to hospitals - you can go hear and see a nurse and they do a general health check on your child. The health checks they like to do are in the blue or red baby book (colour dependent on state) the hospital would have given you when Chloe was born. They can often do the immunisations too (this depends on town).

Ours has always been more of a mother's group but Ella has learnt a lot about dealing with different personalities and now at 3 is forming some lovely little friendships with a couple of the kids.

I agree, I think playgroup is terrific for the little ones. I started taking DD this year and wish I'd taken her earlier. I wouldn't describe myself as antisocial, but definitely reserved and shy so it was more me holding her back.

My SIL decided she wanted to take her little boy too so we went together. Best thing I could have done for DD - she LOVES it!!

I don't think it's so important if you have a mothers group or if your child interacts socially with other children their age on a regular basis. I wasn't concerned when DD was younger because I had a mother's group that met weekly but once most of the mum's returned to work that pretty much stopped.

Hi everyone
I have never been to play group and i dont know what to expect - what happens, how much the bubs will actually get out of it.....
but Im still going to check it out nxt wk and see if she gets anything out of it, plus, I felt guilty in her not getting enough stimulation...........im be bored going from bed, cradle swing to pram so....

heres to it hopefully being fun, because my friend in syd said some women were so snobbish it put her off :-( still up for trying though

Hi Dolly,

I think playgroups are great! But you have to choose your playgroup carefully to make sure the time there is enjoyable.

I went to 3 playgroups before settling into one. There was one ran by mothers that was terrible. They threw the toys on the floor and the mothers just sat around and grouped other chatting (ie not even trying to include us newbie mums or make us feel welcome)

I then went to another one which has funding by the govt and they have proper teachers and specialists come in and they are great!!!!!!!

I thoroughly enjoy playgroup (even though it should be really for DD LOL) but they are so informative, and you get to socialise with a wide range of parents and your kids interact and learn how to share (thats what im hoping anyway!)