We moved to a new area and I am working from home. I grew up in this area and have a few friends still around, one good friend has a 2 year old and is pregnant who lives over the bridge but I would like to make more friends with some moms with kids around Stella's age. All the mommy and me type classes seem to be during the workday, we are going to signup for swimming this weekend but I suspect weekend classes may have a wait list.
How do I find mom groups? We are staying in this area long term so I want to invest time into finding "my people" and hopefully some kids that S can be friends with long term.
I've had the best luck meeting moms at places where the kids can casually play and we can chat - park, pool, free play at the little gym, etc.
We have quite a few activities around here that do meet after work hours. The little kids gym has evening hours for open play, music class has options as late as 7pm, the pool is open on Friday evenings and weekends.
Once I started to meet a couple of moms, it got easier. I met their mom friends. We'll have little play date parties and let people know that they are welcome to bring another mom friend with them.
*Beware of MLMers. I've gotten a bait and switch several times.
I love my moms club. I've met several people that I sincerely enjoy hanging out with and it's a super supportive group. I know the organization as a whole is aimed at SAHMs but we have working moms too. Yes, most activities are during the day but there are always a few evening things and always at least one mno activity a month.
I'm still struggling with this. My best bet has been making friends with other daycare moms.
All of the internet/FB/meet up groups are 95% aimed at SAHMs in my area. It's crazy how little there is for working moms. Fingers crossed for better luck in your area!
When I pick DD up at daycare she's always the last one there, I don't know wtf the other parents do but I am there at or before 5 and she's always last. I haven't met one other parent yet! I might have to pick her up early to try and stalk some other moms.
Find activities that you naturally like to do, and see if they have a family night, or things that include children. So, an art studio with kid art classes, or a restaurant, with a kid workshop days.
If it's just a kid focused event, that only connects you to someone because you both decided to procreate, it could be hit or miss, and take more screening.
This makes sense. There are a lot of things to do in our area, the library is down the street and they have tons of weekday activities. I might have to go and see if they ever have special events on weekends. We are looking to join one of the beach clubs near us (trial basis for this year, lol) so hopefully other moms will be there on weekends at the beach.
I met my mom friends through the library story time group. It just happened that my first or second time going they were trying to organize a mom group and I jumped on that.
hugs- i feel your pain- meeting new people can be hard
I've had some luck with meeting moms of kids in DSs class, other than that I've found friends through volunteering, going to meet ups, through classes, and professional development.
I've had a hard time making mom friends specifically. Most of the friends I've made are women who don't have kids, but I think a lot of that has to do with this area. The moms I encounter can be intense. I just want friends who will drink wine with me, go to yoga or for a walk/run, meet up for a meal, and have some conversations that don't solely revolve around kids.
I wish you lived in my neighborhood! My book club grew organically out of moms I met through DD and have now known for almost 8 years. We very rarely do things with our kids anymore and primarily get together to drink or go to yoga or try a new restaurant in the hood after the kids are asleep. But this is 8 years in the making. I don't yet have that kind of relationship with local moms who have kids DS's age.
I've made friends with other parents at M's dance class. A is a natural conversation starter lol plus they have other younger kids around the same age so it's like a mini play group for an hour and a half every week.
Post by CheeringCharm on Apr 4, 2016 18:00:52 GMT -5
I met most of mine through my kids' preschool. My DS1 started attending at 2 which is when I quit my job to SAHM. It's a co-op school which requires parents to be around a lot volunteering which is sort of perfect for meeting new people.
I did what @this did and asked a mom of a little boy DD loved to do a play date and they ended up moving down the street from us which was a fun surprise!
I've also gotten to know a lot of moms from the gym because their kids are there at the same time and they play together. We've also made friends at DD's dance classes and swim lessons and the playground in our neighborhood.
I met other moms through groups and daycare. That's pretty much it.
IME, most of the moms on the island SAH... a lot of Navy families and SAH wives of guys that work in Defense because the industry is just so large there. I knew of one babywearing group and in googling to find the name came across this site with other non-babywearing groups as well: asweetervue.com/local-moms-groups/
What helped a ton re: daycare was going to help out with class parties. They invite all the parents to come by and/or help and luckily g's class has a pretty good parent turnout. We've made two good friends that way.
I met other moms through groups and daycare. That's pretty much it.
IME, most of the moms on the island SAH... a lot of Navy families and SAH wives of guys that work in Defense because the industry is just so large there. I knew of one babywearing group and in googling to find the name came across this site with other non-babywearing groups as well: asweetervue.com/local-moms-groups/
Thanks! It's def harder here since so many residents aren't year round and there is so much military and I feel like a lot of those kids go to daycare on base so I wouldn't naturally meet them. I'm annoyed all the library classes are weekdays - the story times look fun and I can legit see the library from our upstairs window!
I'm sorry, I feel your pain. The mum groups here are so... earnest. Also potentially full of antivaxers. They're all called things like 'moxie moms' and 'mighty moms'. Barf. Where are the baby and me wine tasting groups?
I'm sorry, I feel your pain. The mum groups here are so... earnest. Also potentially full of antivaxers. They're all called things like 'moxie moms' and 'mighty moms'. Barf. Where are the baby and me wine tasting groups?
I want a moms group that meets at the local vineyard. Wine and no whining, lol. Maybe I should start my own group.
It is hard. It is like dating but on crack. Ha. It took a bit is hit and miss but I found when the weather is nicer and more people are outside it is easier to meet folks. Joining the beach club sounds like a great idea.
We are fortunate that we have some great neighbors with kids Ms age, friends of friends and actually met some fantastic women through this board. One whom we have become pretty good friends. It just takes time and you have to weed through the crazies :-)
Post by starburst604 on Apr 4, 2016 19:08:36 GMT -5
When you find out, let me know. I'm at least 45 mins from my good friends and getting together is a thing so it's infrequent. I've made small talk with a few of the moms of kids in L's room who seem cool but don't know how to go from that to "let's hang out!!" I'm hoping as she gets a little older and we start going more places and to bday parties and such that some friendships will form organically. I've also found that meet up type groups around me are geared toward SAHMs. It's hard to find my people
I'm sorry, I feel your pain. The mum groups here are so... earnest. Also potentially full of antivaxers. They're all called things like 'moxie moms' and 'mighty moms'. Barf. Where are the baby and me wine tasting groups?
I want a moms group that meets at the local vineyard. Wine and no whining, lol. Maybe I should start my own group.
We moved when DS was a little under 2 months old, and I feel like in the past few months I've finally found a few acquaintances/friends who have kids around his age. I searched on facebook a couple times for groups near me, and started going to a coffee group that meets once a week. Our local babywearing chapter meets on the weekend, if something like that would maybe interest you? I found I just had to go to random events and try to meet people.
I stuck a "want to have a playdate?" note with my contact info in all of the cubbies at daycare. It felt kind of desperate, but we actually ended up with a ton of playdates because of it. I've since become really good friends with one of the moms, so I'm really glad I did it even though it felt so awkward at the time. We always did the initial playdate at the park so there was no pressure to clean the house or cook (or figure out how to get the people to leave our house if they turned out to be crazy...).
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Apr 4, 2016 20:50:58 GMT -5
Set up playdates -- I feel like people are generally receptive to setting up playdates, even if they're too busy to actually schedule one. I've even set up playground playdates for the whole class.
If you're religious at all, look into local churches to see if any have moms bible studies or groups. My church has an amazing moms group -- I have met some amazing friends through it. Our primary meeting time is during the day (with free child care!), but we have several moms who work, so they come mostly to the socials which are in the evenings. We also recently started a book study for working moms in the evenings. A lot of churches will have MOPS groups -- they tend to be pretty evengelical. If that's your deal, great. But if not -- don't think know that's the only option (I'm Episcopalian).
You could definitely try starting your own group on meetup. I've known some people who are part of awesome groups that way.