My goal is to get together moms in their 20s to make friends, build relationships, and a network of support. Also, for the kids to play with other kids, and build their social skills. I'm struggling to get the group going. I've been spending way more time than I anticipated doing this. My group's been around 6 weeks and had 4 meets. Here's some specifics:
1. It's posted on the sight meetup.com. I have 30 some members, but only like 6 who seem to participate
2. Moms responded from all over, I've been trying to hit more areas to be fair about travel, that doesn't help 100%, even when I drive 45 mins to someone's elses neighborhood
3. Twice now, we've meet at those large busy parks, and it just didn't work with 2-3 yr olds. We were stressed out and all over the place
Anyone have any advice on making a playgroup take off?
2007-05-26 09:36:22 · 3 answers · asked by sherman supporter 5 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
We originally got our group started on meetup, then chose to stop paying the fee after we were up and running. What's worked best for us is consistency. Our group is held at the same park at the same time every Monday morning. We meet at 11am and everyone brings lunch and it lasts for 1-2 hours. Try finding a smaller park that is less busy. It may not be as well known to everyone, so make sure you put good directions on your site.
I was like you at first, I would try to make it so that everyone could always come and I felt so guilty if times or meeting places didn't work just right for everyone. I think there were about 15 moms in the group on meetup, and only about 3-5 ever really came--the rest kept giving "maybe" RSVPs and then not showing. Then at the park we "pick up" other moms. I think this is a good idea because you know they know where the park is and that its a time that works for them. Meetup has business cards that you can print (in the "promote" section) to hand out, or you can make your own.
Most of the members of my group also walk together on Tuesdays and Thursdays so that's a nice way to socialize and get some exercise and the kids either ride in strollers or walk (our town has a great trail along the river). There was one mom who came once, and what she was looking for was more like "field trips" rather than just a casual gathering. So having a good definition and expectation for your group is also a good idea.
So for us, the once a week at the park is our main anchor meeting. We're also having a BBQ at my house in a couple of weeks to all get together and socialize as couples. We're planning to do a matinee for a movie this summer and go to the local waterpark, but even with those other events we'll still have our Monday meetings.
You can check out the new site we setup for our group. It's free through easysite. http://www.easysite.com/lewistonmoms then we put up a few fliers around town to advertise the site, and we also advertise on a couple of free online classifieds sites in our area.
2007-05-26 09:54:20 · answer #1 · answered by Heather Y 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i would post a bulliten or get the word out at your church or a local YMCA. i agree, sometimes its easier with small children to meet maybe at someones house instead of a large park. we found a "park for all children" that is fenced in and accesible to special needs children.
2007-05-26 15:16:55 · answer #2 · answered by karateJenn 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
craigslist I believe has a "groups" section, you can put up the add for free, you can display the add pretty far too, good luck
2007-05-26 09:41:20 · answer #3 · answered by housemetal2002 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋