Stay-at-home moms...Did You Send Your Toddler to a Playgroup?

We did a play group once a week with other mom's. All of the mom's stayed. We also took a class at the YMCA and a class with the Park District. Everything we did was mom/child.

I find playgroup is difficult to arrange since everyone has different times and schedule, I used to take my son to places like my gym for classes, and once you become a member, you get two free plays, which is great since there are not much places for my active son to run around in the winter time.

Nope. My 2 year old is home with me that's why I choose to stay at home. We see our neighbors and their children on a regular basis and there is always someone on the playground to play with. I suggest trying to find a mommy meetup group, that way you can be with your child and get some adult interaction for yourself as well.

The reason I quit my job was to be a full time stay at home mother. People ask me all the time when I plan on putting my baby in pre-school or some other "day care" environment. It makes me feel that these people are implying that my being home isn't enough for my own child. I believe this is a personal decision so I am not here to judge anyone who does this but for ME, I am home for my children, not so I can send them off somewhere else. I don't worry about my child being bored. I have never been the type of mother to immerse myself into activity after activity to keep my baby entertained. Yes, I talk to them, I pick them up, kiss, cuddle, love all over them, nurse them, hold them, carry them around with me for a while..but then I have things to do and I put them down and I have always encouraged independent play. I have 3 children and another on the way. The youngest is 4, my two older children are in school all day. They do very well around others, my school aged children are very well adjusted in school, get good grades and over all are doing very well for never being exposed to any "day care" environment. IF this is something you feel you need to do, then do it but yes, your child may have some sort of anxiety when you leave. This is a natural thing that happens with many children...it doesn't mean they are insecure, it just means they have something new to adjust to. Good luck with whatever you decide.

That is the exact age that I started to get a little antsy myself, so I returned to work two days a week. My daughter went to a babysitter who had three children and my daughter was the only other one. She really loved being around those kids! I think it was a good experience for her to get time away and do different things...and it was good for me too.

My son is 24 months old and has never been to a playgroup, however, I do take him to indoor playgrounds, church daycare on sunday mornings and am considering putting him in a mothers day out program a few times a month.

We have play group at our house! That way both moms and kids get to play

My son is extremely high-energy, and we started sending him to daycare one day a week when he was 18 months. It gave him a chance to socialize with kids his age, and gave me some peace & quiet and a chance to catch up on house work. He LOVED it, and would beg to go whenever we drove past that part of town! The separation was only bad the first 2 times he went, and when I called later to check on him, they said he had calmed down before I even drove away. By the 3rd time he would try to run away from me to go play before I even got his coat off! Plus he would even nap for them, which has always been a struggle at home. It was hard to leave him with "strangers" after being home with him for a year, but it was such a great decision for both of us.

We also go to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) every other week. You can find a group in your area at www.mops.org, just search by your zip code. MOPS is for moms with kids from newborn through kindergarten, and the moms get to socialize, hear a speaker, do a craft, etc. while the kids are cared for in another room. MOPS also helped me hook up with moms who have kids the same age as my son. We get together outside of the group or trade off babysitting. I don't think my son would have any "friends" if it wasn't for MOPS. It's really helped with his social skills and the mom time is worth more than gold to me!

My mom has given me some grief for not wanting to spend every waking second with my kids, but I think she forgets how monotonous it can be to play with a toddler. I feel like I'm a better mom when I'm not fed up and tired. And when I pick my son up after a playdate, or even after 2 hours at a MOPS meeting, and I'm genuinely glad to see him (and he missed me!) I don't feel guilty for leaving him.

My daughter was in daycare from 6 months -15 months so now that I have been home with her and she is almost 2 I am loving "making up for lost time." I totally understand wanting to give that social interaction/time for deveopment though. I do a little playgroup with my daughter and a group of friends we have made. We meetup at parks and storytimes and such. It is organized on meetup.com and you should be able to find one in your area.
If you are looking to give your daughter a little more of an independant playtime, where you can go to the story or *gasp* do something for yourself for an hour or two, you are probably looking for something called "moms morning out" at least that's what they call it around here. If you are associated with a church check there, I know our church has one for kids 15-25 months. I think it's only one morning a week, it might be more once they hit the 2 year mark. I haven't really looked into it, but I know it's there. Good luck with your search!

How about you go to a playgroup with your little one, where you go with your little one. This way you get some adult chat time, little one gets to interact with other kids and it helps break up the week with somethign different. If you feel that you need a break, some moms just do and that is ok, then maybe once a week have a babysitter come over so you can have some me time.

I am, well was, a stay at home mom and from 5 months to 3 years old my daughter and I went to a weekly playgoup together. I had fun interacting with the adults and children, so did my daughter. At age 3 and 4 I did enroll her twice a week in a morning preschool because she loves to learn in a school setting and to be socail without mommy hanging around. Next year kindergarten!

I am about too. I have a Parent and Child Co-op Nursery school in my area that has an 18 month old program every Friday for two hours. The parents stay. The children have access to the great toys and supplies. In addition, she will and I will have a chance to meet other parents in the same age group.

I would take her and see if she likes it by spending the time with her yourself, stay in the background and see how she does. She's pretty young and may not want to be without you just yet. Some toddlers could care less and some really get crazy about not seeing mom. Usually out of sight out of mind works once you leave, but you have to make sure a little crying wont upset the playgroup directors.
Personally I would not take my children at that age anywhere and drop them while I was a sahm. I just hung out with other moms who had kids so we could both visit with people our own age for a little while during the week.

I don't send my DD to playgroup but I do try to keep her active. I am part of a local Meet Up where we do regular activities with a local group of kids about her age. We also do story time at the library, which she enjoys. Sometimes we hit up the play area at the mall (provided there aren't many big kids) or the park just to have her around kids even if she doesn't actively engage them. Today we are going to visit another WAHM who is taking an afternoon off and we are having a girls' day with our kids.

My DD was previously in daycare and we left the center (when I stopped working FT) when she was about 16 mo. old. I think she missed the interaction so at least once a week we do something - go to the nature center, visit Grandma, visit her cousin, go to a Meet Up, etc.

For me, I left the FT job in part to be with my child, so at this point (she's 2.5) I'm not looking for a break, nor am I in a rush to put her in preschool. I also find that the Meet Up helps me meet other parents, including stay at home dads, and other work at home moms. I've made some friends through our children and that helps ME not go insane. (I can tell when my friend needs someone older than 4 to talk to and vice versa.)

A question to ask is - are you looking for somewhere to give YOURSELF a break, or are you looking for social interaction for HER? The response is different based on your family's needs.

My son is 27 months old and is an only child. He started Montessori school and Little Gym at 18 months. He goes to school 2x/week, 2.5 hrs and Gym 1x/week for 45 mins.

It's incredible how he has developed since...not only in learning, but in socialization. And having a place like Little Gym for him just to get his energy out has been incredible.

Good luck!

I put mine in a 2 year old program twice a week for 2.5 hours. That way I could go to the grocery store or get some things done, like deep cleaning.

Nope. Never did that with either of mine. I did, however, join a playgroup that the moms AND kidlets got together about once a week for an hour and a half. The moms sat and chatted/visited/gossiped and the kids played with toys or on the swing set or playground or whatever. We would meet at different people's houses, or at a local playground or ChikFilA or whatever we decided from one week to the next. We even did an egg hunt around Easter time.

Just find a group of like minded moms with kids in a similar age range, and get together a few times. At 18 months, your daughter is not going to interact much with the other kids anyway... more parallel play and staring at each other and grabbing/fighting over toys. lol

I don't know what kind of play group you are talking about. I have never been to a play group where the moms didn't stay and hang out to visit with the other moms.

Are you talking aobut a Mothers-Day-Out type program, like a babysitter that is only open a couple of days a week? If so then yes, they are wonderful. Kids needs to have that experience, they get to learn to make friends, they learn you will come back, experience toys they don't have, learning things, doing crafts, etc....

I took my grandkids, I think 5 out of 7 have gone at some time or another. I need time to clean house, take a nap, sew, re-arrange the kitchen cabinets without a drummer helping, make OB/GYN appointments, go to lunch with friends, etc.... I am a person too and need time for myself or I get worn out, burned out, and am of no use to anyone.

Yes! for socialization and to get our son used to being around others besides me. He started going to a 1 morning a week nursery school. It was a parent co-op so sometimes I stayed and sometimes I did not. Then when he was 3 he did a 3 morning a week preschool.