How to Host the Perfect Playgroup!

Looking for some extra mom and toddler fun? Learn how to host a playgroup and invite over all your friends and their tots! Here's some good advice on how to get started.

As a parent, you want your children to make friends, socially interact with others, and have fun. One of the first ways a child can do this is by participating in a playgroup.

A Typical Playgroup

A playgroup is a group consisting of three or more children and their parents who get together weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly to socialize and play. Children might do a craft, play with toys, have a snack, play games, or dance and sing. If the children are cooperating, moms may be able to catch up with each other, savor some coffee, and be able to talk about their concerns as parents.

Wouldn't it be nice if this were how every playgroup culminated? A happy group of children and some relaxed moms. But playgroups don't necessarily turn out this way. Here are some suggestions to keep your playgroup manageable and enjoyable for everyone.

Set Limits and Structure

Limit the number of children attending and agree on some guidelines beforehand. Discuss a set time to begin and end each playgroup and decide on home rotations and types of foods to be served. Most importantly, discuss whether you all agree if a child should attend if he has a cold or has had a fever or virus recently. It can be awfully unnerving to arrive at playgroup only to see a child with a runny nose sharing a harmonica. It's best to start a group with moms that have similar rules for their kids.

Mess and Stress

Within my playgroup circle, we generally rotate homes so each mom hosts about once a month. It can be stressful when playgroup is held in your home. You may find yourself chasing little Billy who's squeezing a juice box and yelling, "I don't like fruit punch!" Making you want to scream, "My carpet doesn't like fruit punch either!"

Wonnacott expands the list of learned skills to include gross motor, sensory, cognitive, social, and self help. But she also believes that playgroups expand kids' horizons, giving them exposure to things they may not see, or do, at home. For example, a child may never learn to use scissors in her own home where messes are discouraged, but can explore all kinds of art supplies in someone else's home.

Our group used to have a holiday party and we all agreed to pitch in to make it easier for the mom hosting. Everyone brought something to eat, and we took turns hosting the big parties. We decided on a grab bag for the children at Christmas and Hanukkah. Each mom was responsible for purchasing a non-gender specific gift for five dollars. Every child got a cute gift, and no one had to spend a lot of money. It was fun seeing a group of three-year-old children tearing into presents and yelling excitedly at the gift they received from their friends.

Throughout the year, we let the children decorate and frost their own cupcakes for birthdays, create Halloween crafts, or exchange valentines. Additionally, each year a mom hosted an Easter egg hunt. The children each painted or colored a paper bag and then we'd all go outside to collect eggs filled with candy. The memories of our babies toddling around the yard not knowing what to do are precious.

There are so many different ways to make your playgroup successful. The key ingredient however, is to make sure that all moms are singing off the same page. If moms don't have the same discipline ideas or parenting skills, this can cause a lot of friction between children and parents.

Kathleen Gimpel, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, participates in playgroups where she is comfortable around the parents because if she doesn't have a similar set of limits as the other moms, it makes it hard for her to relax and enjoy the adult time.

Gimpel also uses the playgroup as a reinforcement tool. For example, she'll say, "See Mary Kate, Annie's mom doesn't let her jump down the stairs either!" She sums it up by saying, "It's the whole 'takes a village' theme of parenting to which I am a big subscriber."

Roseann Fox, also from Newtown, has some suggestions for a successful playgroup. "For obvious reasons, stay away from Play-doh and paint," says Fox. "Once I let the kids string fruit loops and make necklaces they could eat. It was a big hit!"

Gabrielle Watters-Smith, of New Hope, Pennsylvania, suggests setting a time limit of two hours maximum and limiting the group size based on the space available. When she hosts a playgroup, she keeps food simple and also puts away toys her sons do not want to share.

Whatever you do at your playgroup, remember that the focus should be on the children. It's an important time in their lives for learning, and most of the learning is done through play and social interaction.

Finally, two vital things to remember at playgroup: never bring chocolate sprinkled donuts to your friend's home, and, if you act quickly, most stains will come out of the carpet.

Our group used to have a holiday party and we all agreed to pitch in to make it easier for the mom hosting. Everyone brought something to eat, and we took turns hosting the big parties. We decided on a grab bag for the children at Christmas and Hanukkah. Each mom was responsible for purchasing a non-gender specific gift for five dollars. Every child got a cute gift, and no one had to spend a lot of money. It was fun seeing a group of three-year-old children tearing into presents and yelling excitedly at the gift they received from their friends.

Throughout the year, we let the children decorate and frost their own cupcakes for birthdays, create Halloween crafts, or exchange valentines. Additionally, each year a mom hosted an Easter egg hunt. The children each painted or colored a paper bag and then we'd all go outside to collect eggs filled with candy. The memories of our babies toddling around the yard not knowing what to do are precious.

There are so many different ways to make your playgroup successful. The key ingredient however, is to make sure that all moms are singing off the same page. If moms don't have the same discipline ideas or parenting skills, this can cause a lot of friction between children and parents.

Kathleen Gimpel, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, participates in playgroups where she is comfortable around the parents because if she doesn't have a similar set of limits as the other moms, it makes it hard for her to relax and enjoy the adult time.

Gimpel also uses the playgroup as a reinforcement tool. For example, she'll say, "See Mary Kate, Annie's mom doesn't let her jump down the stairs either!" She sums it up by saying, "It's the whole 'takes a village' theme of parenting to which I am a big subscriber."

Roseann Fox, also from Newtown, has some suggestions for a successful playgroup. "For obvious reasons, stay away from Play-doh and paint," says Fox. "Once I let the kids string fruit loops and make necklaces they could eat. It was a big hit!"

Gabrielle Watters-Smith, of New Hope, Pennsylvania, suggests setting a time limit of two hours maximum and limiting the group size based on the space available. When she hosts a playgroup, she keeps food simple and also puts away toys her sons do not want to share.

Whatever you do at your playgroup, remember that the focus should be on the children. It's an important time in their lives for learning, and most of the learning is done through play and social interaction.

Finally, two vital things to remember at playgroup: never bring chocolate sprinkled donuts to your friend's home, and, if you act quickly, most stains will come out of the carpet.