AIBU to ask why you hate mum & toddler groups?

[nomdeploom]

I am a sahm to to two dc (a 2yo and a 5mo). The toddler group I go to is on 4 mornngs a week and without it I would go slightly mad. I have noticed a few comments on here by people saying that they hate them and never go and I just wondered why really.

The moment when the other mum says, lightheartedly 'I took ecstasy for the first three months and X is OK!'

No, seriously, I loved them too and they totally stopped me going postal. But the first thing really did happen.

The best ones I went to were run by elderly ladies who made sure I felt very welcome and introduced me to other mums.

L'enfer, c'est les autres.

My neighbour, a childminder, used to go, which put me off taking DD as she's a nosy cow whom I didn't want knowing my business.

If DogsBestFriend and I were to run a mother and toddler group, it would probably be the worst mother and toddler group in the world.

Nice cold beer, though.

I loved our one and went everyday except Sunday when it was closed, it was a One o'clock club and Sure Start ran it on Saturdays. Would've gone bonkers without it and met some really good friends there.

Other people's children that I was not interested in.

Boring conversation about baby wipes.

I went once, then thankfully went back to work.

Yep.... no mothers. No toddlers.

Definitely no toddlers.

(But can I bring the dogs please?) :o

I am with linerunner and dbf.

I cannot think of anything worse, other than Ann Summers parties and a cupcake bake off.

I've taken each of my 3 DC to the same one over the last 6 years. It's brill. Lovely big light room (with clean carpet), organised crafts, excellent toys, coffee (or cappuccino or hot chocolate or herbal tea) & toast for the grown ups, fruit and toast for kids, really nice mix of people, lovely person who organises it. Some slightly dodgy singing of a slightly religious bent (optional) on occasion is the only drawback. All the kids have made friends there.

Tanya now that is my kind of group! I'll gossip and drink wine ALL day! Why limit ourselves to the afternoon?

I am emotionally scarred from when I took DS2 to toddler groups. He was dxed with autism, and the parents would be snidey about it and tut if he wouldn't sit for story/rhyme time. Left a few times in tears and vowed never to go back.

I went to a few with DS3 but always left before carpet time.

I tried a couple of groups. No-one made any effort to say hello, and if I tried to chat I didn't get very far. What's the point in being in a room full of other people if they all pretend most of the others aren't there?

I used to like them (well ish).

But twenty years and five kids later I would rather take the baby to Sainsburys for breakfast and a noodle about than a toddler group.

You know if you buy a Baby/Pregnancy magazine for more than 12 mths it does a loop and starts doing the same articles over and over again?

Thats what toddler groups are like. The same people, the same conversations, the same stuff over and over and over again.

I was there once - I fretted about walking ages and teething and what nappies to buy etc. I find it very boring now and its not fair to inflict my boredness on people who have every right to fret about these things now.

Toddler groups

The one i went to with my youngest was lovely, the leader made a huge effort to make everyone welcome. It was once a week, and It was one of the things i was sad about when little miss started fully time nursery, as it meant our toddler days were over.

Special needs child with severe disabilities which makes our family life very different from others. Plus I am not very good in groups where a whole load of gorgeous bohemian yummy mummies who call their children Ziggy or Django and who know each other, sit in a circle and don't let anyone else in. I tend to over compensate and talk like an idiot and then people think I'm mad. Ghastly.

The nicest one I went to was a happy clappy Christian one and the young women who ran it made a really big effort to be kind (without shoving religion down anyone's throat)

I really like our toddler group. We go twice a week. Admittedly, it's not something I would choose to do if I didn't have a toddler, but as I do it's not a bad place to go! I prefer one of the days we go to the other (the people on one of the days are bordering on ignorant at times) but DD hasn't picked up on the fact that some of the mums are up their own arses a bit cliquey. As long as there is space for her to leg about like a whirling dervish and a few songs at the end then she's happy. And that's makes for a pleasant hour and a half in my book. I didn't go expecting it to be a source of scintillating conversation, I just thought there'd be different toys for DD to play with and some singing. I was lucky that, on one of the days at least, the people I met were lovely and I would class them as friends now.

Patronised by the type of woman who would actually go to a 'sling meet'. (Weeps for humanity)

A WHAT? AlpinePony?

Fuck off.

Nice, Siamo.

And who was that aimed at?

Alpine the smug fucker.

What is a 'sling meet'? Is this like an enthusiasts meeting or fan club? Like VW's or something? But slightly weirder?

Is a sling meet full of women who exchang slings? Sort of like pram huns, only more hippyish?

If a "sling meet" a a lovely meeting for mummies and babies in their slings then all the more reason I'm bloody glad I never went to a single M&T group.