To ask how many baby/toddler groups you really go to?

[DulcieRay]

Just that really! How many groups do you really go to? Do you go to groups at all?

Two regular activities but up to 4 a week depending on what else I have on and the weather.

None

It's taken me a while to get going. DD is seven months today.

At the moment I do
Monday swimming
Tuesday massage
Wednesday sensory play
Friday puppet and music
Saturday music and stories

They run in six week blocks and all came along at once. Massage is my second block because I loved that. The rest I don't think I will do again except swimming.

Lots during maternity leave, Monday was a new parents coffee morning. Tuesday was a mum keep fit class (so more for me really), Wednesday was moo music, Thursday baby sensory and Friday a free singing session at the library and Hartbeeps! I'd have gone barmy in the house all day. Some days we would be in the house all day apart from a class, and the classes broke up the time nicely.

DC now 15 months, and we just go to a playgroup on my non working day in the week.

We used to do baby yoga, sensory play, a music group, a childrens centre group (plus another briefly) and rhyme time (not necessarily all at the same time) up to about 7 months.

Now we socialise with other mum and babies at homes, soft play or out to the park etc but still do one childrens centre group a week plus swimming lessons (DS now 11 months).

We are out every day though otherwise we both go stir crazy!

Only one actual toddler group, then swimming lessons.

With previous children I only went to one too.

I've just finished maternity last week - I went to sensory (which also included free play and songs) & rhythm time. I now go to toddler sensory on my day off and planning swimming on a weekend.

in 6 months maternity leave i went to 2. £8 to listen to other people lying didn’t seem a good deal to me (all babies slept through the night at 4 weeks maximum, saying “mum” at 4 months, ...). the rest of the time was spend complaining about them being bored and that maternity leave is too short.
a really, really weird way to spend your time (there are no free groups around here)

Plenty. I preferred classes to play groups. I can’t imagine anything worse than being home all day with a baby, voluntarily. We did a music class, baby swimming, baby sensory, a music and movement type thing and one messy play thing. If we did one thing in the morning, then he and I napped after lunch, and we did park/somewhere outdoors weather willing plus reading lots of books, I felt I had done my duty and didn’t feel guilty about being on MN.
I did make lots of friends though- not life long buddies but people who often went for a coffee after the class, or someone we would make an occasional plan with.
I had two different babies- one very sociable and one not. They have the same personalities now that they are older. The groups were more for my sanity than theirs. When I went back to work, my nanny continued to take them to groups etc.

We did baby sensory and baby rave, and swimming for a while, so three groups a week. But it was a bit much, I needed things to be more flexible so now we just do playgroup every week and sometimes go swimming or to a playgym.

In the beginning, loads. Maybe 3 a week. By the end of mat leave, I was only doing baby swimming once a week. I found I missed so many prepaid classes that it was a waste of money in the end.

Monday: Music
Tuesday: Toddler Group
Wednesday: Gym Class
Thursday: Sign Language in the morning, Stories and Songs in the Library in the afternoon
Friday: Toddler Group

We don't go to everything every week but I like having options. I have an 11 month old and a 4 year old. The 4 year is usually at preschool in the morning so it makes sense to do stuff with dd then and then we do his stuff in the afternoon. We swim at weekends. I mostly go for the caffeine.

I used to go to one in the park every morning,every day for 3 years. Packed up our lunch ,fed the ducks on our way home and made life long friends there. Saved my life that place did,shame the funding was pulled

About 3 or 4 a week depending on the week. We do a combination and are just about to start activities such as group swimming for toddlers, biking etc. We also sometimes meet other friends at soft play etc.

I have done baby massage, baby swimming class, toddler talking and communicating group plus general toddkers. Ds2 loves it and is far more sociable than ds1 was as he has had a lot of social interaction from a young age (he also often goes to a childminder who does a lot of social activities with him).

We did a few weeks of sensory, once a day, then a few fitness classes and very little else. We enjoy days out rather than classes and going back to work at 6 months means baby will have the interaction anyway.

I never went to any. I did NCT classes with my first and went to one catch-up. Nice people but we didn't actually live very close together, and I knew I was moving abroad soon so just didn't invest the time. And I was busy with moving!

Moved with a 3 month old, never went to anything with her until I found an informal group through a Facebook group. We just went to someone's house once a week. That was how I made friends in my new location.

With my second I wasn't working and probably would have benefited, but I just never got round to it.

I think some people really like to get out and meet people and not go stir crazy at home. I was walking my older one to nursery with my coat over my PJs and then slobbing out at home with my newborn...!!

Moved to another country when youngest was 6 months old and started working full time again. I do sometimes feel like I 'should' have done more but it doesn't seem to have had any negative effect. Groups are for parents, not for babies, so it just depends on what the parents want/need.

My son is 3 and goes to nursery 2 days a week (he did 2 mornings from age 1-3 then these extended to full days last term)

On the other 3 days we have block booked sessions at a local play area one morning a week (not a led group as such, but we meet friends there), go swimming one morning a week (again not a formal class, just pre booked pool time) and then have one day ‘free’ for days out with friends. The rest of our time we fill with trips to the park/library/play dates.

We stopped doing formal groups after he started to walk and was able to express a preference- turns out he hated them as much as I did and spend the sessions trying to run for the door!

I used to go to 4 or 5 a week, and weather permitting, a park or somewhere outside the other half day.

It let me feel totally guilt free to leave my kids playing alone when I was doing chores first thing it the morning, and making diner later on. It worked well for us!

When I was on maternity leave I went to at least 3 things a week. Sensory, stay and play, swimming, music classes etc. I've always found it much easier to structure my day and be out and about, with both DCs.

Now I work 3 days a week I still take DS to a stay and play on my day off, and the other day we try to meet friends.

At the moment just one, baby sensory. I like it because it is based around activities and I find conversation happens around that more naturally.

I tried a church baby and toddler group a couple of times but felt so unwelcome by the other mums that I didn’t go back. It was like being at school. Ironically it was my own church that I have gone to all my life, so I should have felt comfortable, and whilst I know the ladies running it and they are lovely, I found the mums and various childminders who use it to be really unfriendly. Is as shocked at how much it upset me. It definitely put me off other groups like that, which is a shame as I suspect I might have had a better experience elsewhere.

DS is 6 months now so planning to go back to Rhythm and Rhyme at the library now that he can get more out of it.

I was quite hard on myself as a first time mum that I didn’t go to more/persevere with the church groups, but no point in making yourself do something you don’t enjoy, right?

When I was on maternity leave I took my DS to something every day. Usually a paid class a couple of times a week (we did sign and sign, hartbeeps, baby sensory) and then a free baby group on the other days. As the babies got older I tended to meet up with friends with babies so we could go to places together. Now I'm back at work we don't go to groups all that often as I don't see him as much so it's nicer to spend time at home or go out somewhere that he can have a walk around, he sees other children two days a week at nursery.

We didn't start going to groups until he was about 3 months though as neither he or I were very well after the birth.

None. I hate them and DS is only 10 months. He likes his sleep and at the moment they would interfere with his naps too much. Once he moves to one nap and is old enough to benefit from then I will force myself to take him, although I work 3 days a week so choice will be limited. For now walks in the park, meeting friends and swimming do just fine

None - wasn’t my thing. Preferred to see friends and DC’s went to nursery full time from six months.

Playgroup once a week.