Playgroups

[IanTa]

Hi, I'm not sure where to post this and the the topic name doesn't fit exactly.

I'm an uncle in Manchester concerned about my adult niece in London, NW9, who has a two-year old boy and a husband that works all hours to make ends meet so basically mum is on her own with son all day. I can see she is struggling a bit and I THINK she (and son) would really benefit from meeting other mums/toddlers at free playgroups etc. Does anyone know of any/use any around that area? Or is there a single point of contact/register for someone wanting to find out?

Thank you for your help.

Ian

Check your local churches they tend to have a group on.
Leisure centres.

Search on Facebook

@IanTa if money isn’t an issue for you, you can buy gift vouchers for groups you think she’d like and pay for a term at a time.

Contact the local SureStart centre

The health visitor will have a list. Is this Brent Council? See here for example
www.brent.gov.uk/children-young-people-and-families/support-for-parents-and-families/family-wellbeing-centres

These family centres will have a schedule of stay-and-play type groups

Thanks for your all suggestions, I appreciate it, all very helpful.

Libraries tend to offer free ones which you can just Google and turn up. The best ones are often the ones you pay for though, so if you have the money a lovely gift would be buying a term of a music or messy play class!

Do you know what the barrier to her doing this currently is? Because she doesn't know where they are / what to look for? Find this quite hard to believe in London as there are groups and activities everywhere, especially with a two year old!

Happily.co.uk is a good website to find groups. But I think if she isn't already going to some by the time little one is 2 I think there may be another reason other than not knowing where they are?

Thanks again for further input - I agree, I think there may be something else going on here, something stopping her getting out and about, so I'll go and see her and see what's what.

Hi
I know you don’t know why your niece isn’t going to any groups or so…
but just thought I would share that I found it daunting going to groups for the first time as I didn’t know anyone nearby who was pregnant or had babies etc
but people at groups were lovely and some were just as anxious as me.

I do find ‘bookbug’ sessions at the local library really good. They are free and also a gentle introduction to groups if someone feels awkward about meeting new people as you are watching the reader and going along with actions so you are not having to think of something to say to other people etc.

AIso, I know you don’t know why, but if your niece is anxious about going to groups, I know there is a group in my area that is mental health support for mums that is basically for mums struggling at all with anything, including feeling lonely & overwhelmed etc so if she is anxious etc there will be other mums feeling the same.

when her Little boy turns 3 he will get funded hours at nursery which will give her a break, but good if he can socialise before then too so that the transition to nursery is easier.

i think someone already mentioned that’s speaking to her health visitor is also a good place to start. Mine asked me if I had other family or friends nearby etc and because I didn’t she referred me for a group.

I worked from home while pregnant and was to anxious to go anywhere and meet anyone new, but now have other friends with babies so it’s all been really helpful and even though mine is not at an age to necessarily play with other kids it makes life feel much easier to have other parents to socialise with and share stories and advice etc. It also makes the days go by quicker and feel like I’ve done something! And nice to hear other mums talking about falling behind with laundry, or any worries they have etc to realise I am not the only one.

Anyway hopefully you will find what will be best for your niece and her son, but just thought I’d share some ideas too.
take care

Thanks for sharing your experiences and insights, Bree82, they're really helpful in putting things into a possible context. You make a lot of sense! I will keep gently encouraging her to get out and about and point her towards the sources of support that have been identified.

Thanks to all future posters on this thread, too; hopefully it will be useful to others who might find themselves in a similar position.

@Ilikepinacoladass

are you sure the website you suggested is genuine? When I tried it a pop up came saying my phone is hacked!

sorry op, I’m not much helpful here. But your post has been helpful for me, in similar situation with toddler.

When I first started trying to find groups, other than speaking with health visitor, I also googled groups in my area, and also on Facebook. I looked for NCT groups that I found online and on Facebook pages.

but I’m sure checking with local libraries and community centres they might have groups on or be able to point out some x

Oops sorry, it's happity.co.uk

Must have autocorrected!

Search your local Facebook groups for previous posts on ‘playgroup’ ‘stay and play’ - or even post on there to ask what’s going on locally, you can usually do this anonymously too and it’ll give you a good idea what’s available. Definitely look into the 30 hours free childcare hours as this will need to be applied for and waiting lists for nurseries / pre schools can be high. Some parents also qualify for 15/30 hours funding at 2 years old depending on circumstances - have a look on the government website for this. Best of luck!

I know this is an old thread, but here's a list of most of the stay-and-play groups in Brent (I think NW9 is also in Barnet too?); https://www.theplaymap.co.uk/playgroups/stay-and-play-in-brent

As a previous poster mentioned, most are run by churches (but welcome all faiths/none) or community centres. Some you need to pre-book etc, but I hope the list above shows enough of whats on in the area.

library's run group activities for little ones