Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

NCT groups - how long did you stay in contact for?

91 replies

Diamond345 · 28/12/2023 18:55

Curious as to how long you stayed in touch with your NCT friends for?

Did any drop out of joining in conversation early on?
Did you meet up often?

In my group, 3 of the women rarely spoke or came out when we arranged regular meet ups. We also did weekly classes and coffee after but again they didn't ever join in with that either nor respond. But would now and then say something. The rest of the mums are great and we are still in contact after a year so far.

I thought most people did NCT for the friendships and support group with other mums with babies the same age, rather than the course content as much!

Just wondering if others experienced this with their NCT group!

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

pinkfones · 28/12/2023 19:02

Our group are still in contact 4 years on.

There was 8 couples, one moved away soon after so lost touch. Another had a child with a disability so understandably left quite quickly.
The other 6 of us have stayed in touch and meet up 3/4 times a year as a group.

I have stayed in touch with 3 of the mums and we talk very regularly and meet quite often as well. It helps we've all has second babies.

DrFosterWentToGloucester23 · 28/12/2023 19:06

7 years on and they have become genuine friends. We socialise as a big group about 4 times per year and in smaller groups (just mums, just dads, those off on a Friday etc) much more frequently. I found the NCT course a great investment.

Patchworksack · 28/12/2023 19:07

They were a lifesaver that tough first year and we’re still in touch 17 years on -but the last meet up of all seven couples plus kids was about 4 years ago. I’m very friendly with two of the women and see them regularly and Facebook/Christmas card level in touch with the rest. We have talked about a meet up when our babies all turn 18 (plus 11 younger siblings!)

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Families General parenting

ElevenSeven · 28/12/2023 19:07

Until about age 5 with some of them fairly regularly, now at late primary age, only keep up with one. Most moved further out (inc us) as we were in an edge of London suburb at the time. My DC will likely be in secondary school with one as of next year, the rest are miles apart.

Some I deleted from socials when they started listing their pronouns in their bio. It’s a personal crusade of mine not to condone this…

Rarewaxwing · 28/12/2023 19:08

Still in touch with one of them after 24 years. She's one of my dearest friends.

Mirrormeback · 28/12/2023 19:10

18 years some of them

Pixilicious1 · 28/12/2023 19:10

There were 8 couples in our group. 4 of us are regularly in touch 12 years later

OrangePippa · 28/12/2023 19:12

Three of them are among my dearest, closest friends after 18 years. The other three I haven’t seen for many years.

FizzyStream · 28/12/2023 19:13

Three of us stayed in contact for seven years then Covid hit and we drifted apart. It's a shame really but we'd drifted a bit beforehand so it was probably inevitable.

Torganer · 28/12/2023 19:14

In touch regularly for the first year, mostly whatapp. There were 5 couples. Two moved out of London, but we still have the WhatsApp group going and text occasionally at 2yrs. Friends with one who lives near. One has had a second baby, sadly a few have been trying for a second, but have been unsuccessful so I can see why people drop out a bit.

FizzyStream · 28/12/2023 19:14

My stepmum is still friends with an NCT met friend 28 years on!

menopausalmare · 28/12/2023 19:15

12 years and still going strong. Love my NCT ladies❤️

Darkenergy · 28/12/2023 19:16

About 6 months - there were only 3 couples and I had so little in common with the other two. I ran into one recently socially and it was so awkward. But I made friends at a baby group who I'm still friends with 5 years on.

Botanica · 28/12/2023 19:18

I would have liked to stay in touch with my circle but found the chat, both in person and online, too focused on future second pregancies and since it wasn't going to happen for us, I reluctantly left the group.
There's times when I look back and regret it but have to accept our lives were going to pan out differently and it was ultimately just too painful to be around them at the time.

SaltyFulmar · 28/12/2023 19:22

We were a group of five. after five years none of us are in touch. One never really stayed in touch to start with, she seemed to take an instant dislike to one of the other girls. One lost her baby. One moved away. It’s a shame as it was a complete waste of time and money for me as I really wanted to meet other parents. I did after my DC was born through other groups though and we are still in touch over a decade later.

LazJaz · 28/12/2023 19:26

Covid group so social side really didn’t work out. We also found we had very little in common with any of the couples in our cohort. I wasn’t that sad when our WhatsApp group dried up. Find myself wondering when you can officially “leave the group”.
Though I think others in the group did become good friends.

IIdentifyAsInnocent · 28/12/2023 19:27

Not NCT but I was in a Mums due group on an old forum called village (the UK version has shut down now), but we still meet up 17 years later. Last big meet up we had was pre covid (we all live across the UK) but we stay in touch and I'm very close to 2 of them. We have been together through subsequent pregnancies and unfortunately stillbirth, miscarriages and divorces.

lissie123 · 28/12/2023 19:32

Still in contact with most of them after 25 years and meet for coffee or wine. They have been friends through some tough times.

lissie123 · 28/12/2023 19:34

Meant to say that was the NCT group

Walkingtheplank · 28/12/2023 19:38

I think I lasted about 18 months with my group. Typical set up of a queen bee, 2 hangers-on, 2 I really liked,

Sadly it all got a bit bitchy as I wasn't going to follow the demands of the queen bee and her hangers-on. I was unfriended on Facebook for not answering a message quickly enough! The 2 nice ones left the UK shortly after although this was unconnected. I would have liked to stay in contact with them.

That said, I did find it useful to have a circle of new mums to see once or twice a week in that first year.

megletthesecond · 28/12/2023 19:39

17yrs now. We catch up every school hols. The teens haven't come along recently but hopefully we'll drag them to bowling or mini golf in the spring.

OldTinHat · 28/12/2023 19:39

For about 4yrs until I divorced XH and they dropped me like a stone.

Funnily enough, they all reached out when every single one of them also got divorced over the next few years. I didn't bother to respond.

APurpleSquirrel · 28/12/2023 19:41

There were 8 couples in our NCT group. We saw each other pretty much every week for the first 8-9 months but it petered out when most of us returned to work.
We live in Somerset & the couples were in different towns. We became very good friends with one couple who live in our town, still see them regularly 9+ years on. Our DDs are best friends even though they aren't at the same school.
The others we've stayed friends with on FB & occasionally we run into them & have a chat. We did try a few reunions but it was almost impossible to coordinate so many different calendars/work patterns.
One couple moved away; another lived quite far away in comparison. The other couples who live closer together are still good friends I believe.

Ragwort · 28/12/2023 19:46

Not exactly an NCT group but a similar set up .... kept in touch for about four years, then drifted a bit, they all had a second baby (I didn't... by choice) I felt we didn't really have much in common apart from having babies at the same time. But I am still in touch with the friends I met through the primary school PTA and our DC are all in their early 20s .

NewUser1111 · 28/12/2023 19:54

I quite liked most of the people in our group and particularly liked a couple of them but it didn’t go beyond that and a few have moved away since then. I would’ve really liked to meet some people I gelled with properly but hey. I also found it quite competitive and I often left meet ups feeling anxious

Flip

1 2 3 4

Swipe left for the next trending thread