How much do you pay for baby groups?!

[blublub]

I was talking to a friend I hadn’t seen in a while who has had a baby. I asked her if she managed to get to any baby groups with them yet (3 months old, remember I was going potty at home alone at that age and they helped me) and she said she had been going to a class but couldn’t afford to keep it up because it was £12 a week! Now I don’t remember them costing this much, am I out of touch?! I only paid a couple of quid at most with mine 10 years ago, I’m sure I did. There’s inflation but that seems crazy! I felt sorry for her, I remember how hard it was getting out with a baby but it really kept me sane. Is this the new normal now for mums and babies?

Yep! I pay for 3 music/sensory classes a week at £15 each. I also pay for a messy fun class at £15 and a football class, also £15. I go to a soft play 3 times a week which would be £10 a session if I wasn't a member of the gym it's attached to.

Oh, I forgot, I also pay for a mum and toddler sing along class. Also £15.

There are loads of church ones that are a couple of quid but I think the ones with limited numbers and a dedicated group leader etc are about £30 a term…I’d be expecting a LOT for £12 a session

She called it a "class" not a playgroup.
They are always more expensive.
I'm sure she could find cheaper or free.

It depends. Church Playgroups etc round here are £1 or £2 including a coffee and a biscuit. Things like Baby Sensory, Baby Massage, Sign Time etc that are guided classes are between £10 and £12 a week.

I went to NCT coffee and play - took my own coffee and snack so free, but I paid to park nearby.

Baby and toddler group was £2 at my local church - fabulous and lots of lovely old ladies ran it - substitute grannies!

I didn’t bother with anything more fancy than that.

Weekly I go to a church play group for £1 per family, rhyme time at the library for free and a different church for a stay and play also free

I'm a childminder and go to three groups a week. Tuesday its the library for nursery rhymes and sensory toys, this is free. Wednesday and Thursday are two different church playgroups. One charges €4 and the other charges €5. Both include snacks for the kids, fruit,cheese, bread sticks, raisins, organix bars etc. Tea and biscuits for adults. Church playgroups are 2 hours .

There is also a soft play that does toddler mornings for €6. No food included.

It depends on whether we’re calling it a playgroup or a class really! I’ve got two kids, 11 months and 4yo, and do a variety a week.
Church hall type playgroup, £2 for both
Library sing/rhyme group free for bkth
Rugby £9.50 per class (4yo)
Swimming lessons £15 each
Football £5 per class (4yo)
Music class £8 (11mo)
Music/dance/activity type affair £9 (normally just 11mo, sometimes both, reduced for two at £15)
I think there’s always cheaper groups to be found, but you may have to look around a bit. And be brave about going and chatting!

Sorry, but that's insanity! Where in the country are you that every group (for babies?) is £15 a pop!?

The most I've paid is £3 for your basic room with a bunch of toys. The kids get a snack and the adults get a cuppa. Granted I never went to the more specific things, like baby massage, etc but I'm certain they still don't cost that much each where I live, other than the swimming lesson but I don't think that really counts as a play group.

Ridiculous.

Standard in London. I think you can find cheaper ones associated with churches or the council?

I only ever went to church baby groups or ones at the children's centres. They were either free, £1 or £2. Didn't ever do any expensive class type ones. This was 2018-2025, youngest started reception in September. I'm due again in may and the children's centres here have started doing loads more groups in the last few months, so I'll mostly be going to that + a church run group for babies under 18 months.

With my first I used to go to a free group in a church with a free brew for parents too. Vibrant group lots of parents to talk too.

I have since moved and I have been once to the local equivalent, £5 only 4 other people there, awkward and stilted and won't be going frequently. .

I have 5 month old and haven't done anywhere near the activities i did with my first. There's just not the same feeling to the groups here but there's more casual stuff with people.

We went to church play groups at various churches. Usually £1-3 a time and no obligation to turn up week after week. The exception was Tiny Talk as we absolutely loved the sign language classes. One class and many parent and baby groups.

My eldest is 16 now and I used to go to something every day. It was or £1-3. A few crinkly things and a wooden spoon to occupy the babies but it was mainly for the mums to speak with other adults. The toddler groups were about £2 per family and the children got a biscuit, juice and somw fruit, the toys were colourful and missing batteries but the youngsters all socialised.
By the time my now 9 year old came along, there was alsorts of groups. Sadly, most of them were out of my price range, not because they were £5-10 per session, but because you had to block book the full term, so you'd have to pay £40-£60 out in 1 go. And if you wanted to do 2 or 3 a week you were having to pay our over £100 in the space of a week. I found these groups too structured, my children all liked to do their own thing so they really didnt suit us.

I’m in west London:
Baby Sensory, baby yoga, Hartbeeps, baby sign are all around £12-15 each week.
Swimming is £24 a week.
Church stay and play groups are around £3.
The library and children’s centres do some free classes.

Ive been shocked how much ive had to pay. Baby sensory £8.50 for 45 mins. There are free ones but a hassle to get to, as theyre in villages. Baby swim classes £99 for 6 sessions!

We charge £2.50 for brownies and thats an hour and half, and they dont sleep through it 🤣

It’s £10-15 around here for a class.
£3 for a playgroup.
Sports like dance, gymnastics, rugby and football for toddlers cost a lot more with membership usually around £30 a month plus the cost of classes and uniforms and branded equipment are also usually required at an additional cost.
I really wanted toddler dd to join a football class because she loves running around with her brothers, but I can’t justify a sports club membership and a team uniform for an 18m old who’s mostly just going to dance around on the field.

Back in the day (my oldest is 18) in the golden years of Sure Start in East London we were inundated with free groups. We went to gardening group, stay and play, baby massage, library storytime, toy library, baby gym, art club. They all came with snacks as well! The only group we paid for was a private singing/music group, I can't remember how much it was but it certainly didn't break the bank.

I'm in the NE and go to 3 church toddler groups with my 2yr old a week. The most expensive one is £2. They're all incredible quality with great snacks for the children and tea and coffee and nice treats for the adults too.
I'm not paying the ridiculous prices for guided classes. I can wave a scarf at my baby and sing a nursery rhyme for free at home and feeding my child is all the messy play they need!

We pay for council swimming lessons because swimming is a life saving skill. I worked out that private swimming lessons often cost about £1 a minute!

We also obviously pay for family days out to soft play, farm parks, aquariumms etc maybe once a month at most? And we spend lots of time on play dates etc too. I don't think my happy, sociable, confident toddler is missing out on anything by not going to expensive, structured classes from birth.

Baby “walking” groups are free - local Facebook groups usually post.
I've paid for short courses of things like gym, but baby sensory was too much for me.
do stuff for “mum” like yoga.
church groups need to be over 6mth if not 1 year really I found as little ones don’t do a lot but hearing singing and mum chat is needed for sanity/variety.

swimming is a total waste of money on a baby IMHO. Classes are overpriced. Mine started proper lessons at 2.5yrs and just from going with us occasionally was as confident as a kid in the group who’d been going since newborn and is progressing at same rate.

I pay £2 for one and that’s donation so you don’t have to if you don’t have the money and ther one ranges from £1.50 -£3.50 depending on child ages. Both you get tea and coffee and the children get snacks

both ones are run by churches but you don’t need to be religious or part of the church to go. I live in a village in the south east

Dublin. All classes are €17.50 so I translated that into around £15. Just looked it up and it's more like £13.