Tell Fairy Non Bio about how you and your DC make friends - win a £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

As part of our partnership with Fairy Non Bio, we’ve produced the Mumsnet Babies Podcast. There are ten episodes in the series and episode 7, which you can listen to here, is about making friends and being nice. When you get the chance, Fairy Non Bio would like you to listen to the podcast and share your thoughts - not just about the new friends you’ve made since having a baby, but also about how your baby socialises with other children.

Whether you go to parenting groups and classes in your spare time or not, making friends as a new mother isn’t always easy. Have you felt like it can be isolating, and that you have nothing in common with the other mothers in your area (apart from the presence of your tiny children)? Or perhaps you’ve found that parenting can be a reason to bond with other people, even if it’s just a case of having someone to grumble with about sleepless nights and dirty nappies? And of course it would be negligent to forget to mention Mumsnet as a platform on which mums can socialise and make new friends!

And then, as your baby gets older, their social life may become the minefield you need to navigate. Have you been mystified by your little one's’ ability to make best friends with complete strangers in the playground? Perhaps you’ve struggled to deal with getting them to share nicely with other children?

Whatever your experiences of friendship during early motherhood, post on the thread below and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher!

If you’d like to rate the Mumsnet Babies Podcast, please go to the iTunes store and leave a review.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

We find the best way to make friends is to visit playgroups but also just being generally open and warm to others we meet!

I found having a baby was so pivotal in forming new friendships that it anchored me to our town quite strongly. Antenatal and postnatal groups were quite helpful as they were structured and encouraged the mums to speak and interact so it wasn't solely about babies.

I found that the baby groups were less good. Mostly people were trying to stop their child trying to fit shape sorters into other children's ears.

I only made friends thanks to my ds! I moved to a different county to live with my now dh and didn't know anyone except him and his friends, it was fine for 2 years as I was working and driving to see my friends etc but then I fell pregnant and realised how much I needed "local" friends. My HV pushed me into attending a first time parent group and I quickly became friends with 4 lovely women who 8 years on I'm still friends with.

I made more friends when he started pre school and that's how I met my now best friend, our sons got on brilliantly but I'm quite shy so didn't want to initiate a play date but then she invited us over for lunch one day and 5 years later (and 3 more kids between us) we are the best of friends and even our husbands get on great!

If it wasn't for my kids (ds8 and dd3) I wouldn't have ever made new friends!

I'm very anti-social and dread doing the whole talking to other parents things, my DH always does that bit. My DD is amazing at making friends! She goes up to any child and asks if they want to play and is always seen running around with a new person. She makes friends really easily.

For me it was mainly Nct and then through friends of friends. Once birthday parties start I found I naturally made friends with some mums who had children the same nursery setting as mine.
With the first it can be daunting but you are so occupied taking kids to various activities you naturally strike up conversation with others.

It's difficult to balance my time sometimes, but find a class or other social group, or even volunteering, is a great way of making friends!

I took mine to toddler groups and stay and plays. I would chat to other mums there or at the park, but never made any friends, just people to pass the time of day with.
The mum friends were really made when my children went to nursery.

This is a realm I am just entering as my due date approaches. It is really nerve racking making that first move to introduce your self to total strangers in the hope you may find common ground to build a friendship. There is no easy solution other than to be bold and brave and put yourself out there. I have created a what's app chat group with the other mummies to be so that we could all break the ice over text chat first and get more familiar with each other and then arranged a cafe and cake get together in a few weeks

I'm not at all outgoing, not good at making friends, but the kids make friends very easily, which is great. For me, it is a matter of biting the bullet and talking to people i don't know. Once I've plucked up the courage to do that its not so bad.

My boy is only young, but I usually dress him in animal onsies (his dinosaur one is our favourite Haha). I often find people come and talk to us purely because he is so goddamn cute

I always try to start a conversation with other parents when at soft play or the park. With my dc1 I was too nervous and shy, but now I know that if I dont have adult interaction I will go crazy, so I am happy to make the first move.

I've found it difficult to make friends with other Mums, the playground can be cliquey and intimidating. I've found better friendships once I went back to work full time and found a social life with colleagues and their children, rather than my children's friends Mums.

When they were babies I made friends at our doctors surgery drop in session and then afterwards at playgroups - I did find it very hard as I'm naturally quite shy but forced myself to as I wanted a nice social group for my children. Now they are a bit older I encourage them to make friends with children at their hobbies/clubs - a shared interest is a really good place to start.

I found with my first I went to the sure start centre and groups where I made a few friends, I made more once She went to preschool and some more since she's been at school.
My eldest is naturally really good at making friends, and easily makes friends when she's out in a park etc.

My daughter and I are both introverts so this can be hard. We go to groups and swimming and gymnastics, and have a solid group of friends from nct classes.

We find that going to the park and local groups the best way to make friends and it is usually the children interacting that get the parents talking and bonding over the shared joys (stresses) of parenthood. Wish I was as confident as the children though, they can approach and talk to anyone and become instant friends.

It is very hard but I found one of the easiest was to join classes ie swimming lessons as I found it was easier to talk to other mums if there was another focus.

I find it very hard to make friends but my DC is better luckily. He is an only child & will happily ask other children if he can play with them when we are out.

My circle of friends has changed dramatically since having kids. I strike up convo with anyone with kids randomly whereas my DD is very shy and will be expressionless and find it difficult to open up as quick. She relies on my help if I'm around but if I'm not around then she seems quite friendly in her own unique way.

I have made friends with mums at groups but its not easy and its about being brave.

Most of my 'mum' friends were made through baby post natal groups. My son is now 7 and I'd say that the school gate mums are more aquaintances than true friends and this only really applies to children that my DS's likes as I am a full time working parent so don't often get to engage in school gate chit chat

I made friends in the school playground, chatting with other mums. As some of them lived near us we starting walking to and from school together, went to coffee mornings together etc.
Some of our children became friends through that, especially those who were closest in age. Recently my son who is now 13 said he thinks of two of the girls, both of whom he has known since they were all 3, as being more like his sisters than his friends. I thought that was lovely.

I'm rubbish at making friends and don't have any real friendships where I live now, it's lonely and isolating. My DC, on the other hand, are very extroverted and just walk up and start speaking to anyone. I don't think either of them gas ever met a stranger!

yes I did feel lonely as we moved and i got pregnant shortly afterwards and because I'd been working we didn't know anyone really. My idea was to do Avon and got me out of the house and meeting people. There was no internet then, but I met a few people through Mother and Baby magazine and I am still friends with one. My child made friends easily, he was a happy child.