Strollerderby

We have a different take on the playgroup here.  Starting when my son was two, some local moms and I (we met on a local parenting forum), hired a grad. student studying early childhood education to watch the kids for us.  She gets paid between $20 and $25/hour (depending on if it's 4 kids or 5 kids), but each family only pays $5/hour.  The group meets 2x/week, for 4 hours each time.  We switch the meeting locations--each family takes turn hosting, and when it's your week to host, you only pay $4/hour.  It actually sounds more complicated than it is.

So yes, it is more expensive than a parent-led playgroup.  But, the parents don't stay at the group, so we get two mornings off from our kids.  We still get the other-mom-socialization aspect (drop-off and pick-up times, and sometimes if the kids are having fun after the teacher leaves we'll all hang out longer), but there are none of those forced, stilted conversations that makes me hate the regular playgroups.

I helped start a large moms group (mostly just a list serv) in my town.  We have about 80 moms involved in the group.  We have some playdates, parties and moms nights out.  The nice thing about this group is that it's so large you end up meeting a ton of moms.  Through that, you make friends with people you like and start meeting on your own.  Ultimately, once everyone started branching off into their own little groups, it has made it hard to organize meet ups for the larger group, but our big parties are well attended, moms are still making connections and our list serv is more like an information source for things going on around town..

Anyway, play dates have saved my life.  If it weren't for our play dates, I don't think I could be a stay at home mom. I have, fortunately, met a group of moms who I can relate with and with whom I share similar parenting philosophy.  We are now getting ready to start a coop "nursery school" with just a few of us in order to give ourselves at least one morning off a week.  (Similar to the previous poster, but we haven't hired anyone.  we'll just rotate taking care of each other's children).

I helped start a playgroup for my oldest daughter when she was a toddler (she's now in kindergarten!), and the moms/dads/kids in the group have become some of our closest friends. It's important to find a group of people with whom you fit--then there's no teeth gritting and complaining. It's a pleasure to hang out with our playgroup friends. Why would you keep going to a playgroup if you didn't like the people?

There have been about 5-8 really active families in our playgroup, with other families wandering in and out of the group over the years. We started it by posting a call for toddlers on a local listserv and meeting regularly on Friday mornings. We expanded to once-a-month family potlucks and even had a summer theater project this year where the kids got together each week to put on a play at the end of the summer. Now that the kids are starting kindergarten, we meet up in the afternoons. I couldn't have survived the early years without this awesome bunch of families.