A good way to assist your child in learning social skills at an early age is to start a play group. It also offers moms and dads a way to have some adult interaction.
Starting a play group in your neighborhood, church, or town is not as hard as you think. In fact, there are probably lots of other families that will be so happy you decided to take that first step to forming one. This article is designed to give you a foundation for starting a play group today!
First you need to decide a purpose for your play group. Do you want it to be a situation where all the moms stay together and socialize while the children are playing, or do you want it to be something where a few moms watch the kids one week, and let the others go run errands, and switch off the next week?
Next, you need to consider what type of interaction you want your child to have with other children. If you want it to be a time when the kids just play together, you could meet at different parks, the zoo, or other places where you do not need to do anything but show up with a packed lunch. Perhaps you were thinking about having the play group be a time where the children have a routine or structure to their play time. This can be at your church, where they may have a little Bible lesson, a snack, and then some play time. Or, you can meet at different houses and do the same thing.
Now you need to think about who you want to invite to be a part of the play group. Get the play group out by word-of-mouth, threw your church bulletin, or if you are looking for a grander scale you can place an ad in your hometown newspaper. It is probably good to start small and just invite people you already know. That way you can discuss what they would like to see the play group evolve into before too many families are participating and that gets harder to do.
How long is long enough for a play group session? Children at a young age, like toddlers, usually do good for about an hour to an hour-and-a-half in a social setting with other children. It really depends on the activity, though. Just something to think about.
If you are not really interested in starting a play group, but want to participate in one, see if your church has one already started. Another good organization you can check out is the MOMS Club. They have chapters all around the globe, and they usually do more than just play groups, but also charitable events and contributions.
