parent/toddler groups

mudflapgirl

Being the proud "owner" of a 15 month old toddler - the want to find her some friends to 'socialise' with is great - but living in a rather rural location i'm not sure where to start - she has some cousins but they live over two hours away by car.

Does anyone know of any places I could either start looking for groups or should I try and start my own?

Crea

I found mine through my district nurse. They usually have their finger on the pulse of what's going on in the area.

deisemum

Parent and Toddler groups can be a great way to meet others and make friends.

However just bear in mind that they can also be a source of "competition". Some people like to compare children of a similar age and if your child isn't doing or saying what another child is you could end up wondering why your child isn't doing whatever.

Some groups I've been to have been really great and I'm still friends with some of the parents I met there. The children also made friends

Other groups have been unfriendly and even downright snobby ie they'd only bother talking to those whose hubby is in a certain profession. The 2 classic questions you come across on introduction tend to be 1) where do you live? and 2) what does your husband do? If your answers don't meet with their approval then you're ignored. Just as well I've a thick skin

THere is one parent and toddler group in Waterford that is known for this sort of behaviour. The rest have been fine

mudflapgirl

The only reason I'm really looking for some groups is due to the fact that we live in quite a rural location with few kids her age locally - I don't want her to loose out on friends just cause we decided to live "far out" and she's too young for school.

I'd be fairly confident that I'd be able to handle any kind of snobby attitude from parents - I had heard that groups can be a pretty competitive place - as long as she has fun and meets others around her age it won't matter if she's not talking/walking/doing complicated physics like little johnny in the corner.
And sure she's too young to understand fully if someone was being snobby, being at the wonderfully oblivious age of not giving a cr@p what other people think of her.

SarahMc

Your local County Childcare Committee will have lists of parent and toddler groups in your area. They are also rolling out grants to set up such groups.