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Home › Articles › Play Time › Playgroup Perks and Pitfalls

Playgroup Perks and Pitfalls

Moms Share Their Experiences

By Shel Franco

Pages:  1  2  3  

No matter how often toys are grabbed and feelings are hurt, O'Malley maintains that the positives are much greater than the negatives. She recalls last summer when her son attached himself to another mother in the group. "He wanted her instead of me when he got hurt," she says. "When he fell, he went to her."

Rather than becoming jealous or defensive, O'Malley felt happy. "For me it's important that there are a lot of people in [my son's] life that care about him," she says. "I just felt really lucky that I had friends that would pick my child up if he fell."

When O'Malley left the neighborhood, she knew playgroups would be in her future. On a home-buying visit to her new city, she made a point to ask her real estate agent about playgroups in the area. "On days when we have nothing to do, it's been so nice to have playgroup," she says. "It's been a very positive experience."

The Downs
Ceil Canton of Milwaukee, Wis. has a different tale to tell. With a group of longtime friends, she started a weekly playgroup. "We did just fine for the first few weeks, but then all heck broke loose," she says.

"All heck" included hitting, kicking, biting, screaming and other assorted tortures. Instead of banding together to bring the unruly behavior under control, the group divided. "This one wouldn't let her kid around that one, and that one wouldn't let her kids around mine," she recalls. "It made me feel sck to my stomach."


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