The job of parents is to worry about their child’s development. It’s the nature of being a parent to want the best for your child and to set them up from the beginning to have a good life. One skill that’s necessary for children to develop from a young age is socialisation. Young children must get time around other children to help them learn about the world and develop social skills. A great way to get socialisation for your children is through playgroups. This is a popular option for parents throughout Australia. Here is a quick guide to what playgroup is and if you should sign up you and your child for one.
Playgroups are meetings for young children that happen regularly in a relaxed atmosphere. The children who attend usually haven’t started school yet. These groups help children learn, make friends, and develop skills.
Across Australia, there are hundreds of playgroups available, but no two are alike. There are different types of playgroups to fit the needs of every parent, caregiver, and child. With all the options, you’re sure to find a playgroup that works for you.
The traditional way to find a playgroup is through other parents with kids who are similar in age and have similar interests as yours. If you haven’t found a mum group that suits your child, the next step is to test out playgroups in your area. As Australia is a big country, it’s best to start your journey nice and simple. On Google.
No matter the age of your child, parents always want what’s best. For young children, developing social skills is an important factor that will affect the rest of their lives. It’s a good idea to allow children to begin socialising at a young age.
What are Playgroups?
Playgroups are meetings for young children that happen regularly in a relaxed atmosphere. The children who attend usually haven’t started school yet. These groups help children learn, make friends, and develop skills.
Play activities are organised and supervised by parents and caregivers of the children. Children in these playgroups learn through play with activities like drawing and painting, dancing and singing, and running and climbing.
Playgroups usually meet once a week. They can be local or regional and held at a variety of venues. You may meet at a park one week, someone’s home the week after, and take a field trip to a children’s learning centre or museum after that.
These playgroups help children develop a social network where they have a safe environment to explore and develop.
Different Types of Playgroups
Across Australia, there are hundreds of playgroups available, but no two are alike. There are different types of playgroups to fit the needs of every parent, caregiver, and child. With all the options, you’re sure to find a playgroup that works for you.
Generally, playgroups break down into three types: community playgroups, supported playgroups, and intensive support playgroups.
Community Playgroups
Managed and organized by parents, community playgroups are open to anyone who wants to join. Because they’re self-organized, they are usually non-profit and low cost to join. These are usually local or regional and are found across Australia.
Supported Playgroups
A facilitator helps to run a supported playgroup. Families in difficult situations—including disenfranchised and disadvantaged, refugees, families facing health issues, and teenage parent families—are candidates for these playgroups.
Intensive Support Playgroups
For those families who need more support for their complex needs, an intensive support playgroup is an ideal option.
Social worker-facilitated, these playgroups can get support from community services for raising children and helping them learn in a safe environment.
Oher popular playgroups include a mommy and me playgroup, father’s groups, playgroups for specific ages, and groups for foster parents and same-sex parents. Playgroups run specific languages are also great for maintaining community.
How to Find a Playgroup
Now that you understand the benefits of playgroups, how easy is it to find one?
The traditional way to find a playgroup is through other parents with kids who are similar in age and have similar interests as yours. If you haven’t found a mum group that suits your child, the next step is to test out playgroups in your area.
As Australia is a big country, it’s best to start your journey nice and simple. On Google.
Google will generally respond well to searches like “playgroups near me” or “playgroups in [Insert suburb]”. With a spike in more parents getting involved with Playgroups, there has been an increase in playgroup directories which makes searching for playgroups suited to your child’s needs in the suburb you want, very easy.
Western Australia
You might think it’s difficult to find a good playground with how large Western Australia is, but it’s a lot easier than you think. With a quick search, any parent can find the closest playgroup for their children to join.
The results will show all the playgroups in the area, the times and days the playgroup meets, and what kind of playgroup it is. You can even filter by categories like age, culture, and Autism spectrum. Your perfect playgroup is just a click away.
Queensland
Boasting similar land mass as WA. Queensland playgroups can be found in the Playgroup QLD site with options to choose suburbs and distance to location.
New South Wales
NSW with its dense population sees sites like Playgroup NSW offer the option to choose features of the playgroup, i.e: allergy awareness, LGTBI, languages and other comprehensive features.
Northern Territory
NT Playgroup site includes all playgroups in the cluster of metro suburbs and some rural, regional groups. Search now to find out more about NT playgroups.
Victoria
Playgroup Vic offers similar search functionality as NSW. The comprehensive search feature will help you find the playgroup that meets your community needs.
South Australia
With restrictions in place, now might defer parents joining playgroups in Adelaide and surrounding areas.
The playgroup SA site offers suburb related search with a large selection of metro suburbs and regional areas.
Should You Sign Up For a Playgroup?
No matter the age of your child, parents always want what’s best. For young children, developing social skills is an important factor that will affect the rest of their lives. It’s a good idea to allow children to begin socialising at a young age.
Playgroups are a great way for children to develop social skills early in life. But there are also benefits for the parents and caregivers. So playgroups really are a good option for everyone involved.
With the variety of types of playgroups and widespread popularity, it won’t be hard to find a group that works for you.
What are you waiting for? Find a playgroup in your area now and start building long-term, meaningful friendships for you and your child.
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