New afternoon mum & baby group

Muncles

Hi all mums (& any dads who are interested) in Charlesland,
I'm a mum of an 8 month old boy,living in Charlesland.
I never got a chance to attend those mum & baby groups (I know there are plenty:)) that meet in the mornings, because the times always clashed with my baby's naps.
I'm hoping to set up a new AFTERNOON mum & baby group,especially aimed at Charlesland parents.
Apparently there are on average 15 babies born in Charlesland every month, so there are plenty of us out there who could meet up!
For this group I'd like to meet mums of babies that are 6 months to a year old ideally.
It would make most sense to meet in Charlesland Community Centre, but it is not ready yet, so the proposed venue is Shoreline Leisure Centre for the moment.
The proposed day of the week is Monday, and the proposed time is 2.30pm - 4.30pm.
(I know afternoons may not suit those who have older kids, but this group is aimed at those who want to meet in the afternoon because mornings don't suit and who have missed out of some of the groups for that reason).
A local community development officer has agreed to help set up the group, and bring along toys etc. There will be a small charge for room hire and tea/coffee,but nothing exorbitant:)!
TEN people is the ideal number (any less and the room hire & tea costs may not be covered, and more and you don't really get to know each other).

If you are interested, please reply or PM me, and I'll organise it for the first ten people.
I'll be putting up some signs around Greystones also.
It would be nice for us all to get to know our neighbours better, so please reply if interested:p.
(Interested in hearing from those who can commit to attending reasonably regularly -so that we don't have to recruit continuously;))

Thanks!

amy1plus2

Why the age limits? 6months to 1 year? Thats kind of excluding alot I'd say. I personally would be interested in this but none of my children are between 6 - 12 months. :rolleyes:

MrsA

To be honest it sounds far too excluding considering you are getting help from the Community Development officer to get toys.
The other groups in the area are open to everyone and anyone, there are babies there from 2 weeks old up to about 3.5 years of age. Some days there are 30 or more parents there and it does not stop people making friends. What about people who have more than one child, if one fits the bill and the other is too old, should they leave the bigger child at home.

I think it is a great idea, but, I do think it needs to be far more inclusive, unless you plan on doing it as a private venture and not asking someone else to shell out for the toys

M

Muncles

Hi
Just to reply to MrsA and amy1plus2:
This is going to be a private venture, there's no taxpayer's money going into this.
I'm just a mum in Charlesland who thought it would be nice to set up a group to meet others. I'll be organising it all myself (with help for the others who have PM-ed me and think it's a great idea).
I didn't expect such criticism (well, considering it's an online forum I sort of did!).

Just to clarify the age restriction thing, that was just because my own son is 8 months old, and I would love to meet moms who have babies roughly that age and are facing similar challenges, so that we could exchange tips, advice etc. And so that the babies could interact well together (there's no much interaction between an 8 month old and a 3 week old).
Obviously, it's not that strict. A mom of 15mth old triplets has got back to me, and she thinks it's a great idea, and of course she will be included:).
I just had to restrict it somehow because if 15 babies are born every month in Charlesland (and 25 last August alone apparently!), then you're looking at over 100 babies aged 6months-1 year living in Charlesland. Since I can only cope with approx. ten I didn't want a situation where dozens of people would turn up, that I couldn't cope with.
As a mum of a baby I don't have much time to organise it, even if it is manageable numbers!
Incidentally I will be organising the insurance myself, and paying for it upfront, hoping to make it back over the months with the (approx) €3 fee per session per mom. (The insurance restricts the numbers that can attend also).
The other groups you refer to (that don't restrict numbers etc) are organised by the likes of Ciudiu and have an organisation to back them, with more staff organising it. Btw I won't now have toys brought along by the woman I mentioned, because she's not now available (I got it wrong she's not a community development officer anyway). So those that attend will need to bring a few toys each and we can do it that way.

Both MrsA and amy1plus2 are welcome to attend (if your babies are in the age group and if there are still places), but could I ask you to avoid the negative posts online and PM me if you have criticisms. Thanks.
If you want to start up a mom & baby group for your children's age group/to suit you own needs you can go ahead and organise one - anyone can!

Incidentally I have the support of Alison, the public health nurse with responsibility for Charlesland on this.
(And the thing about those that have older children, unfortunately this group wouldn't really suit them. Cards on the table, this is mainly for first time mums.)

GingerDave

Just like to say well done and congrats for trying to get something done, good on ya and hope it works out for all involved.

I found the figures on new babies per month interesting! How are the local schools going to cope with this is a few years time??? Get the children down for school asap i guess........

amy1plus2

Muncles I have to honestly say I find your whole attitude towards this venture very narrow minded. You state in your first post that the group is aimed at Charlesland Parents to get to know each other. You state that it does not suit you in the mornings hence the afternoon time but unfortunately that may not suit parents with older children - and by older I mean 13 months. Was your actual reasoning behind a later time to purposely exlude these age groups. You then go on to state that "cards on the table" the group is aimed primarily at first time parents. Why not just say that in your original post. Im sure you dont realise it now but maybe you will in the future when you have more children, but I personally find it quite insulting that you would prefer if Im not present because I have more than 1 child. If you wanted to meet other parents with similar circumstances to yourself you should have stated that. There's alot to be said for starting up your own group but really I dont think you have given this enough thought. Why mention all the statistics of 15 babies born a month etc if you only want to meet 10 - of which fit into your "box of suitability". Perhaps it may have been a better idea to approach this venture with some assistance, from perhaps other parents who are also interested. This may have also helped with insurance costs etc and the stress factor which seems to be a big issue for you.
Telling me that I can start my own group for my own age children does not interest me - I think that was a petty response. Think ill just stick to the open community run groups which ensure my childREN interact with more than 10 others. Good luck with your group.

MrsA

You should have just said that it was only to suit you and yur child in the first post, then there would have been no confusion!

Children love interaction with other children of all ages, I am sure that a good mix of ages would suit others but, work away and I honestly hope it is a success.

I know you said no taxpayers money is involved but, is the community development officer giving you money from his own pocket?

Kasycas

amy1plus2 wrote: »

Muncles I have to honestly say I find your whole attitude towards this venture very narrow minded. You state in your first post that the group is aimed at Charlesland Parents to get to know each other. You state that it does not suit you in the mornings hence the afternoon time but unfortunately that may not suit parents with older children - and by older I mean 13 months. Was your actual reasoning behind a later time to purposely exlude these age groups. You then go on to state that "cards on the table" the group is aimed primarily at first time parents. Why not just say that in your original post. Im sure you dont realise it now but maybe you will in the future when you have more children, but I personally find it quite insulting that you would prefer if Im not present because I have more than 1 child. If you wanted to meet other parents with similar circumstances to yourself you should have stated that. There's alot to be said for starting up your own group but really I dont think you have given this enough thought. Why mention all the statistics of 15 babies born a month etc if you only want to meet 10 - of which fit into your "box of suitability". Perhaps it may have been a better idea to approach this venture with some assistance, from perhaps other parents who are also interested. This may have also helped with insurance costs etc and the stress factor which seems to be a big issue for you.
Telling me that I can start my own group for my own age children does not interest me - I think that was a petty response. Think ill just stick to the open community run groups which ensure my childREN interact with more than 10 others. Good luck with your group.

My gosh! Are you seriously THIS angry? The OP is doing a good thing for a few people, how can you let this bother you to such an extent? The OP explained her situation and you feel it's better to give out because you feel excluded? There's no better place for someone to advertise what the OP is trying to do here so she should be able to do this without this backlash/criticism. Fair enough for you to have a gripe initially but I think this was fairly addressed.

OP, if I could participate I would, I think it's a great idea and nice to see you being proactive.

dubsgirl

Muncles wrote: »

Hi

Just to clarify the age restriction thing, that was just because my own son is 8 months old, and I would love to meet moms who have babies roughly that age and are facing similar challenges, so that we could exchange tips, advice etc.

Shame really as I'm sure you could have received even more tips and advice from mums who have been through that stage already and come out the other side

To be honest Muncles I think fair play to you for trying to reach out and make friends, but you got peoples backs up immediately with your original post. You can't really call it a community driven mother and baby group with so many restrictions? You should have said you just wanted to make friends of a particular type ie. first time mothers as you said...

Mrs A did ask you if she had a child within your restricted age of 6months - 1 year but also had another older child, say a 2 or 3 year old for example would she still be welcome? I'd also be interested to know the answer...

loyatemu

Jesus H. Christ - can we have one discussion on this forum that doesn't descend into a flamefest

amy1plus2 - you made your point in your first reply, there's no need to go off on a rant against the OP

everyone else, please consider whether you have something useful to contribute before clicking "submit"

MrsA

loyatemu wrote: »

Jesus H. Christ

everyone else, please consider whether you have something useful to contribute before clicking "submit"

Ah come on now, no need to be bringing the Lord into it He sure does not fit the criteria!

dubsgirl

loyatemu wrote: »

Jesus H. Christ - can we have one discussion on this forum that doesn't descend into a flamefest

QUOTE]

I genuinely didn't think most of the discussions on here descended into a flamefest? this should probably be in another thread right

amy1plus2

Quote" My gosh! Are you seriously THIS angry? The OP is doing a good thing for a few people, how can you let this bother you to such an extent? The OP explained her situation and you feel it's better to give out because you feel excluded? There's no better place for someone to advertise what the OP is trying to do here so she should be able to do this without this backlash/criticism. Fair enough for you to have a gripe initially but I think this was fairly addressed".

Yes I am.

Mods; My first reply was a question to the OP, she replied to me. I didn't agree with her reply hence my other post. It's a topic I feel very strongly about. Obviously. Anyway, as I said good luck to the OP, Im done with this discussion.

loyatemu

amy1plus2 wrote: »

Anyway, as I said good luck to the OP, Im done with this discussion.

me too - anyone else wants to participate in Muncles group, please send her a PM.