When you are a new mother especially if this is your first baby you can feel overwhelmed by everything and have little time to figure out how to find playgroups for your baby especially if your friends do not have babies or toddlers close to your child’s age.
Finding Playgroups in Your Area
There are different ways and resources to finding a playgroup, which I use both personally with my own child and professionally as a pediatrician. The key is meeting other parents with babies or children your child’s age that will invite you to playgroups or know of playgroups. One way to meet other parents is to join a parent group, which parent organizations like Mommybites have, such as the “Working Mothers Support group”, or “New Mother’s Support group”. At groups like these you will meet and connect with other parents and usually organize playgroups for the children. There are also Mommy and Me classes such as Music Together where you and your baby take a class with other parents. Those groups are also playgroups and often lead to forming other playgroups with parents. There are also organizations like the 92nd Street Y, Children’s Museum of Manhattan, NY Kids Club and the JCC (Jewish Community Center) that have Mommy and Me groups and classes, which also are great places to meet and form playgroups with other parents.
Also, there are schools like Central Park Montessori and Riverside Montessori that have school and infant programs (not daycare) for infants and toddlers where there is a community of parents and their children who often organize playgroups for infants and toddlers and preschoolers outside of the school programs. Finally one of the simplest ways to find a playgroup is by meeting other parents and children at the park where you can find out all sorts of playgroups that are happening around town.
—Dr. Gina Lamb – Amato, general and developmental pediatrician
The best way to find a playgroup is to get involved with a support organization like Mommybites. The idea is to meet a great group of women who you have a lot in common with and live in your neighborhood. Networking with other moms to find other playgroups in the area is also an advantage.
—Katie Blanchet, stay-at-home mother
Mommybites, of course!! You should absolutely join one of our new mom support groups after you have a baby. You will meet with the same group of women for six weeks which makes it super conducive to developing close relationships with other new moms! If you live in an area outside of NYC, then ask you doctor or hospital if they know of any new mom support groups in the area. You can also look at play spaces, gyms and churches/synagogues too!
—Laura Deutsch, original founder and creator of Mommybites
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About our team
Dr. Gina Lamb – Amato MD
Gina is a general pediatrician and developmental pediatrician who works at Village Pediatrics and Agho Medical practices both in Manhattan, NY. She has a masters in child therapy and works with a child psychologist Rosa Vasquez PhD performing office and home consultation for newborns and parents, office and home developmental assessments, school consultations and parent child playgroups where play and art along with baby massage and other techniques are used to help parents bond and support their child’s development. Formerly, Gina was the Director of Pediatric Special Medical Needs before she went into private practice where she cared for medically fragile infants and children. She is also a Early Intervention Pediatrician for Early Intervention which assesses and treats infants from age zero to 3 years. She has extensive experience in Early Head Start programs which work with infants from prenatal to 3 years of age. She is the mother of a beautiful daughter who is 3 years old and the joy of my life. Her husband is an artist, producer and owns Synchronicity Space, a non-profit arts organization that supports emerging artist in fine art and theatre. Finally, she is also an artist who paints mainly babies and children.
Katie Blanchet
Katie is a stay-at-home mom.
Laura Deutsch
Laura Deutsch is the original founder and creator of Mommybites. Since first starting Mommybites in 2006 by handing out post cards to fellow moms on the streets of Manhattan, Laura has continued to use her business savvy, dedication and creativity to cultivate and grow Mommybites in its flagship city of Manhattan. Prior to founding Mommybites, Laura worked as a middle school math teacher at The Dwight School in Manhattan. Laura holds her BA from Binghamton University and her MA in Early Childhood Education from Hunter College. She currently resides in Summit, NJ, with her husband, Brian, daughter, Ava, and son, Jacob.
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