Everyone has her good days and bad days.
No matter how confident you are that staying at home with your children is the right thing to do, there are times when you have doubts, fears and regrets, and need some support.
Many parents say the best advice doesn’t come from pediatricians, teachers and other child experts. Their most valuable resource is other parents just like themselves, having casual conversations at the playground, the library story hours and in line at the market.
Stay-at-home parents are finding that informal support groups are just what they need for networking, sharing information, warding off boredom and making friends.
Support groups have evolved from the neighborhood coffee klatch to online support networks that connect you with people who share your life experiences from all over the world.
Personal Support Groups
MOMS Club International is an umbrella group with local chapters throughout the world. Members meet for business meetings, held during the day and children are welcome. Individual chapters also offer moms’ nights out, babysitting co-ops, get-togethers and outings, parties and social events for moms.
MOPS is a group for Christian mothers of preschoolers. Local chapters are organized through churches and the MOPS international Web site.
Mocha Moms is a support group for stay-at-home mothers of color who have chosen not to work in order to devote more time to their families. Their Web site offers resources, information on local chapters to join, and community service projects done at the local level.
Internet Support Groups
If you’re stuck at home and face-to-face contact is not necessarily what you need, parenting Web sites have discussion boards and chat rooms that can be helpful.
Many parenting Web sites have developed close communities of online friends with much in common.
Hearts at Home is a network of women who encourage and support stay-at-home moms through national and regional conferences, newsletters, a Web site and a magazine.
Meetups
Meetups.com blends the vast resources of the Internet with the personal value of face-to-face meetings. The site has hundreds of topic networks, ranging from political action groups to cancer survivors, and brings together people who want to meet on common interests. Time magazine called it “a convenient, non-threatening way to connect to other people who share similar interests and live nearby.”
Groups have been organized for stay-at-home parents, stay-at-home moms, stay-at-home dads, work-at-home parents, and more.
For instance, there are more than 51,000 members in more than 1,000 meetup groups for stay-at-home moms, with 47,000 more waiting for groups to start in their areas.
How to start your own support group
- Think about what type of support you need. Do you miss the intellectual stimulation from your career and want to “stay smart?” Look for other former professional women who are interested in current events, the arts and politics. Want to meet and network with other women of young children to share advice and support? Looking for moms of infants, special needs children, or other specifics? Identify and articulate exactly what you’re looking for in the group so you can find likeminded members.
- Look for members by posting fliers with your phone number and/or email address at your local library, churches, gym, or the community bulletin board at your grocery store. Ask if you can announce a welcome meeting for your group in your school parent newsletter, your church bulletin and other local publications.
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