While I was pregnant with Evan, I started meeting all these other pregnant women...in infant care class, childbirth class, family friends, friends of friends. I got to thinking that it would be great to get together with these women after our kids are born and do a playgroup sort of thing. So I started a list of “cool pregnant girls” and their contact info. I e-mailed the moms, we met for lunch and started the discussion of what we want to do together. Basically we all wanted:

  • early socialization (pre-preschool) for our kids
  • socialization/support group/resource pool/discussion forum for us moms with first time moms who are in a similar place
  • FUN – playdates, activities, people to do stuff with
  • something low-maintenance because Lord knows none of us have the time for a high-maintenance commitment


We started out just meeting every-other Saturday to stroll around the mall together. Now our babies are all going on three years old, we still have playdates twice a month but now we vary the activities since the babies are more active and social. We take turns “hosting” playdates so no one person is burdened with the planning. We’ve done things like: picnic in the park, music lessons, trip to the zoo, infant massage, movies, swim dates, art projects, yoga, and more.

We named ourselves “babybuds” because we’re buddies, and we’re growing and blossoming together. It’s been SUCH a wonderful experience for and blessing to all of us. Another babybuds group started last year and then another one is starting now. The groups are all free to follow the model that has been evolving in our group, or to evolve into something different. The most recent one, babybuds 3, was spear-headed by my sister-in-law and it’s a great group of moms and open to moms with babies who are within 9 months of her 5-month old.

We ALL have our share of ups and downs, but we don’t have to do it alone. We can share in both the burdens and the JOYS! I think playgroups are SO important in combating post-pardum depression, sharing information and ideas, commiserating in our parenting trials, and socializing our little monkeys.

Here are some of the other playgroup options out there that I’ve experienced:

  1. Stroller Strides – It’s a mommy-baby exercise group, but we also have playdates every Thursday and Friday after class and Mom’s-Nights-Out once a month. You don’t have to be a member to come to those—they’re free and open to all. I go to the classes at Windward Mall on Mon, Wed, Fri, 8:30 am. I love, love it and will have to do a separate post on Stroller Strides soon. http://www.strollerstrides.com
  2. Families for Real is a program sponsored by the DOE that offers infant and toddler classes for free. There’s one at Kapunahala Elem in Kaneohe, and there’s one on the Leeward side—I think maybe at Pearl Highlands but I’m not sure. That’s a really great class (I went to both infant and toddler classes with Evan) but it’s only 10 weeks long. It’s educational for the parents and it exposes kids to a classroom environment. I was amazed when the teacher taught Evan that he had to sit down nicely before getting a snack. http://familysupport.k12.hi.us/fam_real.html
  3. Mighty Moms – my church has an awesome mom’s group called “Mighty Moms” on Tuesday mornings at 9:30 am at First Prez in Kaneohe (Ko‘olau Golf Club). There’s free childcare in the church nursery, which is a precious respite from the daily grind of caring for baby. http://www.fpchawaii.org/?page_id=23&ministry=24
  4. Childcare at church and 24 Hour Fitness Kid’s Club – I think any time you can regularly leave your child with another caregiver, it’s good for their social development. They have to get used to being separated from you, comfortable with other adults, and playing with other kids. http://www.fpchawaii.org/?page_id=23&ministry=43 http://www.24hourfitness.com/FindClubDetailGeneric.do?clubid=00559
  5. Keiki O Ka Aina – incredible program for parents and children. I only took Evan there for a few months, but I was really impressed. We went to the one at King Intermediate, which is a Hawaiian language immersion parent-participation preschool. It’s totally like taking them to preschool. Evan enjoyed lots of new experiences like painting on an easel, making art projects, playing with water, bubbles and riding toys outside, following the older kids up and down the hill, being Kumu’s helper when she asked for a volunteer, singing songs and dancing, getting a sticker at the end, and most of all, eating at snack time. It’s a great program and only costs $50 a year! http://www.keikiokaaina.org/


There’s also Baby Hui, which I haven’t been involved with before, but I hear it’s good. I think one pro is that the groups are geographically-based so everyone lives close to each other. One con is that you have to pay dues to the national nonprofit organization. It’s actually a suggested donation according to your income-level. Another con, in my opinion, is that you have to follow their curriculum—they have a binder of discussion topics for each meeting. There’s more structure and less freedom in that, but I’m sure many people would prefer that kind of format. http://www.thebabyhui.org/

MOPS is a great international organization, too. It stands for Mothers Of Preschoolers (and infants). This is a very structured social group—they have a topic, craft and activity at each meeting, I think. It’s hosted by a church and I heard there are only 3 MOPS groups on the island. One is at Faith Baptist Church in Kailua. http://www.mops.org/

So many ways to socialize you and baby, yea? All too quickly it becomes important to prune so that you don’t end up running like a chicken without a head from playdate to playdate.

(download)