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If You Build It, They Will Come

Starting Your Own Moms' Group

By Kate Riener Boyd

"Babies are icebreakers, so you can make friends anywhere," says Julie Slattery of Washington D.C. She started a playgroup three years ago by inviting women with babies she met on the street or in local stores. "I was sitting on my front porch and a woman walked past me with a stroller. I asked how old her baby was and her son was the same age as mine. We decided to get together the following week at her house," she says. "The next day in CVS I ran into another mom wearing a Baby Bjorn and I invited her to the group."

Slattery's group has grown and evolved since August of 2000 to include more members and a monthly moms' night out without the kids. "We probably would not be the best of friends in regular life, but we all bonded over our kids," she says.

Susan Lavington of Alexandria, Va., stepped out of her comfort zone to build her moms' group by tapping the women of her church. "I don't consider myself overly religious, but it is a great group of women and I really enjoy it," she says.

At the suggestion of her enthusiastic young minister, Lavington was able to recruit members in the church bulletin and use the church as a meeting place. She uses the group as a foundation to address a wide variety of issues. "We do everything from moms' night out dinners to educating ourselves about baptism to discussing discipline issues," Lavington says. "We try to schedule a particular topic or speaker for every month."

Think beyond your regular cohorts and your typical day-to-day discussions. "I love that these are people outside of my normal social circle, so it gives me great perspective and a chance to meet people who are different from me," says Lavington. "Two of the greatest joys of womanhood are being a mom and girl talk moms' groups bring these joys together."