I have never been good at being at home all day, I am probably on the more extreme end of extrovert when it comes to personality types and I know I derive energy from being around people. This meant getting out and about with Archer was a priority for me. The hard thing especially at the start though was finding places I felt comfortable going with a baby I was still getting to know, where I wouldn’t freak out if he cried and I could leave if I needed to without feeling rude. Anyway all the groups below ticked those boxes for me and I hope other new parents in Canberra might find them helpful.
Playgroups ACT
This one might seem obvious but I nearly didn’t join but I am so glad I did. There are two playgroups within 500m of my house. I would pay for casual visits amd just go when we had nothing on. The facilitators put in so much effort and organise activities that frankly I wouldn’t be bothered to do. Last week we went to a nature based one and Archer played in mud and dirt for ages and had a ball.
Find all about Playgroups ACT here.
New Parents Group
I know some people think Mother’s Groups (and yes I know they are meant to be referred to as parents group but my whole group was mums so I tend to refer to it as that) are naff but honestly I cant imagine the last year without mine. It tends to be luck of the draw who you get in your group but I honestly think that you will find at least a couple of people you connect with on some level. I was lucky and now have two friends from my group who I honestly believe will be friends for life. Anyway the great thing about mothers group is you can do activities that the babies will like but you also get social interaction with other adults, oh and lots of coffee dates and no one cares if your baby cries or your late etc because you are all in the same boat. Anyway all I am saying is please sign up and try it, if its not for you nothing lost.
You can find out more about the ACT New Parents Groups here.
Mums Exercise Group Australia
I got into this one late and am kicking myself that I didn’t try it earlier. Basically mums run different exercise events (walks, bootcamps, aqua aerobics) for other mums. Most events are free (a yearly membership is $40) and if not they are really affordable, generally $5-$10. A lot of the events are kid friendly so you can take your bub.
Find out more here.
Libraries ACT
Libraries ACT has soooo many free events for kids. We have been to Giggle and Wiggle I would say nearly every week. But more then that I got back into borrowing books.
You can find all the Library ACT events here.
a DOSE OF THE GOOD LIFE 