Many stay at home moms feel isolated. They spend so much time with their kids that it’s easy to feel that way. And if you don’t already know some fellow stay at home moms, it’s often hard to find them.
Where are they? Besides at home, that is.
Try the Park
I’ve run into a lot of my fellow SAHMs by taking my kids to the park. The trick is in figuring out what time they are going to be there.
I kept missing the other moms for a long time at the park. There were just never there when I was. But I always tended to go at lunchtime or later in the afternoon.
I finally started going to the park with my youngest after dropping my oldest off at kindergarten. Voila! There they were, also having their younger children play after dropping older children off at the school next door.
Try Activities
Yes, this costs money. But I’ve gotten to talk to a lot of other stay at home moms when I’ve been able to sign my kids up for activities. This especially works when the kids are younger and you have to stick around for the class. As a rule you’ll see other stay at home parents, the occasional part time employed parent, and grandparents having fun with their grandchildren.
Try Online
You won’t meet so many local moms as a rule, but there are plenty of forums and websites dedicated to stay at home moms. The Internet is full of resources and great people for you to meet. You can be very open about who you are or keep relatively anonymous.
There are also websites that can help you to get matched up with local moms. Just search on “mom groups” and you will find some great resources to help.
Try Local Magazines
Local magazines can be great resources for family activities. There’s one in my area that has some good articles as well as listings of family activities. You may even find some mom groups advertising in these.
Try the Library
Most libraries have story times for children. While there may be age limitations that keep your child out in some cases, you may be able to find a story time that you and your child will enjoy.
Take a Walk
Take a walk at various times of the day in your neighborhood. It can be hard to find other moms out for a walk with their kids sometimes, but it can be done. If you find a fellow stay at home mom, try walking together regularly. It can be a chance to get to know each other even before trying out a play date.
The great part is that many of these are free to do. Others may cost a small amount, but can be worth the expense if they’re fun for you and your child. As you get comfortable making the effort, you’ll realize how many potential friends you and your child have out there. And you won’t feel so isolated.
Technorati Tags: stay at home, sahm, isolation
Meeting new mom’s or other mom’s in this area is not so hard - the parks, and well tons of places - but how does one strike up a conversation, keep it going and get together with this mom again some other time.
I am extreamly shy, which does not help - but all the mom’s in this area (the NOVA area) are SOO busy and move soo fast, that often my conversations are quicker than 5 minutes - which makes it hard to say - hey here’s my number lets get together.
Just wondering if you had idea’s
That’s been a challenge for me too, as I’m also very shy. I generally don’t manage that on a first meeting. What I try to do at the park is see if they come regularly. That gives a chance to talk a few more times, and things can develop a bit more naturally.
Another challenge for me is that my son is also intensely shy, so he pulls me away from people he doesn’t know. Plus he of course wants to be playing, but is generally too shy to step far away from me. I’ve been working on that, but it’s slow going. Really interferes with conversation, though.
I’ve often found that pushing myself a little beyond my comfort zone helps. You don’t have to share contact information right away, but finding out if you can meet pretty regularly at the park is nice.
Some other places this doesn’t work as well, of course. Most people don’t go to the museum on a weekly basis, so if you meet a mom there it can be more difficult. Then again, places like that the moms may have driven a bit of a distance, and so friendship would be more challenging anyhow.