Play groups for working parents (and kids of working parents)

Working mom fills niche need in suburbs­ and beyond

By Kellie Carrara

Saturday morning, the local playground: More than a dozen toddlers and young children walk, run, stumble and bump into each other, among plastic cars and mountains of wood chips. Parents, armed with juice boxes and snacks, chat candidly about the latest strollers, daycare and the pressures of work. They’re all juggling parenthood and careers, but have gathered in at the playground on one of their sacred days off for their own play date.

Although the group is laid-back and informal, the gathering is orchestrated by Saturday Club founder, mother of two and Norfolk resident, Kay Doyle.

She created the concept, after her own wishes to join a play group with her first child, Jack, now four years old, was denied.

“When my son was a baby, I started to search for a play group in Boston I could join. I found one in my neighborhood and sent in a check for dues. I was then contacted by the director of the group, who explained that she was sending my check back to me because their group was targeted towards stay-at-home mothers and they rarely did anything on the weekends,” Doyle said. “I begged to be allowed in anyway, even if just for the few occasions they did do something on the weekends, but I was rejected.”

She encountered the same thing, when she moved out of the city.

“When I moved to the suburbs and once again could not find a play group for working parents, I decided I had to do something about it. I started the Saturday Club with the idea that it would be a once-a-month, stress-free opportunity for working moms and dads to get together and chat while their children played, vent about work and parenthood, and share the great tips and shortcuts that we all stumble across as parents.”
 

Betsy Miller had similar difficulties finding a play group, too, and joined the Saturday Club when her son Peter, now two, was an infant.

“As full-time professional who works in Boston and lives in Wrentham, I was looking for ways to connect with other parents in my area who also worked full-time outside the home,” she said. “The Saturday Club was a great way for me to meet other
parents, especially since I didn't know a lot of people in Wrentham/Norfolk/Franklin with children Pete's age. The monthly play dates are also manageable, in terms of being able to easily fit them into my schedule.”

Miller also takes advantage of the online discussion forum on the Saturday Club website (www.saturdayclubplaygroups.com) .

“It’s more closely aligned to my needs as a working parent than some of the other parenting sites and a great way to get pertinent information,” she said. “I loved Kay's tip about using an infant toothbrush to remove baby food splatters from a business suit when there's no time to change... and to exchange recommendations and tips on just about anything. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who struggles occasionally with career/life balance issues!”

Allie Ledoux joined the club nearly a year ago with her son Caden, now 20 months. Although she and her husband Matt are Massachusetts natives, they didn’t know anyone when they moved Norfolk after living in North Carolina for a few years.
 

“The Saturday Club is a great place to go where you know you will have the support of other working moms,” she said. “I've met a lot of great women through the group (and some men, too!). I just recently enrolled my son in a day care that has an excellent reputation from a recommendation of someone in the group. The day care rarely has openings, but a fellow Saturday Club member posted the opening in her day care-- it was perfect timing and nice to know it came highly recommended from another working parent.”

(Because of the difficulty in finding a daycare, she and Matt recently founded www.findmydaycare.com.)
 

“It's nice to know there are other working parents out there--being a working parent can be isolating at times as there is limited time to connect with other parents. Having a dedicated place to go on a monthly basis provides something to look forward to.” Ledoux added.

Doyle, her husband Thomas, Jack, 4 and Shannon 14 months, looks forward to the play dates as well.

“I have met so many interesting and amazing people in the area, learned about professions I knew nothing about, and learned valuable information, especially from parents with older children, about getting kids ready for pre-school and
kindergarten, toilet training, etc…but also disappointing things about how hard it still is for working parents to juggle their parental and professional roles,” Doyle said.
 
“The thing I hear the most from new members is ‘I’m so glad you did this,’ and ‘Thank goodness someone came up with this.’ Apparently there were quite a few working parents out there having the same experience I did. Having a chance to swap stories and laugh with other working parents is like a tonic-- ­you really feel better afterward and recharged to face your responsibilities.”

Joining the Saturday Club is free. As a member, you’re not obligated to attend a minimum number of play dates or make an advanced commitment to attend, but are able to take advantage of numerous local and national discounts from deals at the TD Banknorth Garden to online clothing companies.

The Saturday Club has locations in Brookline, Norfolk, Somerville, South Boston and West Roxbury.

Kellie Carrara is a freelance writer, and working mother of a three-year-old daughter, living in Franklin.