It’s Saturday night, and your baby has a rash on their belly and a low-grade fever. The doctor’s office isn’t open, and you don’t want to freak out your partner just yet. What do you do? I’m willing to bet that one of the first things you do is consult with your mom friends. Am I right?
I joke that pacifiers are to babies like mom friends are to moms. They can comfort you, make you smile, and pretty much fix every issue you have. (Or at least tell you how they survived it.) So when any new mom asks me for advice on motherhood, I always suggest connecting with other moms. Motherhood, by nature, is stressful and confusing at times, and the last thing that is ever helpful is to feel you are doing it alone.
How to Meet Mom Friends
But where and how to meet these other moms can sometimes feel daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. The most important key to connecting with other moms is to say yes to invitations you receive and get something in the books. Additionally, don’t assume that just because a person doesn’t seem to have much in common with you means that person wouldn’t be a great mom friend for you. Sure, they may run marathons, and you are more into watching rerun marathons at night on the couch. But at the end of the day, you both share arguably the most important aspect of your life in common—motherhood. And you would be surprised how connected you can feel with someone by having nothing else in common but that.
So here is my list of the top 8 ways to meet some mom friends!
1. Meet Up Groups
It doesn’t get much more basic than this. One of the easiest ways to connect with other moms is to search for meet-up groups in your area. The best part about this method is that these moms are also intentionally seeking the same thing out that you are—connection with other moms! If you’ve never checked them out, go to meetup.com. You can easily find a list of groups in your area.
2. Connections through Facebook Mom Pages
If you’re on Facebook and a part of any local mommy group or page related to babywearing, breastfeeding, cloth diapers, or even buying and selling, you can easily put out an open invitation for a playdate and see what mothers might oblige. Depending on how connected you are with the page, you may already feel like you’ve been friends forever. Just virtually. So why not make it official?
3. Church Bible Study
Churches are great ways to connect with other moms and families. And many churches offer Bible studies for moms where childcare is provided. This gives you both a small break from the kiddos while letting you form meaningful friendships with other moms. It has always been my favorite way to make mom friends because I can talk for extended periods of time, unlike at the park where I might have to start a sentence and then chase a child down off a rock wall.
4. The Park
I cannot tell you how often moms have engaged me in conversation at the park while simply hanging out with my little ones. They are naturally there doing the same thing you are doing, and generally, because they are at the same park you are, they don’t live far away. If you notice your children are having a good time playing, you can easily ask if there might be another time that would work to meet up and let the little ones play again. You would be surprised how easily their response might be, “Yes!”
5. Mother of Preschoolers (MOPS)
If you’ve heard of MOPS, it goes without saying why I have this method on the list. If you don’t know about it, MOPS is a grassroots organization with more than 3,900 MOPS groups meeting across the United States and in 35 countries worldwide. MOPS groups meet weekly to celebrate the joys and challenges of motherhood by focusing on a different topic or activity each meeting, including things like parenting tips to a craft with kiddos. This is a wonderful way to meet some great mom friends.
6. Parents from School
If your child is school-age or in preschool, a great way to connect with the parents of your children’s classmates is through a class list. Email lists of parents usually circulate, and some of my best friends are the parents of my kids’ friends at school. Inviting the class to a birthday party and connecting with other parents is an easy start. But if the kids are younger, emailing the class and asking if any of the parents want to meet up at a local indoor kid’s gym is another great way to meet some other moms.
7. Children’s Activities
Another easy way to make a mom friend while having fun with your child is to sign your child up for some children’s activities or sports. Dance, swimming, a music class, or t-ball are all great ways to form friendships with other parents because they are naturally there watching their child too, especially if it’s a parent participation class like swimming.
8. Neighborhood
Last, my favorite old-school way to make mom friends is to get out and about in your neighborhood. Get your kids playing in the yard. If other kids are around, they will surface. And soon enough, their parents will, too! This is a great way to connect because you can easily let kids play and have a neighborhood dinner or cookout. And soon enough, you will be talking about mom things over a glass of wine.
