Local Mom Groups, Dad Groups, and Playgroups to Help You Find Your People

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Resources for Families

The highs and lows of parenting can be found in potty-training success, sleepless nights, and all the chaos and excitement in ordinary days. As we both thrive and survive through parenthood, many parents find comfort in an open ear, a reassuring story, and words of encouragement. If you’re lucky, your parenting support group is filled with friends from your past, or family members, but not everyone has a built-in support system in their neighborhood. If you’re looking for “your people,” we’ve found mom groups, dad groups, and playgroups throughout the western suburbs to help you find friends. While we know it can be nerve-wrecking to put yourself out there, you never know whether the next library story time, or new-moms meetup will lead to a life-long friendships for both you and your children.

Parent Groups and Playgroups in the Western Suburbs

Some groups are meeting in person, while others are hosting Zoom cocktail hours, support group video calls, connecting via social media, and more. So if you’re interested in making connections, check out the groups below and see what they’re offering.

Parent Groups

Parent-Child Classes

Classes you take together with your child are a great way to meet parents with kids in the same age and stage! Check out our round-up of local parent-child classes to find one near you.

Local Woman’s Clubs

Woman’s clubs have a long history of bringing women together for philanthropy and activism around local policy issues. You’ll still find many groups active in the suburbs, including:

Newcomer Groups

Newcomer groups are social organizations that organize for all kinds of events. Contrary to the name, you do not need to be a newcomer to the area to join!

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Groups

MOPS programming is available at churches throughout the Western suburbs. Infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are welcome and these groups often form playgroups. You may also find MOMSNext groups for families with school-aged children.

Breastfeeding Support Groups

Mom Fitness Groups

In our article on ways to exercise with kids, we found lots of mom-centric fitness classes nearby. Here are a few to get you started:

Other Ways to Connect

  • Many indoor playgrounds have baby and toddler times where you can meet other parents and start a playgroup. Some of these are still on pause for now or continue to make adjustments as things change, so check their websites for the most current information.
  • Search Meetup.com for groups that reflect your own interests. Don’t limit yourself to parenting-focused groups, either; there are book clubs, board game meetups, and other interest-focused groups all around the suburbs.
  • Check out Bible Study Fellowship classes in our area. Most offer both daytime and evening studies and often include childcare. Women’s and men’s classes are available.
  • There are great music and swimming class options in our guide to Classes for Little Kids 0-5 Years Old that you can sign up for with your little ones.

Are we missing a local parent group or organization near you? Please let us know in the comments; we’d love to hear about them!

Our Resources for Families page has our full collection of articles designed to help you navigate the ups and downs of parenting and caregiving in Chicago’s western suburbs.

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6 Comments. Leave new

  • Hi Annie! Downes Grove Area Newcomers is a social group with tons of family, kids, women only, and playgroup options. Elmhurst Newcomers and Neighbors does as well.

    Reply
  • Elena Parlatore
    September 26, 2018 2:46 pm

    Do you know of any groups for Stay-at-home dads?

    Reply
    • We always keep our eyes open for them, but don’t know of any unfortunately. I asked on the Kidlist Facebook page and people commented on wanting a dads group in general, even for working dads, but no one commented with the name of an existing group. Maybe try Meetup? Or searching on Facebook? There needs to be one!

      Reply
  • I’m a grandma who nannies my two toddlers in Brookfield; are there playgroups geared towards the “older moms”?

    Reply
    • Hi Lori,
      I have been keeping an eye out for any specialty mom groups such as the one you are looking for, but haven’t run across any yet. We will be sure to update this article if any pop up!

      Reply
  • Hi Lori, Moms of Brookfield on Meetup has a wide variety of Mom’s not geared towards anyone specifically. Majority of the group are mom’s of toddlers those with older kids are welcome to join but it seems like once the kids hit school age the participation in the group stops. The group is very casual and does lots of just drop in type playdates.

    Reply

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