Connecting with your playgroup families right now is more important than ever. While we can’t meet physically, we can still connect using technology – phone, email, text, WhatsApp, Messenger, Facebook, Zoom… there are many options and in this article we explore a few of these.  

Positive, social connection has always been a great way to help with managing stress. With playgroups temporarily suspended, we need to look for new ways to stay connected and support each other. 

The more we can share this experience, the easier it can be to manage. As parents and carers with young ones, it’s especially important to keep ourselves occupied! 

Luckily, through social media and online apps, we have the ability to still do this – even if it’s through a screen! 

Ways to stay connected 

• Start your own playgroup Facebook Group 
• Join our new Playgroup at Home WA Facebook group – Playgroup WA development officers will be providing fun activities and general community support in this group and we encourage members to join in and share their own ideas and experiences as well. 
• Create a WhatsApp Group – this is particularly good for people who are not active on social media. If you don’t have WhatsApp, you can download it from the App Store or Play Store on your smartphone. 
• Start a Messenger Chat Group – this method may be preferred as it can be accessed from desktop or mobile apps, and you don’t need to be on Facebook to use this.  

• Sign up to Zoom, a free video conferencing program that will allow you and your playgroup friends to video chat for free (for up to 40 minutes).  
• Maintain a list of members and their contact details (email and phone) so you can keep in touch with each other (check that members are ok with this). 

Ideas to connect 

• Set up a time, possibly the same time and day as your playgroup session, to hold a Video Chat session, allocate one family each week to come up with an activity to do 
• If you’ve created a Facebook Group, this is an excellent way to share with each other activities, daily adventures and ideas on keeping yourself, and your little ones, engaged 
• Hold a watch party – there are many great educational and fun videos on Facebook which your little ones will love! Select a time and invite your playgroup friends to watch it with you so you can enjoy it together 
• Get in touch with your local senior aged care facility and look into ways you can connect with them online
• Check in on each other through messages to see if everyone is ok and if they need any help. 

Do you have any others to add in? We’d love to hear from you and see all the wonderful ways you’re keeping connected with your community.