“It is just so community and family oriented, I love to come here.”

You often hear the refrain, enjoy this time because it goes fast- and it’s true, with young children especially, the time is super speed. Change happens not only week by week, but day by day, as their development moves along in leaps and bounds.

Sally, a passionate playgroup devotee, shares this sentiment with the families at her local playgroup in Essendon. Sally said, “Every week, every session, we remind them just how important this time with their child is. We know about attachment theory and we know that the first five years they need to be really bonded with their carers, whoever they may be.” Sally loves the safe space that playgroup is, in which people feel comfortable to share, the children know that their parents and carers are close by, enabling strong bonds to develop. The environment enables everyone to create memories and feel that they belong.

Sally sees the parents, juggling the many demands of modern life. She wants her playgroup to be a sanctuary, a reassuring place to land. “You are reminding them, ‘You are doing something great, you are doing something great! You have got up, even if they come five minutes before it shuts, you made it! Sit down, have a coffee, stay another half an hour’.”

Lisa first came to this playgroup as a parent with her two-year-old daughter and loved it so much she stayed on to volunteer.

“We have become friends and I just wanted to give back because it gave me so much when I was new to Melbourne. It really helped me to find my feet and get advice and so I just wanted to help create that space for other mums and I love babies.”

Here at Little Hands playgroup in Essendon, pathways are created as confidence is built in a safe environment.

At the end of last year, one mum Shivaun wrote a Christmas card and said that Little Hands playgroup was the first place she felt comfortable taking her twins by herself.

Parents and carers talk about the different ways that playgroup has supported their family as they navigate life after birth and after mother’s group.

“You kind of get lost at sea,” said mum Gwen. “Once they are out of that little phase, you are still a mum, but that community is gone. Once we joined [playgroup], we found our little place here.”

Playgroup can be a soft-landing place. It can, and has, helped many people to get back on track and walk on with meaning and purpose. Especially for parents, as their sense of identity morphs and evolves alongside their children.

What stems from the regular connections at playgroup are opportunities to share, gather new insights and contribute.

“They come to playgroup, then sometimes they serve on the team, after they join our volunteer team many say, ‘I could do this, I feel like I could, maybe I could work again’,” said Sally.

Playgroup has propelled Sally on in her own life, helping her to fulfill her passion for meaningful work with children and families.

Sally is a teacher by trade and through her work at playgroup that is run by Essendon Baptist Community Church, she has become a pastor. Through the church, Sally has completed safety training, mental health training and pastoral care training to accompany her teaching experience.

“Early education training for me is also what I am passionate about. Sometimes children will come and their mum might say, ‘Mmmh, they are actually not talking yet’ and I say, ‘How old are they? Taking their lead, I might have some helpful conversations about who might be best to talk to about speech development.” Sally said she cannot emphasize enough the benefit of meeting in person and forging connections where children are able to interact, see and observe: “being able to see the body language and read peoples faces is super important for childhood development, particularly in the first few years.”

Sally enjoys being able to connect families with support services, such as speech therapists and pediatricians. Moreover, it is the relational aspect that she finds most rewarding. Oftentimes, the conversations and relationships that take place at playgroup can positively change outcomes for families.

“We have other things we can do- for mums who are having a hard time I can meet up with them, I can meet them for coffee one week and just follow them up. I will send them messages or call too. We have journeyed together through infant loss, stillborn, miscarriages and they share all that with me- what a privilege for me, but also a great responsibility.”

“I love being able to chat with families now with some of my experience, being a teacher for 20 years so helping mums and dads and nannies. We have nannies and grandmas and aunties here and I want to help nurture them. Their early years is important to me and if I can share something that I learnt or answer a question or offer them a coffee on a bad day then I’m happy.”

Sally said that families are hankering for in-person contact, particularly in the wake of the pandemic. The interactions between the adults, the friendships that are made, watching the children grow- this all contributes to the experience.

Many of the families arrange their weeks based on the day that playgroup runs, ensuring they can make it.

“On Thursdays, it is carer and child time so all those little firsts that they do, drawing their name or making a craft or playing with playdough, making friends the carer will actually be there with them. I think it is incredible for attachment,” said Sally.

Brenda, a grandmother, loves her time each week at playgroup. She brings three of her grandchildren: two of which are twins.

“It is just so community and family oriented, I love to come here. The kids are comfortable, the people and educators and helpers are just amazing and it is a nice time. We meet other parents and grandparents and so we look forward to it.”

Sally gestures to the children happily playing with slime:

“Their fine motor skills right now and their sensory enjoyment of that slimy feeling, while they talk about it- you cannot copy that with digital technology. Their hands are actually in the slime aren’t they and their brains are firing up and then at the back there they are climbing, they are running, they are sliding. They can watch others play on YouTube but actually doing it, it develops their brain so much more.”

Sally encourages parents and carers to try a different playgroup, as there are so many good ones out there:

“It’s not a one size fits all- if that playgroup hasn’t been right for your child- for example, if you have a child who struggles with sensory overload you don’t want a big loud hall with a wooden floor, dragging noisy chairs around, the child is finding that too difficult- try another playgroup, a little playgroup.”

Throughout the morning at Little Hands playgroup, different people play a role in helping one another. A group of young adults from Ellenni and Co practice making coffee out in the kitchen area and proudly deliver the beverages to each parent and carer at the playgroup who are very appreciative. A volunteer brings out snacks and cleans the benches. Everyone, including the children, help to pack up, with music as their accompaniment. They share the load and share their skills and share their stories.

“Fifteen years straight now and I am not going to slow down anytime soon because I just love it and my own kids still remember it,” said Sally.

“I think it has a lasting impact on families in a positive way. I am thankful for a great team of volunteers who make these sessions possible and for the support from the wider church community.”

Join the Fun and Be Part of a Session at Little Hands Playgroup in Essendon!

Contact Sally: sally.danger@essendonbaptist.org.au
Discover More on Instagram and on the Little Hands Playgroup YouTube Channel

Article by Sinead Halliday
Photography by Mylie Nauendorf