Jami Adams didn’t set out to become the playtime guru of Chevy Chase Village. But when she took leadership of an infant-to-elementary-school playgroup, that’s pretty much what happened. She became one of a handful of playtime organizers in downcounty neighborhoods.
‘‘When kids get to be a certain age, walking around the neighborhood with a stroller or taking them to a coffee shop doesn’t work anymore,” she said.
Young parents on a career hiatus or with part-time jobs are increasingly joining Web-based play date groups, hoping to meet other parents and to give toddlers a chance to socialize.
The groups are a product of modern suburban life, different from old-fashioned neighborhood playgroups that grew by word of mouth. These are ready-on-demand, electronic and scheduled months in advance.
Adams’ group welcomed about 15 new members in the past month. Her group is mostly mothers, one father and a couple of nannies or au pairs.
Adams, 28, and others said traditional groups do still meet informally at story hours and neighbors’ houses, bringing new parents and kids into the circle the old-fashioned way. But a new era of playgroups is emerging online — more than 180 people have joined Yahoo! groups for Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Potomac and Glen Echo parents. One Meetup.com group with regular downcounty events boasts 339 members.
‘‘I think it helps make them a little more sociable, especially for kids who aren’t in day care,” Adams said. ‘‘Since they’re going to other people’s houses, they learn how to share. [They learn that] even if there’s a toy there, doesn’t mean you can pick it up and hit someone with it.”
Most parents said they were also motivated by a need to get out of the house and meet new people.
‘‘It’s really nice to get together with adults when you’re with a toddler all day. The intellectual conversation is fairly limited as you can imagine,” said Sean Shannon, 37, a Chevy Chase playgroup dad who stays home with his 18-month-old daughter in Chevy Chase, D.C.
Catherine Zimmerman, a mom in her mid-30s who runs a group for downtown Bethesda moms of 18- to 22-month-old children, agreed.
Half of her group’s 15 members are pregnant with their next child.
‘‘I think all of the moms, they weren’t stay-at-home moms before. They had careers, most of them were lawyers,” the former marketing and sales executive said. ‘‘Being at home all day isn’t necessarily what they want to do.”
Most of the groups have a regular meeting day and time — Tuesday morning, Friday afternoon — and rotate shifts at each parent’s house. Or they meet at the library or at a coffee shop.
‘‘I think it’s much more formalized now,” Zimmerman said of the playgroups. Parents and their tots have busy schedules filled with pee-wee sports, performance classes and gym classes.
Playgroups are convenient because it’s guaranteed social interaction ‘‘organized by someone else, so you don’t have to sort of pick up another mom,” she said. ‘‘It’s almost like dating; you have to get out there.”
The playgroup social scene
Resources for meetingother parents
The MOMS Club, an international nonprofit, has chapters throughout Montgomery County — including Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington and Potomac. Visit www.momsclub.org for information.
The Meetup playgroups Web site, playgroup.meetup.com, has several social groups for Maryland parents and kids in the Washington area.
Parents throughout the downcounty area use Yahoo! Groups at groups.yahoo.com to meet for play dates.
