Margaret Paisley, a nanny from New Zealand, has been volunteering at the South Calgary Playgroup for the last 15 years. She has recently taken a position on the board for the South Calgary Community Association.

The playgroup is a non-profit organization. The parents are committed to volunteering each week, bringing in the snacks for all the children during their break.

Some parents say that early socialization activities - much like a playgroup, preschool or daycare - are vital to the development of a child’s social interaction starting at a young age.

Margaret Paisley is a volunteer at the South Calgary Community Playgroup on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, where kids and parents in the community come together to play and interact in a social setting.

Photo: Andrea Dion/ Calgary Journal

Getting involved with community groups is not only helpful to the kids, but to the parents as well, Paisley said. When parents are new to an area it helps with the process of getting to know other parents and gaining information on what’s happening within the community.

“Moms get to know other moms, which can then turn into out of group play dates,” Paisley said.

Having children placed into a playgroup also expands the relationships children can gain with one another. Since the playgroup is community-based, the children will most likely attend the same school when it’s time to be placed into preschool or kindergarten.

“It forms bonds and close friendships,” Paisley said. “We’re the forerunner in getting them ready for school.”

Amanda Moloney is the director for the South Calgary Community Association Preschool also known as the SCCAP. Moloney has taken her children to both the South Calgary Playgroup and the SCCAP. The SCCAP is non-profit based and volunteer-run by the children’s parents.

Although preschools do vary, the SCCAP is more play based, Moloney said. The teachers leave how the kids spend their time open, but with more structure and an implemented routine.

According to Moloney, the difference between preschool and a playgroup is that, “it’s as much fun for the parent as it is for the kids.” She added, preschool is meant to “teach the kids on how to be away from their parents, while teaching them how to get used to an early socialization in a school setting.”

At preschool the kids are taught necessary developmental skills such as hanging up their coats and putting away their shoes. Moloney said, it seems basic but it makes the kids more prepared for when they go off to kindergarten.

“The experience in a playgroup or preschool is based on personality,” Moloney said. “My boy would cry every time I dropped him off even though he loved it, he just liked to be with me.”

“It’s a good way to say goodbye to parents, and get settled into a new environment,” Moloney said.

Tracey Bushnik wrote a research paper based on data up to 2003 called Child Care in Canada, and was published in 2006 on Statistics Canada. According to the study, over half of all Canadian children aged six months to five years were in some form of non-parental childcare from 2002-2003.

For parents thinking about the idea of enrolling children into the SCCAP or any preschool, “it’s not absolutely necessary, but it’s a nice activity for the kids and a good break for the parents,” Moloney said.

Nikki Butcher, along with some other moms in her community, recently launched the Symons Valley Playgroup. While it started off just being moms and tots meeting at one another’s homes, it became too big to be able to accommodate everyone at the same time.

Margaret Paisley is on the board for the South Calgary Community Association and volunteers her time at the South Calgary Community Playgroup on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.

Photo: Andrea Dion/ Calgary Journal

“Being able to meet with all of these moms and knowing your kids are going through the same phases, developing the same way, we can share stories and suggestions,” Butcher said. “Knowing that I am not alone in the community is nice.”

Butcher added: "The sooner kids are introduced to social settings the easier they can adapt."

In 2008, a study by Kathryn Amey Degnan, Heather A. Henderson, Nathan A. Fox and Kenneth H. Rubin, was published in a journal called Social Development. The article points out that “the experience of non-parental childcare and exposure to same-age peers may contribute to a decrease in observed behavioural inhibition.” Continuing to add: “Children may gain experience interacting with peers in a variety of situations and can apply those skills to situations outside of childcare.”

For some new moms it’s hard to get out and meet other parents. For Butcher, she said she needed “some adult contact and wanted to know if other moms were going through the same insecurities and stresses.”

“I cannot stress enough how much these ladies have helped me with my own dealings with my children, the mental breaks it has given me just being around them, and the friendships I have developed,” Butcher said.

In the end there will always be differences between the ways a playgroup, preschool or daycare is run, Butcher describes the differences of playgroup as being less costly.

Classes at South Calgary Playgroup are Tuesday or Wednesday morning for a monthly cost of $20.

In comparison, Moloney describes daycares as “care giving,” adding that it’s not a structured routine or classroom, and is meant to help working parents. Playgroups and preschools are meant to make the kids socially interact with one another, while preparing them for the transition into school. As for the parents, it enables them to get a small break from the kids for a few hours, and get to know other parents within their community.