What is Playgroup?
Playgroup is for babies, toddlers and preschoolers and their parents or carers. In Victoria around 40,000 children from 30,000 families grow and learn at playgroups held at community venues such as maternal and child health centres, kindergartens, halls, community centres, primary schools, sporting clubs and aged care facilities.
Playgroups are low cost and run by the parents or carers in them. Each parent or carer is responsible for the children they bring to playgroup.
At playgroup you get to meet other people going through similar experiences, ease the isolation that can come with caring for young children and find out about local community, health and support services. Most families go to community playgroups but in recent years more kinds of playgroup models have emerged which you can find out about here.
Why children go to playgroup
Playgroup-aged children are going through a stage of rapid brain and skill development that playgroup can cater for. Babies are offered play experiences to stimulate their senses. Toddlers build on these play experiences to practise using their hands and their emerging language skills. Preschool children continue to learn as they play and practise social skills, an important preparation for kindergarten and school.
At playgroup children can:
- make new friends
- have new experiences
- gain self confidence
- develop physically, socially, emotionally and intellectually
- develop their skills of cooperation
- develop verbal and non verbal communication skills through contact with other children and adults
- extend their experience of literacy in a social environment.
Copyright © 2015 Playgroup Victoria Inc. A0012387K
Telephone: toll free 1800 171 882 (within Victoria) or (03) 9388 1599 (outside Victoria)
