Playcentre

Playcentre is a Parent run co-operative. You have to be there with your children and under take training.

It's a licensed early child hood centre that you can take your children too, they can go from any age which means you can bring your babies along too. My son started at 13 Months and loved it. He attended up until the beginning of last term when I swapped him to preschool.

It's a pretty big commitment and part of the licensing for it be a early child hood centre is that all members do the training.


You can check them out and have any other questions answered www.playcentre.org.nz

Hope that helps :)

My son loved PC and still really misses it. I felt bad for putting him to pre school but I'm expecting twins and I just wasn't coping. I just got my course two as well! I feel like what I learned has helped me to become a better parent but oh god did I hate all the meetings!

my sister was a big PC mum, was there till both her kids turned 5. she did say tho to check out a few as some can be clicky, and she visited 3 centres before she found one that suited her. she too still has contact with some of the mums.

Bizzy wrote: my sister was a big PC mum, was there till both her kids turned 5. she did say tho to check out a few as some can be clicky, and she visited 3 centres before she found one that suited her. she too still has contact with some of the mums.

I agree, I checked out 3 before I committed to the one I was happy with!! The one I am at made me feel so welcome from the very first moment I walked through their door!!

I took DD there for about 2-3 years and she loved it. I met a great group of people and we all stayed friends for years afterwards. In fact a group of us have a book club and still meet monthly. Some are clicky, some are supportive, in any case most kids love it. You have to commit to a minimum of two sessions a week so it is doable if you are working but you may end up with no spare days. Also it is a commitment as far as meetings, working bees, training etc goes so can be hard to fit in part time work if you are putting in quite a few hours. The great thing is that it gives you a few hours a few days a week that the focus is on you playing with your kids. At home you can get busy trying to do housework and stuff and often don't end up just playing.

I have just started Playcentre and we have loved the sessions that we have been to so far! Is is great to see kids having a fun time in a safe environment - and not making a mess at home!

Just wanted to point out that there are many "policies" and "rules" at PC, but they don't all have the same... We can attend only one session a week if we want to, different centres run different days/times etc. My PC is open on Tues/Fri mornings only (I live in the country). So it is worth checking out their policies etc as well. The other question that was important for me was their discipline policies as that can be dependent on the centre as well.

Yeah I had been told by a friend that they wouldn't "let" you do timeout - she was horrified! So I asked the President and she said that they basically turn a blind eye would if you chose to use that method of discipline, but they would try and teach you some "better" ways. I enjoy the way that they work positively, make me think about what I am saying and help Luke understand his and my actions a bit more.

But we don't use TO at home anyway, so it is not an issue either way.

I hated it. I had no time for me, my little one was tired & his sleep patten was so messed up.

You have so much to do & the one I went to had a clicky little group that was hard to get in to. Then trying to breast feeding & take your turn at things just got too stressful. All the things & meeting etc just made it not fun.

So we do coffee groups & music group & the local church run a morning group for all so heaps of us go there & it is great.

Oh & we sooooo love kindy.

I go to playcentre with my 3 one day a week and love it, I am also secertery and equipment officer (which means I get to buy the toys!!) but have to drop that job since I am starting my ECE training soon, I don't feel it takes up alot of time as there is normally only one meeting a month and most centres have a policy that you only have to attened one meeting a term, as for the courses I do many of these durning the week at sessions so take my kids along as there is always someone to watch them or go to the night ones which is nice to get out of the house for awhile.

I love playcentre where else can you get all the use of equipment for around $3 per session!!

Edited by floss

Nikki you can attend Playcentre as much or as little as you like! For example alot of the Mums at our centre have their children attend Playcentre 2 or 3 times per week and the other days they attend kindy. This is what I plan to do, have DD in Playcentre for 2 days per week and then Kindy 3 days per week (when she turns 3 obviously).

Playcentre is there for you to use how best suits your family.

You are required to attend one meeting per term, which really is not alot of time, maybe 2 hours at the most in one evening during the week. The courses are fabulous for learning tips on how to be a better parent I have found! I have attended only one meeting so far and found it so interesting. I have also met some lovely Mums and I am sure we will become great friends! Infact I am sure after our girls night out in a few weeks which is a belly dancing lesson, pot luck dinner and bottles of wine, we will be fabulous friends lol