‘Joys and challenges of parenting’: PEPS groups now registering

Thanks to Dana Guy with PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) for not only sharing news of registration and upcoming groups – but also sharing that photo, from a group of moms and babies who started meeting in June: “Getting 11 young babies to pose for a photo is no easy task!” Dana says. Now, the news from PEPS:

There are lots of PEPS activities going on in West Seattle in the next month! Registration is open now for several site based programs for parents of older babies that will take place weekly starting in September, plus we have a PEPS “While You’re Waiting” Drop In-session coming up on August 27.

In a PEPS group, parents meet (with their babies), share, and learn in sessions facilitated by a trained volunteer. Each meeting includes time for sharing parenting highs and lows, followed by a discussion of a topic related to the joys and challenges of parenting; plus break time for informal socializing and connecting with other parents.

Baby Peppers is open to all families with babies 5-12 months old when the group starts. Groups meet once a week for 11 weeks every Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. starting September 25 at the Fauntleroy YMCA.

Little Peppers is for families with 2 children under age three (at the time the group begins). Meetings are led by a professional facilitator with the help of an assistant to keep the toddlers busy. Babies and children remain in the room with their parents for the entire meeting – which makes for a busy and exciting morning! Groups meet once a week for 11 weeks every Thursday from 10 to 11:30 a.m. starting September 19 at the Fauntleroy YMCA.

For new and expectant parents who are interested in PEPS neighborhood-based Newborn Groups, the next West Seattle While You’re Waiting Drop-In Sessions will take place on August 27 and September 24 at Limber Yoga from 1:30-3 pm.

Louisa August 13, 2013 (7:46 pm)

Wow! That is an all time great picture! Lot of energy there, eh? Way to go!

Wes August 13, 2013 (8:18 pm)

where are the dads?

N.A. Neighbor August 13, 2013 (8:59 pm)

That makes me feel so happy to see…Peps was such a life changer for me 12 years ago!! Many of those moms are still my closest friends and their kids still important friends to my kids. I can’t imagine life without them.

Emily August 13, 2013 (8:59 pm)

I was involved in both a Peps group and little peppers. This is an amazing organization. The support and friendships I made through Peps was incredible. The transition to parenthood is very challenging with ups and downs the support this organization provides is priceless.

NWMama August 13, 2013 (9:31 pm)

Everyone should be so lucky to have as awesome of a PEPS group as I. Still friends going on 4 yrs!

bellvy August 13, 2013 (9:38 pm)

Another wonderful option for parents of babies is our local Parent Infant classes. South Seattle Community College provides professional parenting educators that are so wonderfully supportive and full of helpful information–I loved having both peers and professionals to run my questions by! And my little one made as many friends as I did!

B-Check August 13, 2013 (10:01 pm)

PEPS was great for us, especially since we don’t have family in the area. Our group still meets every other week and our kids are just turning two years old. Most of the dads participate too, from the five remaining families – I think that is somewhat related to if the groups meet during the day (catering towards stay-at-home moms) or during the evening, like ours. Regardless, excellent resource for new parents!

Sunny August 13, 2013 (10:02 pm)

I guess these groups aren’t for working moms as the classes only meet during the weekday hours?!?!

hopey August 13, 2013 (10:23 pm)

There are daytime groups which are generally moms only (since most dads do not stay at home), and there are evening groups where both parents participate. There is also a dads-only group which I understand is very popular. In my newborn PEPS group, several of the moms went back to work before the 12-week official group session was over, and now about 2/3 of our group is back at work. We still try to meet together as often as we can… sometimes the working moms have a “doctors appointment” *cough* so they can join us. :)

Westgirl August 13, 2013 (11:18 pm)

Peps was a great experience for my family as well. We still meet up once a month and its been 3 years!!

Taylor August 13, 2013 (11:48 pm)

There is also a drop in parents group in West Seattle that meets on Saturdays called Transitions: Baby Days. While the weather is nice the group meets at Ercolini Park on 48th and Alaska. It’s a great resource for new families.

https://www.facebook.com/TransitionsBabyDays

The Farm August 14, 2013 (7:39 am)

What a beautiful picture!

Mary August 14, 2013 (7:41 am)

Sunny–there are evening groups as well, so that all families have an opportunity to participate.

Lindsey August 14, 2013 (9:07 am)

I hear ya, Sunny! I checked the schedule for baby peppers and the only West Seattle meeting is Wednesday mornings. I appreciate everyone else’s suggestions for other groups to join. With no family in the area and no friends with kids, I’m finding the transition to parenthood very lonely.

pjmanley August 14, 2013 (9:11 am)

Show a picture of newborn puppies, and some contrarian will go off about unwanted dogs in shelters. PEPS is great. Let it be. For once.

andrea August 14, 2013 (1:02 pm)

Love PEPS! My husband and I were lucky enough to join the very last twin PEPS group that they put together almost 3 years ago. We still meet up every other week in the evenings with our group. We are in a ‘parents’ PEPS group, not just a mom or dad group, which is awesome as it gives the dad’s an opportunity to bond and relate to other dad’s going through the same things in parenting life (not just the mom’s). PEPS has all kids of groups…ours as a twin group is an ‘All Seattle’ group, but it has never been an issue for us to go to Madrona or Ballard to meet up with our friends. They come to WS to see us too! The main thing is that my husband and I have made lifelong friends (and so have our kids!) and we’ve been so blessed to get a wonderful support structure for the crazy world of parenting multiples. PEPS was the best decision we ever made!

Dana August 14, 2013 (2:15 pm)

Sunny & Lindsey-

How old are your babies? As a few people have mentioned, our Newborn Groups are offered in both the daytime and evening. Those groups usually start when babies are between 0-4 months old. Since Baby Peppers is for 5-12 month olds, it’s difficult to do later in the evenings as many have started to have an earlier bedtime. There’s more info on the Newborn Program here: http://www.peps.org/programs/newborn/newborn

If you have any specific questions about any of our programs feel free to e-mail me at danag@peps.org.

Wes – lots of Dads do participate in PEPS! This just happened to be a photo of a West Seattle Newborn Group that met in the daytime. You can see more photos of groups – including both moms and dads here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151688517859178.1073741834.176226294177&type=1&l=e2b1d7bfaa

And to everyone else – thanks so much for your comments. We’re glad to hear that many of you had a great experience with your PEPS Groups.

Dana

Jtm August 14, 2013 (2:20 pm)

Why no mention of the fee they charge? Not a fan as I wasn’t placed into a group until my last week of maternity leave, and obviously they are more geared towards stay at home moms vs. working.

Or well enough August 14, 2013 (5:36 pm)

Good job supporting each other and being so brave..I can’t imagine being responsible for bringing more humans into this world.

add August 15, 2013 (12:54 pm)

@Jtm – I’m sure the folks at PEPS will chime in here, but I wanted to respond to your comment. I’m a two-time PEPS group participant, first was 19 years ago, second 15 years ago with baby #2, and we are still very connected to many of the families from those groups. I’ve also been an avid supporter/volunteer over the course of those 19 years. Yes, there is a fee to participate – it costs money to run an organization, especially a well-run one. :) There are scholarships readily available. Also, groups are formed based on two factors – number of interested participants (taking into account their preferences for day or evening groups) and availability of volunteer facilitators. It has really evolved over the years to provide support for parents with a variety of needs (stay-home, back to work, evenings, couples, dads, babies + toddlers, etc.). It’s a bummer that the timing didn’t work for you, it’s a bit of a juggle to get all the pieces to fall in place (hence the need for skilled staff members to keep it all working).
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Granted, PEPS may not be for everyone, but for my family it was and is a precious gift. I would encourage folks to learn more from the website.

jj. August 16, 2013 (6:22 pm)

super nice picture..!!!happy for all of you moms…!!

sjons August 19, 2013 (8:03 am)

I had my baby in both PEPS and SSCC Parent Infant Co-op and had a fantastic experience in both. With the Co-op, I was able to move on to a toddler parent group then preschool, then pre-K. The parent education I received was invaluable, the support and friendships my child and I made were life savers! Thanks for the best start PEPS and SSCC Co-op Preschool!!

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