My neighborhood has an informal one through Facebook. We meet monthly at the sports bar at the shopping center to drink. I enjoy our club.

My local group was just dissolved and apparently cannot reform for a period of 2 years. The events I went to seemed to have low turnout even though officially they had over 60 members paying dues. I’m looking into something like Meetup instead, but I’m afraid I’ll have the same problem of just running into well established groups full of moms who are already friends. Isn’t there also an app... I think it’s called Peanut maybe? But I don’t know how popular it is in this country

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the one in McLean and I love it! So helpful and everyone is so kind and welcoming! I work so i dont participate as much as id like, but it is still a great resource (and if you stayed home it would be a life saver!)

I was under the impression MOMs club is only for stay at home moms? Has that changed?

Most MOMS club chapters welcome working moms now, especially in the DMV where it’s more expensive to live and pay for child care.

Our chapter welcomes part-to w working moms but not full time

Same with the one in Arlington. They really didn’t care of your job allowed for flexibility to participate, the message was clear.

I was in the Fairlington one and strongly disliked it. The women were very cliquey. And the events were attended by kids and their nannies. Not many moms. And SO MANY RULES.

Anyway OP if you want a board or coordinator position I would just ask. Honestly probably no one ever volunteers for anything so they would probably be thrilled to have a new board member and have someone move on from the board. That’s my advice. But also recognize that MOMS Club International has a looooooot of rules that chapters elect to follow or, um, not follow or skirt around, so your hands may be somewhat tied re: activity choices and stuff.

I’ve been in our chapter for years (owing to a bigger age gap between my 2 children + 1 on the way) and on and off the board as well. It really comes and goes in terms of involvement. Last year we picked up a large group of first time moms of babies who instantly became BFF’s, which is great for turnout, but the moms are generally not patient or welcoming of other moms’ more rambunctious toddlers/preschoolers. A few years ago our chapter was on the verge of having to dissolve for not enough members and we had basically zero babies. So what we have now definitely beats “about to have to dissolve our group!”

IME it really depends on the board. We had 4 consecutive years of extremely uninvolved boards and presidents - especially presidents (3 of them! All couldn’t care less!), who set the tone for the whole club. After the first president who just wanted the title and didn’t want to do the work, is when our membership started to plummet - from a high of 70-ish members to 30. We’ll probably never get back to 70+, but we now hover around 40 and have pretty good participation which is fine. International MOMS Club has a lot of stupid rules so we can’t have members from outside our “zone,” which excludes a lot of people who happen to live in areas without an active chapter but International’s only response is “they can form their own chapter.” It’s very frustrating. They also force you to split your chapter if you have too many members. I know when we were around 70, they were asking us if we wanted to split and we said no. At 100 they will force you to make two smaller chapters or lose your status as a MOMS Club chapter. I believe that’s why Arlington doesn’t have MOMS Club but instead has, like, Moms of North Arlington and Fairlington Moms and other clubs instead.

We raise hundreds of dollars each year for charitable causes and do a coat/winter gear drive in the late fall and school supply drive before school starts every year, which is great and I think separates us from other playgroups and Facebook groups.

I joined out of loneliness, ended up on the board, and regret it just about every day. I hate feeling obligated to go to the events. The events are not well attended and my child gets nothing out of it. I also don't like the people involved and have become more selective with my mom friends. I will just stick to talking to people on the playground in the future.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the one in McLean and I love it! So helpful and everyone is so kind and welcoming! I work so i dont participate as much as id like, but it is still a great resource (and if you stayed home it would be a life saver!)

I was under the impression MOMs club is only for stay at home moms? Has that changed?

Most MOMS club chapters welcome working moms now, especially in the DMV where it’s more expensive to live and pay for child care.

Our chapter welcomes part-to w working moms but not full time

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the one in McLean and I love it! So helpful and everyone is so kind and welcoming! I work so i dont participate as much as id like, but it is still a great resource (and if you stayed home it would be a life saver!)

I was under the impression MOMs club is only for stay at home moms? Has that changed?

Most MOMS club chapters welcome working moms now, especially in the DMV where it’s more expensive to live and pay for child care.

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the one in McLean and I love it! So helpful and everyone is so kind and welcoming! I work so i dont participate as much as id like, but it is still a great resource (and if you stayed home it would be a life saver!)

I was under the impression MOMs club is only for stay at home moms? Has that changed?

MOMs Club? What the what?

I'm in the one in McLean and I love it! So helpful and everyone is so kind and welcoming! I work so i dont participate as much as id like, but it is still a great resource (and if you stayed home it would be a life saver!)

Anonymous wrote:I’m part of my local chapter. It seems like just the board of 4-5 people are “besties” going to the same events over and over. I went to one event and it was super awkward and I felt like the only newcoming busting in on a private group of fake friends. I chalked up the $10 membership fee as a loss and never attended another event. I’m still in the Facebook group and it’s just as annoying and exclusionary.

That was my experience too. It was very awkward and the group I tried to join didn't try to engage me as a new potential member. I remember introducing myself and then *crickets*. I stayed through one meeting and never went back.

I’m part of my local chapter. It seems like just the board of 4-5 people are “besties” going to the same events over and over. I went to one event and it was super awkward and I felt like the only newcoming busting in on a private group of fake friends. I chalked up the $10 membership fee as a loss and never attended another event. I’m still in the Facebook group and it’s just as annoying and exclusionary.

Do you actually enjoy it, or just put up with it so you have something to do?

What is your club board like (president, vp, etc.)? What are friendships like between the members? Do things feel organized? Do people reach out to you from the club? Do you feel welcome at the events?

I have found my club to be not that friendly and it is majorly disorganized. People get on the board and then never step down, so it seems like there are never fresh ideas, and the same cycle of disorganized management seems endless. I can’t decide if I’m better off putting up with it so my child has some occasional play dates, or to just quit.