VA-Parents & Tots is a playgroup for WBFN families living in VA. “What is a playgroup exactly?”, you might ask. Well, it really is a great opportunity to get together with other parents and their small children from newborn to preschool age over a cup of tea or coffee and toys. But it really is more than that: it is an experience!

Since the playgroup meets at each others homes it is like having coffee with friends making everyone feel comfortable and welcome. Also, because we meet every week it is something you can put on your calendar and count on. Since, we all sit in the same boat of life, meaning raising small children in an international environment and married to World Bank staff, it is a place to connect and share with people who know and understand where you are and what you are going through. And, because we all have our precious little ones around it is this unique place of fun and play and life all happening at once.

When my husband Christopher joined the World Bank 10 years ago, is when it all started for my family and me.

I am a physical therapist by profession from Austria. I have always enjoyed traveling and beyond that getting to know different cultures. I have volunteered with international aid organizations, joined cultural exchange student programs, worked as a physical therapist in Austria, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia, even on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean and Caribbean and have completed a course in theological studies in Australia and Indonesia.

Thirteen years ago I married my amazing Australian husband, Christopher. Together we lived in the highlands of Papua New Guinea where I volunteered at the Medical Center of the gold mine Christopher worked in. From there we moved to the heart of Manila, Philippines for about 3 years. I was able to work at the Austrian Embassy there and also be a physical therapist at the Asian Development Bank. Our first daughter was born in Manila. She was 5 months old when we moved to Washington.

Soon there was our second baby on the way. When she was about 8 months old and her sister 20 months I felt ready to venture out into our playgroup experience. From Mosaic, the WBFN newsletter, I found out where and when to go and off we went. It was the perfect place to be from the very first meeting. I remember the warm welcome and the energizing feeling I had at having met new friends. From that first time on we were part of the VA Parents & Tots group and to this day, 8 years and 3 more babies later, we still are.

When the mother who coordinated the play group at the time I joined moved overseas, she asked me if I wanted to take over the task of being the coordinator for this group. So I did, and because I keep qualifying myself year after year with having small enough children to be part of it, I still am. I love helping people feel settled and enjoy the relationships I have been able to build over the years very much. Some of my best friends are or have been part of our playgroup. For me Tuesday morning is one of the highlights of the week.

What are the benefits and why is it important to have groups like this? Here is what other mothers of our group say:

“It helps new moms and their children to socialize, make new friends, get to know the area, share information and tips about classes, doctors, entertainment, get integrated faster in the new environment, exchange experiences and ideas, support each other, it is a ‘training’ for preschool in a social environment but with mom around, you will get out of the house and your child will be excited about ‘new’ toys, the group’s regularity is great as well as its coziness and informality, it is fun...”

In short, if you are new to Washington or WBFN and have small children or are expecting a baby, please join us and share our wonderful experience. Feel free to contact me. We look forward to meeting you!

By Birgit Sheldon

 

Everyone has different perceptions of being a mom - for some of us children are the joy of our life and we are ready to give up on many things even if it is only to spend a couple of minutes with them… We want to see all the tiny developments in their life. We want to watch them very closely and we are proud of being part of the little child’s life. Often we ask ourselves, “Isn’t it wonderful to be around her/him?” They soon become the main subject of our lives. We find ourselves talking about them almost every possible minute… As moms we search for people who have the same experience, who have baby boys, baby girls…During one such search, I hit upon the VA playgroup, many thanks to The World Bank Family Network.

My 16 month-old daughter Ronya and I joined the World Bank Family Network in June 2008. Even though we had been in the US for about ten years now, I got many useful tips from the family network, especially on being a new mom. The best thing was getting Birgit Sheldon’s contact information from the Mosaic Activities page; Birgit is the person who leads the Virginia Parents and Tots playgroup. It’s always hard to meet new people, because you never know if they will be welcoming or not… but with Birgit it was easy. She is in her late thirties and has five adorable kids; she is very energetic and manages a big family well; as a friend she welcomes anyone with her warm smile and definitely is the ideal person to lead such a lovely playgroup.

My first meeting with the playgroup was during last summer at one of the playgrounds in Arlington, VA. Every Tuesday, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, the playgroup meets at a playground in the summer or at somebody’s home in the fall. We all receive weekly e-mails from Birgit before Tuesday with a subject “This week at Birgit’s” or whoever takes the turn for that week. In just a few months Ronya and I have made many friends and are all excited about our Tuesday mornings.

Playgroup Coordinators:
Christopher & Birgit Sheldon
cbsheldon@yahoo.com
Tel/Fax: 703-356-3558

Lately the VA playgroup has become even more active. We have “mom’s night” once a month, thanks to Rita. She started the mom’s night and it is going very well; our last meeting was at The Cheesecake Factory which was very relaxing for full-time moms. We definitely do need our time alone to appreciate the time we spend with our little ones. Birgit has also started a very interesting course about marriage. She and her husband had attended a course developed by Emerson E. Eggerichs named Love & Respect and she wished to share her experiences with all of us. Other than this we have had many birthday parties for the little ones, and sometimes for the moms too. We have also had baby showers for moms to be! As a group we are learning from each other’s conversations, also we share interesting articles; and have lots of fun together!

The VA playgroup is a very diverse group with members coming from Austria, Switzerland, UK, Czech Republic, Nigeria, Poland, Guatemala, Canada, Turkey, Kenya, US etc. Being with people from other cultures makes us feel better and gives us a sense of belonging knowing that we are not the only foreign people who came to another country knowing very little about the country we were moving to. Being a part of a group alleviates our homesickness to a great extent. Often the topic of our discussions revolves around when and how we will go back to our home country. Most of us have daughters and sons who were born in America, so, this is surely going to be an interesting topic for our future discussions too!

Please join us if you are new to the U.S., or new to WBFN; you will have a wonderful experience!

By Asmin Dilek Sen