Tarvin Toddlers Group

Tarvin Toddlers

On Friday mornings from 9.45 until 11.30, the Hall in the Community Centre is transformed. There are toys on the floor, a table for painting, a soft area for babies and an enticing heap of dressing-up clothes. In the serving hatch, there are snacks available – largely healthy! – and drinks for both adults and children. All this for £3 per family a session, every week in term time.

Tarvin Toddlers offers a space for young children to play in a safe and unstructured way. They learn to interact with other children, to share and cooperate and learn how to deal with (minor) conflicts over favourite toys. All these socialisation skills will help them when they meet the more formal education system. It also gives parents, grandparents and carers a space to meet and chat, to make friends and maybe exchange the occasional piece of child-rearing experience.

But babies become toddlers, toddlers become little children, and little children grow up. Today, the group of parents who run Tarvin Toddlers will be leaving as their children start school in the autumn, and they are looking to encourage a new generation of people to take Tarvin Toddlers into the future. The demands of running the group are not onerous; Fees must be collected, insurance and hall fees paid, and snacks organised, but when shared by a group, this does not take up too much time.

Tarvin Toddlers has been running for many years, indeed for some decades, numbers have fluctuated, but it has always been there for Tarvin's youngest residents and their parents. If you look after a young child and are free on a Friday morning, please do come along and see how this great local organisation can help you. Contact tarvintoddlers2023@outlook.com or just come along on a Friday and meet everyone.

For any older reader who remembers having to crawl under the stage to get all the toys out, or worse – to retrieve a lost toy, you will be delighted to know that there are now wheeled wooden trollies that can be pulled out easily and take most of the toys!

Ed: I remember running the Tarvin Toddler group with another Mum, it didn't take much time or commitment as everyone helps out. It was a great way of getting to know other parents and carers of your child's future schoolmates. I am still good friends with the people I ran the group with 15 years later!