I learned about the site when my son was 3 months old. My only mom friend had just gone back to work, so the baby and I were on our own A LOT. One day I saw a group of mothers in the park and crashed their playdate. Turns out they had all just met, through a parents group on Meetup.com. I logged on that night, joined some of the local mother's groups, and imediately had playdates to attend that week.

So here's how it works. Meetup.com is a social networking site that does just what its name says - it organizes people who plan to meet up offline. You create a free profile, then search and join groups that interest you. Pretty simple. The site operates worldwide, but NYC is Meetup's most active city with nearly 230,000 members. Mom's Groups are among the most popular group types on the site. In fact, search for "Mom" in the NYC region and 123 groups come up within 10 miles of the city and about 30 come up on a search for dads. Those groups range from a few members to hundreds of members, with most neighborhoods represented. Quickly scrolling through the local parent's groups I found active Meetup's for: expectant moms, working moms, holistic parents, asian moms, bilingual families, special needs families, moms who like to dine out, moms book clubs, bible studies and more.

Most of the Meetup groups I've been involved with are pretty casual. Anyone can post or suggest a Meetup, and there is no need to commit or cancel, you just go if and when you can. However, a few groups do have small fees and some rules for members. There's a nifty calendar to remind you of upcoming Meetups, great to find a last minute activity on days you really need one. Another feature is that each Meetup group has an online bulletin board allowing you to interact with the community, whether it be for nanny recommendations or sell an old carseat. Occassionally ads can sneak in, and some email topics generate a lot of replies, so there are personal options to set how you wish to view the posts.

Oh, and another cool use for Meetup is if you have to move, or even when travelling, see if there is a group where you're going and try to connect with parents there for playdates or family-friendly tips about exploring their city. A year into using Meetup parent's groups, my son and I have a great group of friends and still meet new families via Meetup events. If you're looking to meet other parents and build up your family's support network, I suggest giving it a try. Maybe we'll see you at a Meetup!

MeetUp.com