Kansas Moms Groups Offer Positive Support

I recently moved to Wichita, Kansas from southern California in May of 2006. I had lived in California for about twenty seven years and a mojority of my friends and family still reside there. We made the move to Kansas because my husband was offered a job that included housing. We had just lost our house to foreclosure and didn't have anything left. We took a chance and headed for Wichita.

We got to Wichita at the end of May and we faced a long, humid summer. Right of the bat our kids all got sick with the rotavirus so that kept me busy for a few weeks. My husband was very busy working long days so I was at home alone with the kids. With the hot, humid weather and not knowing much about our new city we stayed inside alot. Thank goodness I had my internet connection or I would have lost my mind. Being online has allowed me to make new friends and visit with my old friends back in California.

I am constantly searching the internet for opportunities and one afternoon I decided it was about time to find a local moms group. It can be intimidating immersing oneself into a group of unknowns. Late in the summer I was craving adult interaction and needed to communicate on a regular basis with woman who were experiencing the long summer alone as well.

My first connection came with my registration with a website called CafeMom.com. I was really excited about finding a site that resembled MySpace but was tailored more toward the mom crowd with no fear of uncomfortable interactions with lonely men. I spent quite a few days customizing my profile and joining groups, hoping that I could gain consistent communication with fellow moms. I found, unfortunately, that things were pretty quiet. I rarely got a visit to my profile and local moms were hard to find. I knew a few moms back in California and I recommended that they join CafeMom and that got things going for a bit. Then school started and things got really quiet. We were in the middle of moving from our temporary apartment so the kids hadn't gotten in school quite yet. Things were pretty much the same for me daily. I would check in every other day but there was nothing new. I was feeling really frustrated.

Out of my frustration I began a search for a moms group that was based in Wichita. I found several that were appealing.
MagicalMoms was the first site listed in my search results. This group was a bit extreme for me as they are a Pagan parenting group for parents (moms or dads) of alternative religions or just any parent who has a spiritual open mind who like to be around other parents who are trying to raise their children with a heightend spiritual awareness. This group does get together on a regular basis for playdates for children, at different locations including parks, rec areas, their homes, etc and of course the monthly MOM's Night Out. The process to join MagicalMoms does include screening to secure the safety of other members. If you are interested in this group you can find out more information by visiting their website at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagicalMoms/ .

The second listing in my search results was for WichitaMoms. This site appealed to me but I did not end up joining. The WichitaMoms website is a community website supporting mothers, mothers to be, and women trying to conceive. The purpose of the site is to give mothers throughout Wichita, Sedgwick County and surrounding areas a place to meet, talk, and share about parenting, motherhood and life as a mom. Formed in June of 2006, the website offers members their own blog, playdate calendar, moms night out event listings, recipe information, classifieds and a photo gallery. There is more information about WichitaMoms at http://www.wichitamoms.org/ .

The next interesting listing in my search results was for The Wichita Moms Group. I ended up joining this website and I am glad that I did. The Wichita Moms Group website has great pictures of woman from the early twentieth century coupled with clever captions. I was able to customize my profile very quickly, incuding adding banners and links, my favorite photos and music too. One of my favorite things about the site is the Home page where after you have logged in you can see the latest posts on the message forums. There are always great supportive woman online to comment on your posts and offer neutral advice and awesome support. The Wichita Moms Group website also has an events calendar for playdates, moms nights out, birthdays, coffee meetings and other club events. Members can also post photos in a photo gallery and post a blog that can be viewed by other members from their Mom's Space. More information on The Wichita Moms Group is available at the website http://www.thewichitamomsgroup.com/Home/tabid/54/Default.aspx .

Another great way to find clubs in Kansas is to visit the helpful website for Kansas Newcomers at http://www.newcomersclub.com/ks.html . This site is a directory of Newcomers Clubs, Women's Groups, Moms Clubs & Dads organizations in Kansas, which are designed to give men and women the opportunity to meet and develop friendships with others who live in the area. The Newcomers Club is a worldwide directory as well and visitors can find links to other states and countries at the bottom of the homepage http://www.newcomersclub.com/ks.html .

Finding lasting friendships is difficult but doing the work to keep the friendships is even harder when you have long distance relationships. Having an online network of friends has helped me tremendously with the transistion to a new city and state as well as allowed me to keep in touch easier with my friends back in California. Always use discretion, however, when divulging personal information on the Internet. Good Luck!