Building Your Village: Finding a Moms Group in Kansas City

Motherhood can be isolating at times. The first few months of my daughter’s life were a blur for me. Sleepless nights, breastfeeding woes, challenges in my marriage as we grew into our new roles as mom and dad. Loneliness and feelings of isolation began to creep in and I quickly realized how different life was going to be as a mom.

Building Your Village: Finding a Moms Group in Kansas City | Kansas City Moms Blog
Gretchen at one of our first moms group meetings. She’s still friends with Pearson 3 years later!

A friend invited me to a moms group that met on Friday mornings and it wasn’t long before I had a group of friends in the same stage of life I was in. Over the last 3 years I’ve learned just how important my moms groups are for my sanity. They get me out of the house, my daughter gets to socialize and burn off energy, and I have built some fantastic friendships. Don’t be deceived, they are about a lot more than just playdates for our kids! We get together for game nights, freezer meal workshops, and margaritas, lots and lots of margaritas.

Actually finding a moms group can be a challenge if you don’t know where to look, so I’ve put together a list of groups in Kansas City where you can make some mom friends and get connected.

  • Building Better Moms (BBM): Meets at the Leawood, Olathe, and Blue Springs campuses of Church of the Resurrection. BBM meetings are a time to connect with other moms without your kids interrupting you every 2 minutes! There are guest speakers, food, and lots of opportunities to make lasting friendships. Groups meet during the day (with childcare) or in the evening. There are groups for early childhood, elementary, and middle/high school as well as mixed ages groups. Note: the groups run during the school year and spots fill up fast (registration begins in May for the following school year). Join the waitlist to be notified of openings.
  • Hike it Baby: This group’s focus is on getting parents outside with their kids to connect with nature and with other families. You’ll find weekly hikes geared towards a wide variety of interests and abilities. Hikes take place all over the metro area. If you don’t see a hike that suits your needs, create your own hike and other moms are sure to follow the Hike it Baby Kansas City Facebook page.
  • MeetupMeetup.com it is a website where you can find local clubs and interest groups where you can “meet up” with others and form friendships over shared interests. There are several mom groups in the Kansas City area that can be found on Meetup. I’m personally a member of Cheers Kansas City, a very active moms group open to moms throughout the metro area. Search for “moms” with your zip code and you’ll find about a dozen groups, most formed around a common location (JoCo, Jackson County, Northland, etc.)
  • Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS)MOPS groups meet in churches but you don’t need to be religious or attend the church to join the group. Many locations offer childcare and evening meetings for working moms. There are also MOPSnext groups for moms of school aged kids. I counted more than two dozen different MOPS groups in the KC metro area, so no matter where you live, there’s probably one nearby. Plug in your zip code and find a MOPS group here.
Building Your Village: Finding a Moms Group in Kansas City | Kansas City Moms Blog
A fun mom’s night out at Bella Patina.
  • Create your own! Reach out to moms in your neighborhood, the moms you always see at the park or story time, and your local mom friends on Facebook. Create the group that you want to be a part of. You don’t have to open your house to a hoard of children; you can schedule park play dates, organize a mom’s night out, or meet up at one of the best indoor play spaces around town. Make connections and reach out to other moms you meet, chances are they will respond positively!

Pro Tips:

  • Joining a moms group can be intimidating, especially if you are shy around new people. I promise it’s worth putting on a brave face and getting out of your comfort zone! Everyone was the new kid once!
  • Don’t be discouraged if the first group you try isn’t the right one for you. Sometimes you have to try a few groups before you find the right fit.
  • If you’ve found a moms group that you love, pass along the info to other moms and invite them to join you!

What Kansas City moms group have you found to be a good fit for your family?  

Julia Willhite
I'm Julia and I live in Olathe with my husband of 16 years, my 10 and 6 year old daughters, and our rescue pug Mabel. I’m a social worker turned SAHM and love Dr. Pepper, thunderstorms, and talking to other adults. I hate coffee, diet culture, and washing dishes. I'll talk your ear off about the best local parks and which restaurants have wronged me by changing their long-standing menu items. I try to walk the line between knowing a lot of stuff and not being a know-it-all. Some days I'm better than others.

2 COMMENTS

  1. Hi there!

    Thanks for mentioning our playgroup in your Building Your Village blog post, Julia.
    We are actually transitioning our group into a Facebook page this month and it would be most helpful if you could change our link in your post to https://www.facebook.com/thrivelocalkc/ instead of our group link? We are going to close the group on March 1 and operate solely from the page. 🙂 Let me know if you’ve seen this and if that’s possible? Thank you so much!

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