If you’re a parent or carer of young children, toddler groups can be a lifeline – somewhere you can get a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy some conversation with other grown-ups while your wee one plays with an exciting selection of toys you don’t have at home.
June is National Month of Prayer for toddler groups. 1277, a community that seeks to make the 1277 days between birth and nursery school count, describes toddler groups as ‘a place where the love of God can be experienced in so many ways.’
According to the Church of England, between a third and a half of children aged under 3 in England regularly attend a church-run toddler group.
There are 11 toddler groups running in the Diocese of Edinburgh. We visited three of them to talk to the parents and carers who use them and the volunteers who run them.
Toddler Martians at St Martin’s, Gorgie-Dalry
Toddler Martians meets on a Monday morning, offering tea, coffee and biscuits for the adults, a snack for the children and a sing-song at the end.
Penny is a long-time volunteer at the group, which has been running for almost 20 years, and she describes how valuable it is in enabling people to make contact with each other: ‘A lot of people are quite lonely and it’s good for them to meet, particularly if they are from other countries.’
Revd John Vincent, Rector of St Martin’s, is equally enthusiastic about the group and the wider community connections it encourages: ‘The local Indian Community recently booked the hall space for a festival,’ he says. ‘Around 70 people came.’
Santhosh came to the UK from India for his work, and expects to be here for another year. He has been attending the group with his 3-year-old son for a few months. ‘He is an only child so it’s a great opportunity for him to mingle with other children,’ Santhosh says.
St Martin’s also hosts the Gorgie Toy Library, which was started by local churches. It is advertised in nearby schools, and parents and grandparents borrow toys from it. The library of around 240 toys has a welcome team, a catalogue, and a database (maintained by Stuart, pictured, right, a former IT professional) and is meticulously organised into clear boxes for easy searching.
All of this makes Mondays a joy for those who come along. Mary, who brings her granddaughter to Toddler Martians, says ‘We really like Mondays because we come here. I know everybody here, even the kids.’ She continues: ‘I am not a religious person, but I love to come here. They are not pushing their belief; they are just nice and friendly.’
Toddler Group at St Peter’s, Lutton Place
The Toddler Group at St Peter’s, Lutton Place runs for two hours every Monday and Thursday morning.
Revd Ruth Green helps out. ‘Thursday is the busier day, with around 30 people – around 12 families. Sometimes grandparents and older children come along too. At Easter and Christmas the group runs special events with crafts, with the option to go up to the church for a story,’ she says.
Lyn (right) brings her grandson Ruari, who’s almost 3. She lives just over the wall from the church. Although they don’t attend church on a Sunday, Ruari can see people coming and going from the back of her house and they can hear music on Sundays. ‘Ruari adores Nick [Wills, the rector] because he sits and makes silly sounds with him on the floor.’
When Ruari was diagnosed with Wiedemann-Steiner syndrome (WSS), a rare genetic condition, Lyn talked to Nick too: ‘I found great solace here.’ She will keep coming to the group as long as she can: ‘Ruari has wormed his way into everyone’s hearts. He will be here for a while yet – he loves it.’
Rachel is here for the first time with her daughter Imogen, who will be 2 in July. They live in Craigmillar – ‘There’s a bus every ten minutes so it’s easy.’ The group costs £1 per session. ‘£1 is really reasonable – all this stuff, a snack and a drink! A lot of groups only run for an hour. This is for two hours, which is incredible.’
‘Even if you’re not religious it’s so nice. It gives the kids the option, opening up a world they hadn’t seen before. It’s lovely for her to have options.’
‘Even if you’re not religious it’s so nice. It gives the kids the option, opening up a world they hadn’t seen before.’
Shony is here with his son Nethan, who is two-and-a-half years old. The whole family goes to St Peter’s, Lutton Place, on Sundays. ‘We have a daughter of 7. Both of them actively participate in Sunday School.’
Shony’s family attends an Episcopal church in India, ‘so the Sunday church service here is familiar. It feels like we’re part of a worldwide community’, he says.
Ninian’s Nippers at St Ninian’s, Comely Bank
Ninian’s Nippers meets on a Tuesday afternoon, which is a great selling point for many of the adults who bring children along: ‘Most other groups are in the morning. I like them in the afternoon,’ says Svenja, a childminder who comes with the two children she looks after.
There is a rota of long-serving volunteers who provide home baking and host the group. Revd Julia Mason has been volunteering for many years and remembers the beginning of the group: ‘We had a number of families coming to the church expecting or who had babies. Ninian’s Nippers was set up to cater for them.’
‘It was always on a Tuesday afternoon because the hall was free then! At the beginning there were just mums. Now there are more dads. Some of the children are cousins – their grandparents come with them.’
‘Sometimes people just come in when they see the sign on the gate, often people come with their second babies. One good thing about it is the hall, with the door straight on to the garden.’
Svenja says: ‘I love that it has the garden. People are lovely. Everyone is very open-minded and friendly. The kids really like coming too! I ask them and they always want to come.’
Cristina is a nanny who has been along with two different children: ‘The volunteers are nice and friendly. The child I look after is a little bit shy so it’s better to come to a smaller group. Here he feels comfortable.’
Chloe has been attending since before Covid with children she has looked after as a childminder, and now she comes with her own eight-month-old daughter.
‘Everyone is so friendly. They don’t force God on you. There’s no praying before food, nothing like that here. There’s also no problem if you don’t go two weeks in a row. And it’s in the afternoon – that’s so good! It allows us to do two lots of things in a day.’
Join the fun!
If you’re a parent or carer of a child aged 3 or under, you’d be welcome at any of our toddler groups! Here’s where they run, and when.
- St Mungo’s, Balerno, Ladycroft, Balerno & Currie, EH14 7AG: Minis at St Mungo’s, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10–11.30am
- Mustard Seed, Edinburgh (with St Margaret’s, Easter Road), 170 Easter Road, EH7 4QE: Baby and Toddler Group, Mondays and Wednesdays, 10–11.30am
- St Cuthbert’s, Colinton, Westgarth Avenue, EH13 0BB: St Cuthbert’s Playgroup, Mondays (term time), 10–11.30am
- St Fillan’s, Fairmilehead, 8 Buckstone Drive, EH10 6PD: Sunbeams, Mondays (term time), 10–11.15am
- St Martin’s, Dalry, 232 Dalry Road, EH11 2JG: Toddler Martians, Mondays, 10–11.30am
- St Ninian’s, Comely Bank, 40 Comely Bank, EH4 1AG: Ninian’s Nippers, Tuesdays, 2–3.30pm
- Ps & Gs, Edinburgh, 46 York Place, EH1 3HU: Bs & Ts, Thursdays, 10–11.30am and 2–3.30pm
- St Peter’s, Lutton Place, EH8 9PE: Toddler Group, Mondays and Thursdays (term time), 9.30–11.30am
- St Peter’s, Musselburgh, High Street, Musselburgh, EH21 7AG: Tods and Tots, Fridays, 10–11.30am
- St Andrew’s, Innerleithen, Church Street, Innerleithen, EH44 6JA: Come and Play, Wednesdays, 10.15–11.30am
- Burnfoot Church Army, Hawick, 89 Burnfoot Road, TD9 8EJ: Roondaboot Tots Club, Wednesdays, 1.30–2.30pm
