Moms’ group provides support and a “night out”

“Momming” is a tough job. That’s where the support of other moms can come in.

“We don’t want moms to feel alone in their mothering,” said Susie Dehnert, leader of a local moms’ group, called MOPS. “Often times, life gets so busy, we forget about taking care of ourselves. That includes having mom friends that we can share life with, to laugh with, to cry with.”

MOPS stands for “Mothers of Preschoolers” and is an international group with a local chapter meeting monthly in Karlstad.

MOPS International also has a group called MOMSnext, which is for moms with school age children. “While some groups in larger communities meet separately, in Karlstad we combine the groups because the first thing we have in common is being a mom and we can learn and grow from each other regardless of the ages of our kiddos,” Dehnert said.

“We want MOPS to be a place where moms can relax, make new friends, and learn new things about themselves, each other and Jesus.”

The group ranges from moms with one-year-olds up to moms of teenagers. Moms with kids who have graduated function as mentor moms.

“Mentor moms are there to encourage us with their wisdom and their experience, and provide insight for new moms,” Dehnert said. “It’s possible a mentor mom has walked through similar situations that us young moms are walking though, whether it be within our marriage, family relationships, or parenting struggles. They encourage us to hang in there and give us practical advice too.”

Each night, the group has time to visit, eat snacks, and learn from a speaker, whether by video or live, followed by a discussion time.

For more, see this week’s North Star News!