'I've watched parenthood change so much in 25 years'

Playgroup leader Anne Scothern has watched parenthood change so much in 25 years.

She took her own children to the playgroup at St Leonard's Community Centre in Wollaton, Nottingham, and found comfort being around other parents having sleepless nights and sharing the pressures of being a new mum.

Now she is a leader at the group and sees more grandparents and dads come through the doors.

"We see so many more grandparents now because parents, especially mums, go back to work much earlier," said Anne.

Anne, 64, has spoken to the BBC about the changes in parenting over the last three decades.

The group first opened its doors in 1980, as a place for mums to escape the loneliness and isolation that can come when caring for a young child.

Anne said she attended on and off with her two children between 1993 and 2000, before officially taking over in 2001.

"The early days of parenthood, the sleep deprivation...it's a killer," she said.

"If my child was up three times in the night, I would come here and likely bump into someone whose child was up four times, and it just put it all into perspective and made me feel less alone."

Anne and her team of volunteers open the doors to St Leonard's every Thursday in term-time for one morning and one afternoon session.

The maternity support worker said she welcomed mostly mums 25 years ago, but now there was a real mix of dads and grandparents too.

"Dads are much more involved in parenting now which is good," said Anne.

"We also see lots of grandparents, who have the grandchildren for two days a week, maybe even more, and the child is usually with them from 8am until 6pm, so it's a really long and hard day for them."

For Elaine Hudspeth-Lamb, the St Leonard's toddler group has been a "lifeline".

The 72-year-old grandmother of three first attended as a mum in 1987, but then encouraged her son and daughter to bring their own children when they were born in 2020, 2021 and 2024.

"I used to come up here with my daughter before she went back to work and I started the childcare.

"It's so welcoming to older people like me and there are lots of us, so it's like a home from home."

Nav Akhter, 37, and Polly Mooken, 36, are best friends and met when they brought their children to St Leonard's in 2021.

Nav said: "This is the best little community. Everyone looks after everyone's children.

"There's so many different walks of life and it's lovely seeing all the parents and grandparents.

"They've all played a part in getting us out of the house when we're sleep deprived and don't really feel like it."

Nav, who is a social worker, said she had reduced her hours at work to give herself Thursdays off to attend the group.

Polly said coming to the group was a "lifesaver".

"The feeding, the nappies, the exhaustion, then on top of that thinking about work. It can be overwhelming.

"I come here, and even if I haven't brushed my hair and I'm wearing the same clothes as the night before, I'm never judged," the nurse added.

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