Bonding
Mommy & Me helps bring parents, kids and neighbors together

Through its free Mommy & Me classes, the Richmond Hill Block Association (RHBA) is helping parents bond with their children while also giving members of the community a chance to meet more of their neighbors.
RHBA has been holding Mommy & Me classes for about the last five years and are for children between the ages of 12 months and three years. The current two sessions began October 1 and will end on December 6. Each class, which has about 12 families, meets for an hour every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Program Director Joan Bachert explained that the length of the sessions depends on how much funding they receive. The local elected officials who contribute are Senator Serphin Maltese, Assemblymembers Rory Lancman, Nettie Mayersohn and Anthony Seminerio and Councilmember Dennis Gallagher.
During the classes, which are led by teachers Lisa Browne and Bernadette Reddy, children and their parents have free time when they can mingle with others in the class. They also participate in singing, dancing, musical instrument time, art projects, gym activities and story time.
“It’s…one hour of concentrated time with your child, which you usually don’t even get when you’re at home,” said Bachert, who also said it is a very popular program and there is always a wait list for it. “You’re really just playing and totally concentrated on that child.”
Browne and Reddy said that throughout the course of the program, they see the children being to learn the routine and become aware of what is going on. They are able to stay in one spot and remember things such as the songs that they sing.
“I think that the main thing is it’s getting them ready for school in a non-threatening environment because they don’t have to leave mom or dad,” Browne said.
Reddy added that the classes are also beneficial to the parents, who are able to meet other parents while also getting ideas of activities that they can do at home with their children.
Bachert said that another function of the classes is bringing together the many different ethnic backgrounds that make up the community of Richmond Hill.
“This is a way of bringing the families together, let them actually talk to each other, get to know each other and maybe develop friendships that way and to bring the community together,” she said.
Forest Hills resident Esther Harris and her 16-month-old son Prescott Jain are participating in the RHBA’s Mommy & Me program for the first time this year. She heard about the program through a neighbor and said that since she recently stopped working she now has the time to do activities such as this with her son.
“I think it’s really good,” Harris said of the program. “The teachers are great and it’s very well structured. I’m really impressed.”
Anne McDermott, of Richmond Hill, has been in the class for four-and-a-half years now, first with her older daughter Kiera and now with her three-year-old daughter Ava. She said that she has witnessed growth with her daughters and their learning, noticing that Ava goes home still singing the ABCs. She also said that it is helpful in preparing children for the school environment.
Ava said that her favorite thing about the class is the singing that is led by Browne and Reddy.
Bachert said that there will be another session of Mommy & Me classes around the middle or end of March or beginning of April, depending on funding. The classes are held at the One Stop Richmond Hill Community Center, which is located at 110-08 Jamaica Avenue.
For more information, contact the Richmond Hill Block Association by calling 718-849-3759.