Championing Parenthood and Play
Prahran Place Playgroup
Madeleine and her wife have four girls, a dog and a cat. It is a busy household and amid all the goings on, there is great scope for good wholesome fun.
“They encourage you to play again. I have leaned into that in the last little bit actually, like when I went down the big slide in a playground and splash in the fountains. I just didn’t do that as a kid, it just wasn’t around where I was growing up. It’s fun, they are teaching me to play, to have fun and to access all the things that I didn’t get to do, to let go and just be.”
As is the case with most parents, there has been challenges along the way, but in certain respects, that has propelled Madeleine on to turn things around, for herself, and for others. To put her best foot forward and bring others along for the ride that is parenthood.
Madeleine has got behind the local Prahran Place playgroup since it first began in 2024. What is more, is her ongoing support for the families she meets. A good example is the two children she looks after during a playgroup session while their parents quickly attend appointments, or the way she responds to a call for assistance when a mum’s washing machine leaked. She seeks to bring back the idea of a village, where you pitch in and help each other out.
“I think when you have stuff go on in your own life and you get to keep going forward then you are actually really grateful for your days. I try and hold onto that. When hard stuff happens, you try and take the silver linings from it. You get to go on and have kids and have another day. No matter how hard it is the sun comes up and there is blue sky or it’s raining and you get to have a roof over your head.”
“You just try and find the gratefulness in small things and I think that just snowballs and becomes something positive.”
While Madeleine says she has always wanted to have children, it was nothing that she ever expected.
“It’s been quite a ride.”
“It’s a massive change of role and who you are and your identity and I didn’t really quite expect that. I don’t know what I thought would happen but then just slowly leaning into it and becoming a mum and looking for other role models of what people do and how you would want to be with your kids and trying to work out… you kind of reevaluate what’s important to you.”
Madeleine said that she actively tries to find moments of goodness each day with her children while they are still so young, with a knowing awareness that it doesn’t last forever.
“I definitely have my tough days for sure, but it is just about trying to enjoy it because it is over so quickly. Once they’re in school, they’re not there anymore.”
Madeleine passes on this awareness to others, making parenthood first and foremost a bit of fun by looping families into the community and creating opportunities.
Her background in teaching is a great help, but it is her welcoming spirit and capacity to care for others that people speak most of. The families that attend her playgroup say that she is considerate, taking the time to make everyone who comes to playgroup a cup of tea and welcoming everyone by name. She has created a safe space where people can drop in and feel comfortable.
“Actually, if you can settle people into a community and if they make those places, and you say, ‘Oh have you done this’ or ‘We started a WhatsApp group that that you can join’ where parents post if they have gone to something they loved, or if we are in the playground. There are loads of playgrounds in Melbourne and sometimes it is lonely. You don’t really want to stand there on your own and watch your kids, but you need to be outside with your kids, so we say, ‘Hey we are going to this playground, does anyone want to join’ or ‘We are going to the museum, does anyone want to come’ and it just gives everyone an opportunity to do stuff together and parent together, rather than on your own.”
This year, unbeknown to Madeleine, she was nominated as a Playgroup Champion.
She described the news as, “Really epic to be nominated. I feel really proud. Really proud.”
Her nominee, Irene from Prahran Place, said they were really struggling to promote the group and build attendance when the group began in 2024. Madeleine was one of the first parents to attend and from the beginning, she stepped up in ways that went far beyond simply bringing her child along. She actively supported the playgroup and the community centre by handing out flyers at other playgroups she attended on different days. She spread the word.
“Her genuine enthusiasm and belief in what we were trying to build made a real difference in growing our numbers,” said Irene. “Beyond promotion, Madeleine also contributed thoughtful ideas that helped shape the welcoming culture of our group. She encouraged us to focus on greeting and warmly welcoming families as they arrive, and on creating a space where families feel they truly belong, not just a place where children come to play.”
“Thanks to her influence, our playgroup has become a community. Parents now engage with one another, share fruit and snacks, organise songs together, and even take turns leading parts of the session. Families stay, connect, and build relationships. That sense of belonging and shared ownership is a direct reflection of Madeleine’s encouragement and example.”
“Madeleine doesn’t just attend playgroup, she champions it, strengthens it, and helps it thrive. For her initiative, generosity, and commitment to building a connected and welcoming community, she is absolutely our Playgroup Champion.”
The playgroup attendees remark upon the warm introduction they received when first arriving.
“Oh from the moment I walked through the door for the very first time she was like, ‘Oh my name is Madeleine and this is so-and-so and welcome and this is where this is and this is where we do that and we bring a piece of fruit’,” said mum Larissa.
“She was just, from the get-go, very accommodating and welcoming and warm so I think it immediately that makes you feel part of the group as soon as you walk through the door and I have seen her do that with other people who have come for the first time. Always very welcoming.”
Cecilia is front of house at Prahran Place and has enjoyed watching Madeleine bring in a whole new cohort of the community.
“Sometimes she will bring in a whole troop of people and it’s just really, really nice to see and I think especially with some parents who are new to the area and struggle to find places to go with their children as well, she has just been incredible for that.”
Cecilia also loves that Madeleine brings in lots of great suggestions. She sends through links to equipment that might be good, toys and things they can pick up.
“She has absolutely just been a driving force for us and as a not-for-profit we are just stretched really thin all the time so people like her are what helps everything move along.”
While Madeleine is so glad that her effort and endeavour to provide support has been appreciated, she said that the award is for the group.
