The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

friendships

Chappaqua’s Alison Leighton Creates a Community for Expectant Moms

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PHOTO COURTESY OF ALISON LEIGHTON

Alison Leighton’s move to Chappaqua wasn’t all that different from many other newcomers to this bucolic town. She was looking for a great school district, beautiful surroundings and a place to put down roots for her expanding family. Her Sutton Place South apartment was getting crowded and her husband Matthew who is partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP needed a reasonable commute to his office a block away from Grand Central. 

The family moved here in July 2021 and she was eager to meet new moms and other young families. While she lived in the city, she had started a Social Parents group for new parents in her neighborhood in 2019. Armed with a background in marketing with positions at Citibank and American Express, Leighton loved organizing in-person events for new parents such as brunch meetups and a Babies and Brew playgroup but with her move north of I-287 in the middle of a pandemic, she knew the format of her group would have to change. 

“When I moved to Westchester (with a baby due this April), I wanted to revitalize the Social Parent brand, so she started hosting a free weekly Zoom group for expecting women called Pregnant Mama. “This was my passion but also the group was also created because meeting people with the COVID barrier was hard,” she admits. 

When Leighton’s first son Paul was born in the city at NYU Hospital there was a weekly support group for new moms. “It was my favorite time of the week,” she reminisces. “I made close mom friends and I wanted to create and build that community here.” The group helped serve as a resource for her and provided helpful information to let her know what to expect down the pipeline. Other moms provided tips such as traveling with a baby. 

“Going to a website to research something about your baby is very different than talking to a mom. It can give you validation. Maybe your baby is having a four month sleep regression and you wonder if it is just your baby–that real time connection plus building friendships is invaluable.” 

Her Pregnant Mama group in Westchester has helped forge friendships while providing expert advice. Examples of experts who have given webinars to the group include Armonk-based perinatal and child therapist Sloan Post and Liza Montanino, a pediatric sleep consultant and founder of Rock-a-Bye Baby Sleep. Other speakers have included a financial advisor and a prenatal masseuse. The group meets weekly Thursday night at 8:15 pm via Zoom as of press time. 

With COVID winding down and a new baby on the way, Leighton has no plans of slowing down though. “I plan to lean into it [Social Parent] more.” She plans on holding in-person events for the toddler set so that her children can meet other toddlers and babies and hopes to host in-person events for new moms and dads this summer. 

When she isn’t moving full steam ahead with Social Parent or working on her freelance marketing and writing career, Leighton and her family are enjoying the outdoors here hiking or spending time at area playgrounds. “The whole town is like a big nature preserve and I love the trees in my backyard,” she gushes.

For more information about her group or to partner with her on events, email SocialParentNY@gmail.com. She also provides parenting ideas and inspiration on her Instagram handle @SocialParent_Westchester.

Teaching Your Child To Make Friendships that are Extra Special

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By Louise Weadock

WeeZee staff and coaches with WeeZee World Director, Kelly Harned’s daughter popping out of cake, Amani Kelly, 4, of Yonkers.
WeeZee staff and coaches with WeeZee World Director, Kelly Harned’s daughter popping out of cake, Amani Kelly, 4, of Yonkers.

As parents, teaching our children about making friends and how to be a “good friend” is critical. Being a good friend often includes accepting and appreciating someone who may not have the same abilities and interests. So, it is vital to encourage your child to learn about being a friend to a child with a disability. At some point your child will surely have a classmate with special “issues” or needs. Feeling comfortable with those that are “the same” is easy, but understanding what makes us “different (but also, the same)” can be the first step towards a friendship that may turn out to be extremely fulfilling and beneficial to both your child with his “issues” and another child, who has different “issues.” Here are some ideas to emphasize:

1. Teach your child that being different is “ok.” No two people are the same–some differences are just more noticeable. And, although you may not share exactly the same abilities or interests, there are always common activities you can both enjoy together.

2. Tell your child, if he is curious, that it’s ok to ask questions about “WHY the difference?”  Life is like a box of chocolates…WHAT makes each so different? Encourage both children to ask each other questions.

3. Explain that children can be born challenged or become challenged from an accident or illness.You can’t “catch” a disability from someone else.

4. Remind your child that a special need or issue, a difference or disability, is just one characteristic of a person. In fact, as a child Beethoven was challenged in one area, but extremely GIFTED in another!

5. Let your child know that children with challenges are often smarter or stronger. Why? Because they have to “get over” their challenge in order to “keep up.” Planting this seed may be enough to start an amazing friendship for both children!

IMG_24506. Emphasize feelings that ALL children share: We all want friends, respect and to be included.

7. Applaud your child’s kindness, inclusive and Respectful language when talking about someone with disabilities, and reinforce that mean names or jokes HURT and are never acceptable.

8. Reading or learning about special needs and disabilities can increase understanding and help to dispel any questions you or your child may have.

9. Above all, keep in mind: there’s no need for pity or sadness. Being different with a special gift or need is not a bad or good thing; each simply comes with its own set of challenges.

Building confidence, making friends and developing social skills is at the core of every program and activity at WeeZee…World of “Yes I Can!” including its popular Summer Camp and After School program (with different themes each week!), for which registration is now underway. The 18,000 square foot play space has been designed to make it easy for children to find things in common and easily socialize. Children on every level move through a host of highly engaging, interactive and imaginative sensory activities that exercise and strengthen intellectual, physical and social skills. WeeZee’s Sensory Coaches have been specially trained to teach children how to act in a spirit of cooperation, acceptance and inclusion.

WeeZee is Westchester’s only inclusive “family play space” offering kids of all abilities, ages 1-12, and their parents an expansive gym equipped with the latest state-of-the-art sports and fitness equipment and games.

The colorful, interactive facility is a matrix of large space and small rooms containing 135 plus unique attractions including a “Rainforest & Storm Zone,” a “Vibration Station,” an “Oxygen Bar” and “Cyber Action Floor;” as well as Sport Stalls and Reaction Sports Training; and a Music Room with a sound studio and a Karaoke room. The equipment and programs at WeeZee are based on a plethora of research by the Autism community.

Parents are invited to “play for free” or unwind in the “Zen Den” that features dim lighting, soothing music, iPads and full-body massage chairs–while their children are fully supervised as they follow their Sensory Fitness Plan or engage in Free Play.

Conveniently located at 480 Bedford Road in Chappaqua right off Exit 33 on the Saw Mill Parkway (in the Chappaqua Crossing complex), WeeZee is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on non-school nights.  For more info, go to weezeeworld.com

Louise Weadock is the founder of WeeZee…World of “Yes I Can!”