Table 5 Participant quotes for Theme 4 “Participant’s suggestions for future program delivery”

Who and how of program delivery

Emma:... whether it would be possible to do sessions without the children, only because there was always something going on and you’d be in and out of the session, you would miss certain things because you were off doing something else because your child is screaming at you or they need to go to the bathroom. (Parent, focus group 2)

Sophia:... I come home and tell my husband, you know, “We did this at playgroup, this is the conversation, this is the resources that I’m looking at,” and he sort of felt left out of the loop. (Parent, focus group 4)

Deanna: The biggest thing I think would be having Playgroup [Association] on board to have it be facilitated as a sustainable program through them. So maybe it could be training some facilitators at Playgroup [Association]. (Peer facilitator)

Program content

Heather: I think even having sessions around if you've got to go and talk to certain specialists, whether it's a dietitian or a nutritionist or an OT or a speechie or whatever it might be, it's how do you ask questions of the people that are around your children all the time. (Parent, focus group 1)

Tahlia: I really believe mental health for mummies is really important... I feel like everything’s been aimed at the kids which is great, but for the kids to be healthy, their mummy’s need to be healthy as well, and that they're a huge part of that. (Parent, focus group 5)

Deanna: Often parents would say, “are we going to have a conversation about toilet training, or are we going to have a conversation about tooth brushing or are we going to have a conversation about behavioural issues.” (Peer facilitator)

Felicity:... everyone getting a sheet while we're having the little conversation that they can physically write on just to remind themselves of some ideas and things like that, like what we've talked about. (Peer facilitator)

Tailoring to meet playgroup needs

Charlie: I think the program would be really valuable for first time parents. We you know, we still enjoyed it but I don’t think some parents with subsequent babies have the same stresses that you do the first time around. So I think maybe advertising it directly to first timers might be a good idea. (Parent, focus group 2)

Natalie: The experience of having different age groups means that there is maybe someone who has been there and done it as opposed to not doing it, and then you’ve just got the facilitator basically saying, you know, going through the motions of the thing, and then you’ve got all these new mums but you don’t have any of the older mums to kind of go,

“Well, this helped me or this helped.” (Playgroup coordinator, focus group 2)

Felicity: Sometimes I felt like the groups were very well prepped and other times they weren't... maybe you even need a visit before you start the sessions to discuss with the group where would be the best place to do it? How would you like to do it? Would you like to do it at morning tea?... To give that group a little bit more choice, and also ownership over the discussion in a way. Not us kind of, 'Oh, well let's do it here or there'. (Peer facilitator)