Moi & mes enfants, a one-stop shop for single-parent families in the 13th arrondissement

When you walk through the door, you feel right at home: on your right, lockers to store your belongings, just like at the day-care center, and opposite you, a spacious room for activities and meetings between parents and children, with plenty of space to play, chat, cook...

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Moi & mes enfants is the project ofOlivia Barreau, who founded the eponymous association in 2017 and has since become its president. Initially, she was looking to organize stays between single-parent families, to create convivial moments where parents could share their feelings, where children didn't feel different from others... Then, a few years later, she opened Moi & mes enfants on November 8, 2022. It's like an extension of home, a second home for the families who come here on Wednesdays, weekends or during the week, with or without children. And yes, because Moi & mes enfants also takes care of parents, and more specifically mothers, since 9 out of 10 members of the association are women.

During the day, the café is a coworking space, open from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. In the evenings, from 5pm, there's a full program ofworkshops for parents and children, including yoga,art therapy... There are also two children's areas: a nursery for children aged 0 to 3, the Explorers' Room, and another for children aged 4 to 12, the Builders' Room, as well as a nap area and a nursery.

The space even offers a day-care service when parents are in workshops, with a nanny on site for several hours a day (this differs according to the venue's events, with times listed on the site). Last but not least, there's one of the most important rooms on the site: therelaxation area for parents. Here, the entire Moi & mes enfants team offersosteopathy, psychology andlegal assistance sessions, with professionals taking turns to be on duty. The great advantage is that if you join the association, activities for your children, like these support sessions for adults, are free. In fact, membership is based on the family income of the family in question: it starts at €220 a year, with activities, childcare, workshops... Unlimited all year round. If you'd prefer to try out a workshop before signing up for the year, you can take advantage of a special introductory offer at €15 per workshop instead of €30, or you can opt for individual workshops, but you'll have to pay €30 per session.

To help mothers, Moi & mes enfants is setting up a brand new program,"Brisons le plafond des mères", with group workshops so that the association's mothers (or those wishing to join) can rediscover a new professional project, with workshops in coaching, socio-aesthetics, self-confidence... At the same time, the center offers workshops for their children, so that moms can enjoy this time to themselves without having to worry about their little ones.

Being the sole parent of a single-parent family is a challenge, but also one that requires (almost) ironclad stamina: between physical and psychological exhaustion, and limited financial resources, it's far from easy on a daily basis, and these parents quickly feel alone. The idea behind Moi & mes enfants is to create a place for parents and children to exchange ideas outside the family. In fact, the association also welcomes two-parent families, of which there are fewer in number, to its third-location center. We recommend a visit during the week, on Wednesdays or weekends, or to take advantage of the large coworking room!