Blue Mountains Mums is your hub for all things parenting, children and Mum-related. It’s where we find connection with one another, support, encouragement, recommendations and advice. Blue Mountains Mums is a safe space to ask questions, celebrate the joys of being a Mum and sustain one another through challenging times.
To maintain Blue Mountains Mums as a safe and positive community, we have created guidelines that outline how we might best interact with one another.
Quick Summary
✔️ No marketing, spamming or business self-promotion posts (this includes not-for-profit organisations). Please use our website for this.
✔️ No selling stuff, wanted ads or garage sales. There are other local Facebook selling groups designed for that purpose.
✔️ Please do not criticise local businesses publicly. Contact them directly to resolve the issue.
✔️ Be kind and respectful. Treat people as you would face to face.
✔️ Be safe. Don’t post personal contact information.
✔️ Medical Advice. Please get the opinion of a professional too!
The finer details
Be Kind and Respectful
Please remember that behind every name is a person. It is sometimes difficult to say what we actually mean when we write a post on social media. It is easy to be misunderstood or to hurt others by what we say. More often than not, no one means to hurt others but our words can sometimes be misconstrued to say something more than we really mean. So please take care to reread your post or response to ensure that you are kind and respectful to others’ ideas and beliefs.We’re all in this together to create a welcoming environment. Let’s treat everyone with respect. Healthy debates are natural, but kindness is required. Friendly emoticons are helpful 🙂
Complaints
Blue Mountains Mums is not the forum to complain about products, local businesses or companies. If you’ve had a negative experience with a company, please contact them directly so that they have the opportunity to resolve the issue with you. Making a complaint or defaming a business in a public forum can cripple a business, particularly if it is a small business trying to get off the ground. If you see a negative comment, please report it to us using the ‘Report to Admin’ button, so that the comment can be deleted immediately (there is a small down arrow to the right of the post).
Blue Mountains Mums will not be held accountable for any comments made by members. We encourage you to read more about social media defamation here:
https://www.slatergordon.com.au/blog/social-media-and-defamation
and here:
https://www.slatergordon.com.au/blog/5-things-to-know-about-social-media-defamation
Support, Safety and Information
This group exists because parenting is hard and we all need a kind and supportive community. It takes a village. We all struggle at times, in different ways so please refrain from rants about what you see other parents doing or judging their parenting methods. We’d love to remain a safe, positive and informative space for all parents in our community and do not want anyone to feel criticised. When we know more, we do better. If you know about an unsafe situation involving children, please inform the appropriate authorities immediately.
Business Posts
Blue Mountains Mums Facebook Group is a community group designed for local Mums to connect, ask for advice or recommendations and have fun together – it is not designed for self-promotion.
Blue Mountains Mums Facebook Group is not an advertising space for businesses and marketers to find ways to promote themselves. You are only allowed to suggest your own business if it is a current post in the comments section (up to 48 hours old) when someone is seeking a recommendation, but please do not search for older posts relevant to your business and comment on them.
Please do not post links to promote your own website (even if it is relevant to Mums or a not-for-profit organisation – as most websites are relevant to Mums), another Facebook group or Instagram page. There are so many wonderful and helpful businesses and initiatives that help Mums (photography services, cake makers, holiday workshops, new Facebook groups, Etsy stores, maternal services, early childhood centres etc).
However, to limit how much advertising appears day to day we have had to limit it to just businesses and organisations who are listed on our website and ONLY during Business Hour.
If someone asks for a recommendation, you can respond with your recommendation in the comments section but no new post should be created that is telling the group about a business or organisation and their upcoming events (which are connected to financial gain fo the business or organisation).
When posting, it is helpful to ask yourself whether you are seeking help from the group or looking to promote your business or cause/agenda. Generally speaking, if staff get paid an income in the business or organisation, then the post will not be approved (occasionally exceptions at the discretion of Blue Mountains Mums may apply). If any business or organisation would like to advertise with Blue Mountains Mums on our website or during Business Hour please email team@bluemountainsmums.com to find out how.
If you would like to tell Mums about free community events, meetups and any other helpful community initiatives that are not connected to a business, organisation or financial gain, you are welcome to post them to the group. If the post isn’t urgent, please wait until Business Hour to post.
If you’ve had an incredible experience with a local business, and want to give them an endorsement or recommendation to the group, you are welcome to do so during Business Hour (1st and 3rd Monday of each month from 8 – 10pm). You must be a genuine customer though, not employed or affiliated with the business in any way.
We would love to hear about your business. If you would like to share your business on our website, please contact us at team@bluemountainsmums.com to set up your listing. You can then write business posts on our Facebook page during our 1st and 3rd Monday evenings Blue Mountains Mums Business Hour between 8 and 10pm. We would like our Facebook group to be predominantly a local community page, rather than an advertising space.
Event Posts
If you list on our website your events may be listed in our Event Listings on our website. Please get in touch with us at team@bluemountainsmums.com to add your event to our calendar. You can share your event during Blue Mountains Mums Business Hour between 8 and 10pm every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month.
Personal Messaging
No unsolicited private messaging of group members is permitted. This particularly includes multi-level marketers. It is not permitted to promote or sell products in response to posts. If you would like to share your business on our website, please contact us at team@bluemountainsmums.com. If anyone spam messages you without being invited to, please let us know at team@bluemountainsmums.com
Recommendations
When you recommend a business, please only recommend them if you have personally used their product or service. Family and friends might know of your wonderful business but if they haven’t personally used your product or service then their recommendation is not as credible as actual customers. If you are employed by that business in any way you are not allowed to make recommendations of that business. We would like to ensure that only true and genuine customers are recommending the products and services being recommended.
No Selling Stuff
Please do not post items for sale. This includes houses for rent or sale, baby items, toys, cleaning products, weight loss shakes, all in one mixers and related products for sale etc. There are many other fantastic Facebook groups specifically for selling things. Try Everything for Bubs and Kids; Blue Mountains Buy, Sell or Swap; and Garage Sale Blue Mountains.
Photos
Please do not post photos that might make someone feel uncomfortable. If you need to post a photo, consider whether it might be best to post it in the comments so that we can choose to look at it or not, especially if it is a bit yucky, scary or anxiety provoking!
If you post a picture of your child please consider blurring emblems on school uniforms, hats and bags etc, to keep your children’s identity and whereabouts safe. Photos of nude or partially nude children are not to be shared and will be deleted.
Medical Advice
We encourage open discussion but please remember that advice and opinions given on this page should not replace the recommendations of qualified medical practitioners nor be sought instead of a professional consultation. If you are concerned about your own or your child’s health please seek professional medical advice (see the comprehensive list of contact numbers at the end of this post). Blue Mountains Mums accepts no responsibility for the advice given by members.
Respect Privacy
Being part of this group requires mutual trust. Authentic, expressive discussions make groups great, but may also be sensitive and private. What’s shared in the group should stay in the group.
If you are a blogger, writer or journalist, you are not permitted to use posts from our Blue Mountains Mums Facebook group as the basis of an article. This applies to both professional and amateur writers. If you would like to write a story, you must first request permission by emailing the us at team@bluemountainsmums.com and gain the individual permission of those involved.
Anonymous Posts
If you would like advice about a sensitive topic (early pregnancy, relationship issues) and would like your question submitted anonymously, click on the blue incognito image in the Discussion field and make your own post.
Please be aware that we do need to be selective about the posts that we choose to publish and we might also suggest other options for support. You should also search older posts to see if the topic has been previously discussed. All anonymous posts are seen by admin and treated with discretion.
No Hate Speech or Bullying
Blue Mountains Mums is determined to ensure that everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind isn’t allowed, and degrading comments regarding race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated. Please avoid discussion topics that might cause heated arguments, such as immunisation, politics and voting preferences, sexuality or religion. Seeking credible online articles or speaking to a relevant person face to face are better ways to seek information.
Keep Personal Details Private
Please refrain from posting your name, address or contact number on our page, for your own safety. It is also recommended that you do not disclose where your child goes to school or childcare.
Voting Competitions
No ‘vote for me’ posts, please. This included baby voting competitions.
Charities, ‘Go Fund Me’ and Not For Profit Events and Fundraising
Blue Mountains Mums would like to help promote your fundraising event or charity in our Events listing on our website or during the allocated business hours. Please contact team@bluemountainsmums.com to discuss this. No ‘Go Fund Me’ requests sorry.
This group was created in May 2020. If you have friends who might be interested in joining, simply click ‘Add Friends to Group’.
QUESTIONS?
All questions should be sent to team@bluemountainsmums.com (rather than contacting us on our personal Facebook Messenger app).
We hope that you enjoy the great community we have in our Blue Mountains Mums Facebook Group!
Important information when posting on social media
Before you post a comment on social media, you should consider the following:
- Information travels quickly online. A tweet posted on a public Twitter account can be viewed by anyone around the globe.
- Comments can be difficult to retract. Remember that others can share your posts and screenshot them.
- Is what you’re saying truthful and accurate? Do you have evidence to support what you’re saying? If not, don’t post it!
- If you’re posting your opinion, use opinion-based language (e.g. “I believe that…”) and make sure that opinion is based on facts that you can establish are true.
- Think of yourself as an editor of a newspaper, because you will be just as liable if you defame someone.
(Slater and Gordon Ltd, 2020, https://www.slatergordon.com.au/blog/social-media-and-defamation)
Support organisations
Emergency: 000
Police Non-emergency: 131 444
Springwood Police [view map]
4 Jerseywold Ave
SPRINGWOOD 2777
Phone: 02 4751 0299
Fax: 02 4751 0225
Open 24 hours
Mt Victoria Police [view map]32 Station Street
MT VICTORIA 2786
Phone: 02 4787 1244
Fax:
Not open 24 hours
Lawson Police [view map]
Corner of Great Western Highway and Wilson Street
LAWSON 2783
Phone: 02 4759 1087
Fax: 02 4759 2744
Katoomba Police [view map]
217 Katoomba Street
KATOOMBA 2780
Phone: 02 4782 8199
Fax: 02 4782 8182
Open 24 hours
Blackheath Police [view map]
119 Wentworth Street
BLACKHEATH 2785
Phone: 02 4787 8444
Fax: 02 4787 5269
Not open 24 hours
Lithgow Police [view map]
244-270 Mort Street
LITHGOW 2790
Phone: 02 6352 8399
Fax: 02 6352 8321
Open 24 hours
Oberon Police [view map]
77 Queen Street
OBERON 2787
Phone: 02 6336 1000
Fax: 02 6336 0015
Not open 24 hours
Penrith Police [view map]
317 High Street
PENRITH 2750
Phone: 02 4721 9444
Fax: 02 4721 9426
Open 24 hours
After hours GP home visit service: 13 7425 (13-SICK).
Pregnancy, Birth and Baby Helpline: 1800 882 436
Australian Breastfeeding Association: 1800 Mum2Mum 1800 686 268
Tresillian Family Care Centre – Nepean: 9123 8990
Beyond Blue Support Service: 1300 22 4636 (24/7 support), daily web chat (between 3pm–12am) and email (with a response provided within 24 hours).
Parent Line NSW: 1300 130 052, 9 am-9 pm Monday to Friday, 4 pm-9 pm weekends
Karitane Careline: 1300 227 464, 12.30 pm-9 pm Monday to Thursday, 9 am-3.30 pm Friday to Sunday
Tresillian Parent Helpline: 1300 272 736 (1300 2Parent), 7 am-11 pm 7 days
Tresillian live advice service, 5 pm-11pm Monday to Friday https://www.johnsonsbaby.com.au/tresilian_registration A nurse will be in touch with you soon once you complete the registration form.
Child Care Access Hotline: 1800 670 305, 133 677 (TTY service for people with a hearing/speech impairment), 8 am-6 pm Monday to Friday
Family Relationship Advice Line: 1800 050 321, 8 am-8 pm Monday to Friday, 10 am-4 pm Saturday
healthdirect (not available in Victoria or Queensland) puts you in contact with a registered nurse over the phone for immediate medical guidance.: 1800 022 222, 24 hours 7 days
Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800, 24 hours 7 days
Lifeline: 131 114, 24 hours 7 days
Medicare Public Enquiries Line: 132 011, 24 hours 7 days
Mensline Australia (support and referral to specialist men’s services): 1300 789 978, 24 hours 7 days
National Breastfeeding Helpline: 1800 MUM 2 MUM (or 1800 686 268), 24 hours 7 days
National Poisons Information Centre: 131 126, 24 hours 7 days
Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia (PANDA) Helpline:
1300 726 306, 9 am-7.30 pm (AEST/AEDT), Monday to Friday
Playgroup Australia: 1800 171 882, 9 am-3 pm Monday to Friday
Pregnancy, Birth and Baby: 1800 882 436, 7am-midnight (AEST/AEDT) 7 days
Sane Australia Mental Health Helpline: 1800 187 263, 9 am-5 pm Monday to Friday
National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service: 1800 RESPECT, 1800 737 732, 24 hours 7 days