It Takes A Village, Crystal Palace

It Takes A Village, Crystal Palace Perinatal peer support community offering antental courses and infant feeding advice in SE London

☀️ It was so good to kick off our Summer Sessions in Crystal Palace Park this week!We’re keeping the good times rolling ...
08/07/2026

☀️ It was so good to kick off our Summer Sessions in Crystal Palace Park this week!

We’re keeping the good times rolling as we introduce our next guest speaker for Tue 14th July 🥁

Jane Knight is the Founder of the brilliant, award-winning SUCCESSFUL MUMS CAREER ACADEMY providing fully funded career advice and back-to-work training programmes for over a decade 🤩

This unique, locally based organisation has helped over 12,000 women returners & mums to rebuild their confidence, gain new skills are provide links to flexible family employers.

💁‍♀️After experiencing the challenges of returning to work as a mother herself, Jane founded Successful Mums to help women realise their value in the workplace and access meaningful careers 💪

Through funded face-to-face & online learning, SUCCESSFUL MUMS CAREER ACADEMY support women at every stage of their journey. From confidence and career planning to digital skills, self-employment & sector-specific training, the academy prepares women for the flexible, sustainable & fulfilling careers we all need! 🙏

An award-winning entrepreneur, speaker & careers expert, Jane is passionate about ensuring the transferable skills gained through parenting are recognised (and valued) by employers. At the heart of Successful Mums is a simple but powerful ethos, one which we share here at ITAV: Mums Supporting Mums 🤝

We can’t wait to have her share with us:

💫 How they can help you embrace the change on your journey back to (paid) work

💫 Where the 100s of flexible & part time roles are hiding

💫 7 ideas for new careers

💫 The forward-thinking flexible employers who value women returners

💫 How transferable skills/lived experience counts

💫 A 3 step action plan to get started!

Don’t miss out, grab your baby & a picnic rug and nab your free spot via our link in bio now! 👆🌳🤱🏾💜

☀️ Need some confidence wearing your new baby out and about this summer? 🤱🏽Wondering how to embrace the precious hands f...
06/07/2026

☀️ Need some confidence wearing your new baby out and about this summer?

🤱🏽Wondering how to embrace the precious hands free time in a way that’s safe and comfy for you both?

👶 Wanting some tips and tricks for carrying your older baby or toddler over the holidays?

Well you’re in the right place, as the fabulous Bethan from South London Sling Library joins us next Tuesday 7th July for the first in our outdoor summer guest speaker sessions in Crystal Palace Park! 🙌

Regular ITAVers already have a soft spot for brilliant Bethan who often generously shares her support and wisdom over in our community what’s app group… as an experienced Babywearing Consultant and sling library director, we know who to turn to for all things sling! 🥰

💜 So bring your little ones and your carriers (if you already have one) and learn all about the benefits of Summer Babywearing - from supporting bonding & breastfeeding to accessing this game changing parenting tool that can provide a calmer, more confident postpartum experience 💆‍♀️

There will be a chance for 1-2-1 chats and quick fit checks with Bethan, as well as space to demo a range of makes and models from South London Sling Library extensive hire library too 👀

Whether you’re hiking with your baby, heading to the beach or simply strolling in the park, Bethan has you covered! 💪

Skip on over to our link in bio now to grab your place!
And we’ll see you, and your tiny humans, under the shade of the trees next Tuesday 7th July! 😎





Five years of It Takes A Village! 🥳Last weekend saw us celebrate our village in the best way we know how - we threw a pa...
28/06/2026

Five years of It Takes A Village! 🥳

Last weekend saw us celebrate our village in the best way we know how - we threw a party! 🎈

From live music and cold lollies, to games and giggling babies on the lawn, we absolutely loved seeing the families of ITAV past and present come together to share in the joy of connection, and to reflect on how our little community has grown 🥰

Huge thanks to:

P.E.C.A for the gorgeous venue & gardens 🌷

Lucy Gray | Singer & Busker for the incredible singing 🎵

Mair Garland Celebrant for kindly sponsoring our Toddler Rollercoasters 🎢

Carys Wright providing the beautiful live family portraits ✍️

Jenny on Facepaints 🎨

Sara on our Impact stand 📋

🌟 And our incredible ITAV alumni volunteers:

Helen, Anna, Bex, Roy, Sophia, Leah, Ellen, Shaha, & Gabi for providing us with delicious home baked goods, sourcing amazing raffle prizes, running the stalls, bar, arts and crafts and general hosting on the day.

And of course to the one and only Harriet • Singing Mamas South East London who volunteered hours of her time to help us project manage the entire event, making our dreams of hosting a community day a reality - and fundraising over £1500 in process!
We can’t thank you enough! 🙏

Same again next year?! 💜





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…And we are so thankful! 🥰As part of our upcoming 5 year celebration & Family Fun Day on the 21st of June 🥳 we’re holdin...
12/06/2026

…And we are so thankful! 🥰

As part of our upcoming 5 year celebration & Family Fun Day on the 21st of June 🥳 we’re holding a fundraiser raffle to help us continue our vital work in supporting local families 🙏

A team of incredible ITAV mums & volunteers 💪have been reaching out to local organisations and businesses for raffle prize donations and OMG, they did not disappoint!🤩

So this is a huge THANK YOU from all of us at ITAV to those who have gifted tickets, vouchers and more as prizes for our wonderful community! We can’t thank you enough for your generosity in supporting our fundraising efforts and for being part of our mission to sustain this ever growing social enterprise. It takes a village to support the village! 💞

🎟️ The incredible prizes to be won include generous vouchers & gifts from:

🍻🍲The Best Family & Baby Friendly Pubs Stuffed Walrus Pub The Faber Fox Perry hill The Faber Fox

☕️ 🥐 Our Fave indie cafes Oori Kynd London

🤸‍♀️ Family adventures & kids sessions at Substation Brixton My Aerial Home Trainmaster Medway, North Kent and South London BOCKETTS FARM PARK

🤝💜Date nights BFI Film Academy East Dulwich Picturehouse Contrast Anerley

💸Gifts galore LE LABO Fragrances .thegardener Amy English

🍧😋Tasty Treats Oddono’s Gelati Lina Stores COOK Greggs

This raffle is exclusively for our ITAV community and 100% of proceeds raised go back into our running costs to keep going.

📅 Raffle tickets are on sale until 21st June so if you’re one of our local ITAV families, get over to our link in bio quick to grab yours!

💝 Prize winners will be drawn at our Family Fun Day and will be contacted by email to claim their prizes after the event. Good luck! 🤞

🎉 FIVE years of It Takes a Village! 🎉We can’t quite believe it! Our fabulous community of local families is turning 5, a...
17/05/2026

🎉 FIVE years of It Takes a Village! 🎉

We can’t quite believe it! Our fabulous community of local families is turning 5, and we want to celebrate with all of you! 🥳

📅 Sunday 21st June
🕑 1.30pm – 4.30pm
📍 Penge East Community Centre .community.centre

Join us for a Family Fun Day packed with something for everyone, indoors AND outdoors (yes, we’ve got gazebos if the British weather has other ideas! ⛺😄)

Here’s a taste of what’s in store...

🎵 Music

🎪 Village fete-style garden games

🎨 Arts & crafts

🖌️ Face Painting

👶 Baby area with cosy rugs and toys

🫧 Bubbles (because obviously!)

🍰 Refreshments — tea, coffee, cake and baby/toddler-friendly snacks

🎟️ Raffle with some INCREDIBLE prizes from local businesses up for grabs! (More to come on those soon 🤩)

And because it’s also Father’s Day 👨‍👧‍👦, we’ve got extra special treats for the dads, grandads or anyone who needs an bit of TLC on this day too, including

🍺 Ice cold beers to sip in the garden

💫 AND the chance to have your baby/child or family portrait sketched by the award winning as a truly one-of-a-kind gift! 💝🎨

This day is for every one of you wonderful families who make this community so special. Five years of showing up for each other and raising the next generation we can be proud of - let’s celebrate together! 💜🌳

🎟️ Tickets live on Happity now (see link in bio) but selling out fast so don’t miss out! ✨





What an incredible start to the year! 🥰After 3 months of weekly peer support sessions, in person & online infant feeding...
30/03/2026

What an incredible start to the year! 🥰

After 3 months of weekly peer support sessions, in person & online infant feeding advice with .ibclc , a succesful Return to Work coaching programme and a handful of special events with our wonderful mama community, we’re taking a 2 week break to refuel with some rest (and chocolate eggs) before we get back to it! 🐣

And what better way to kick off our return to on Tuesday 14th April with this fabulous guest speaker session on Perinatal Rehab & Nurturing your Postpartum Wellbeing with Mikaela 🙌

Wonderful Mikaela is a Perinatal Yoga expert, Calisthenics coach and self confessed pelvic floor nerd 🤓😆

Her teaching draws on wisdom from Yoga, Pilates techniques and functional movement science. Becoming a mother to three in 3.5 years, Mikaela is passionate about supporting women in matrescence and all stages of motherhood, taking a playful approach to movement and bodywork and drawing upon her artistic roots to bring authenticity & creativity to all she does 🪄

Mikaela offers a range of holistic group & 1-2-1 classes & workshops in the Crystal Palace area, believing training should be for freedom, joy and connection.

Her monthly online circles, Mother Call, offer a space to gather and reflect, developing connections and trust in our innate wisdom and power as mothers 💕
In addition, her not for profit venture, Free to Move, offers cost free Karma Yoga to those who need it within the asylum system 🤝

💫 We can’t wait to welcome Mikaela to our community on the 14th of April where we’ll be discussing what physical & emotional rehabilitation after birth really means, ways to truly restore your core & pelvic floor, and how we can deeply nurture our whole selves in the postpartum period 💆‍♀️

Grab your spot over on our link in bio or visit and we’ll see you and your babies in the circle! 💜🤱🏾👩🏼‍🍼💜





💌For the mothers. On the joyous, sunny, giggle-filled days and the days when you are tired to the depth of your bones.Yo...
15/03/2026

💌For the mothers.

On the joyous, sunny, giggle-filled days and the days when you are tired to the depth of your bones.

Your work is vital. Even when your efforts feel invisible, your voice unheard or your caregiving unappreciated, we see you. We hear you. We stand with you.

You are the backbone of our society and it is you, and the tiny humans you are raising, that give us all hope for a better future 🙏

May this day and every day be filled with the love and appreciation you so deserve!

💜🤱🏼💜🤱🏾💜🤰🏻💜👩🏿‍🍼💜🤰🏼💜


Good company, gorgeous food, great times! 😍So many smiles and special moments were captured at our Babies and Brunch eve...
13/03/2026

Good company, gorgeous food, great times! 😍

So many smiles and special moments were captured at our Babies and Brunch event this week! 🤗

Huge thanks to KiKi & Mattina for looking after us so well, and to the incredible artistry from providing the most beautiful keepsake portraits of our mums & bubs to take home and cherish 💜🎨💜

In fact this event has been sooo popular, we’re going again!

🗓️ Bring your little Easter bunnies, spring chicks and an appetite for a nourishing brunch on Weds 1st April, 9.30am - 12.00 as we gather again for the best baby friendly event in Crystal Palace, all whilst supporting a wonderful cause! 🙏

As a local non-profit, all proceeds from our events go towards sustaining our vital community peer support groups for local families, so you can feel in the knowledge that you’re paying it forward for others too 🙌

🎟️ Bookings for our next Babies and Brunch on 1st April are already selling like hot cakes!

🐰 Hop on over to our link in bio now to check out the delicious menu and everything included in your ticket that will truly fill your cup ☕️🫂🤱🖼️🥐🍳🎁





After a short half term “break” (haha 😅), ITAV is BACK this Tuesday! 💜And we’re so excited to welcome a very special gu...
22/02/2026

After a short half term “break” (haha 😅), ITAV is BACK this Tuesday! 💜

And we’re so excited to welcome a very special guest takeover with the brilliant Nici West of ✍️👶✨

This free taster workshop of baby-friendly creative writing will give tired parents like you the chance to reconnect with their creativity in a relaxed, supportive, baby-friendly space. Expect short, easy bursts of writing exercises designed to leave you feeling inspired, energised and buzzing with ideas 💡💫

A little about Nici 👇
Nici is a short story writer, editor and mum of one. Her work has been published by Dark Ink Press, shortlisted for the Willesden Herald Short Story Prize and Highly Commended in the Bridport Prize 2019 🤩

She holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Manchester, where she studied under Geoff Ryman and Colm Tóibín. She’s also a freelance writer at Lost for Words and runs Boudicca Press 📚

Nici launched Mummy Writes in 2019 after her own maternity leave, craving creativity, connection and intellectual stimulation After support from NatWest’s Back Her Business campaign, it’s grown into something truly special for parents who want to feel engaged and inspired in new ways during their mat leave 🙌

We’re SO happy to bring this to our community — and wow… it’s already FULL! 🙌🔥

But don’t despair!
Nici’s regular Mummy Writes baby-friendly sessions start this Wednesday 25th February:
🕙 10am – The Great Southern, Gipsy Hill
🕐 1pm – Sydenham Library

Head to her Happity page or check the link in bio over at to book your trial session directly!

Let’s get those creative juices flowing mamas 🖊️✨





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🌸✨ Babies & Brunch Mothers Day Special!✨🌸Following the success of our last Babies & Brunch event, we’re back with a spec...
17/02/2026

🌸✨ Babies & Brunch Mothers Day Special!✨🌸

Following the success of our last Babies & Brunch event, we’re back with a special pre-Mother’s Day celebration and it’s going to be extra lovely 💕

Join us on Wednesday 11th March 09.30 - 12.00 at the beautiful for a relaxed, baby-friendly brunch designed to mark this special moment in time for you and your little one 🤱💕

Whether you’re well into your maternity leave, navigating newborn life, or simply craving connection with other local mums, this morning of good food, great company (and an extra special gift 💝 ) is for YOU!

🍽️ What’s Included?
☕ Any hot barista coffee or tea on arrival
🍊 Fresh orange juice for that much-needed morning boost

Plus your choice of delicious brunch favourites:
✨ Homemade granola with yoghurt & blueberries
✨ Eggs anyway on sourdough (including scrambled tofu option)
✨ Crushed avocado with poached eggs & sumac
✨ Cheesy leeks on toast with mature cheddar
✨ Ras El Hanout chicken wrap with tzatziki, spinach & pomegranate
And that’s not all… 👇

🎁 Every Ticket Includes:

🖊️ A live, professionally hand-drawn sketch of you and your baby by award winning local illustrator for the sweetest keepsake to treasure forever 🥰

💜Time to chat, connect and “fill your cup” with fellow Crystal Palace mamas - highchairs & food for bigger little ones also available!

🌳 Opportunity for a post brunch group pram/sling stroll around Crystal Palace Park for fresh air, friendly chats and naps (fingers crossed!🤞)

💚 Why Join Us?
This isn’t just brunch. It’s community.
All proceeds go directly back to It Takes A Village Crystal Palace CIC, our local non-profit nurturing families with peer support, infant feeding advice and connection across the Crystal Palace area.
Our village is volunteer-powered and donation-funded, so when you book a ticket, you’re helping keep vital weekly groups running for local families.

And we truly can’t thank you enough 🫶

Tickets are limited and just £35 per mum & bub!
Head to our link in bio to grab yours before they’re gone👆

✍️ Image c/o Carys Wright




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