"Mommy Calling Cards" -- obnoxius or practical?

[MontrealMum]

I have some. I got them from Mabel's Labels for free or very low cost. I can't remember. They're pretty basic.

QC has extremely strict privacy laws so I still don't even know all the last names of the kids that DS used to attend daycare/preschool with for the past 4 yrs. Much less their contact info. Also, there is the added confusion of differing last names...marriage is much less common here, even if there are children, and all married women in QC keep their maiden names. So, even if you did know the child's full name you still might be SOL. Our phone is in my name, not DH's.

I don't hand them out frequently but I have used them to exchange info with school parents. I've never been handed one in return but most of the parents seemed to think it was a great idea. Less hunting around for scraps of paper and a pen. FWIW, smart phones are not as prevalent here as they are in the US. I think they're like the scarps of paper...they get entered into someone's agenda or phone book and then thrown away. I know I don't keep all that paper in my purse. It's bad enough as it is!

[sunnyside]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I telecommute for work too (software) and have for the same company for 6 years, so it can be isolating. The funny thing is that much of the time when I find myself meeting people in the park, they either also work in software, their husband works in software, or half of their friends do, so while I didn't put anything about that on the cards, in some ways it seems to work for networking too.

I'm not really that organized, but I'm learning how to be.

Maylips, I wasn't really offended, I just also don't want to alienate people. I was living with my narcissistic controlling ex boyfriend, far away from my friends for the last 6 years before I moved away, so I'm slightly socially anxious from my experience. I've made a lot of friends so far though. I'm just getting my life back together and looking forward to making more friends (have made a lot already here). Thanks for posting back and please don't worry. Everyone's welcome to their perspective.

[123LuckyMom]

I know I'm late to the game here, but I think this is a fantastic idea! I really want to get or make some of these now! Even though I'm an outgoing person and find it easy to strike up a conversation, I always have trouble micing things to the next level of exchanging contact information or making a plan to meet again. I think if I had a card, I would feel comfortable giving it to someone as an easy way to take that next step. Also, my name is unusual, so people remember it, but it's also tricky to spell, so I'm not so easy to find in the phone book. I do think if someone were to give one to me, I might think she was super organized (possibly with a somewhat negative connotation), but she's giving me the card, so she clearly is interested in connecting with me. How bad could she be . I like the idea very much.