“Moms go prom” is the name of an all-female party series that started in North Rhine-Westphalia and has since been adopted by many cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The party usually starts at 8pm and ends at 11pm so that the mums get a good night’s sleep so they don’t have to go to work the next day.

“Party time is unbeatable,” says Steffi, who is partying with three friends in Nuremberg. The 46-year-old has two children and is taking part in this event for the second time: “It’s the ideal break from everyday life for me,” she says. Judith, who has two children aged 10 and 13, adds: “Tomorrow I have Maths and English lessons with the children.” She especially likes the fact that there are no men at the party. “I can move freely without fear of someone making weird comments about me and my outfit.”

Parties for moms are held in 110 cities

The initiative for “Moms go dancing” is Anna Schumacher and Andrea Ricker from Wuppertal. Both are mothers of young children who wanted to go out, but the clubs and other nightclubs were opening very late. “I’ve always been bothered by the fact that by the time my kids are asleep, I’m waiting for the club to open,” says Anna Schumacher. So the two friends decided to organize their own parties in Wuppertal.

The interest from other women was so great, they soon decided to organize the next party. Eventually they added due to demand more cities through a franchise system. According to Anna Schumacher, “Moms go dancing” now exists in 110 cities in German-speaking countries and is organized by a total of around 30 women.

Few fathers take part…

But why is there a need for a special party just for moms? And what about the fathers, who also get up in the night to change diapers or give the children a bottle? On the internet, along with enthusiastic comments about “Moms go to the dance”, there are also critical comments that speak of discrimination, since men are not allowed to enter. Still other users are bothered by the naming of the parties because, they claim, it limits women to a single role. “We are often accused of bringing back a model from the ’50s,” says Anna Schumacher: “Initially, however, the idea was to do something for breastfeeding mothers, because we were in that situation at the time, it had nothing to do with our husbands,” he explains.

Working women Anna Schumacher and Andrea Ricker founded Moms Go Dancing in their spare time with the hands-on support of their husbands. They make it clear, however, that men aren’t completely excluded from mom parties. “They are allowed to come with their partner. But it must be clear to them that they will not be able to flirt with other women,” says Anna Schumacher. The fact that men remain the exception at mom’s parties doesn’t surprise Anna Schumacher, however. How about a party for dads or parents? Anna Schumacher and Andrea Ricker don’t think the idea is bad. However, they leave the initiative to…someone else or someone else.

Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos