New website provides community forum for busy parents.
Katimavik mother Jennifer Perlin launched the website, Kids in Kanata (kidsinkanata.com) on March 13 as a forum for local parents. She and her daughter, Lucy, are seen at the computer while her husband Michael and son Konrad play in the background.
Submitted
A new website is providing parents in Kanata with a one-stop shop for all things relating to motherhood, fatherhood and children.
Jennifer Perlin launched the website Kids in Kanata (kidsinkanata.com) to provide a community forum for busy mothers and fathers.
“It’s really exciting. The feedback has been incredible,” said Perlin, who launched the website on March 13.
Perlin, who lives in Katimavik with her husband Michael and their two children, developed the idea for a web-based community when she was on maternity leave with her now two-year-old son Konrad. She spent her downtime surfing the Internet looking for resources.
“There wasn’t any one place that satisfied what I was looking for. So I got a little bit frustrated,” she said.
Now on maternity leave with her six-month-old daughter Lucy, Perlin said she buckled down and created Kids in Kanata.
“It’s now or never in my eyes,” she said. “Having those extra hours during the day I figured I really got to get on this.”
Perlin said her website is different from other parenting sites because it offers local solutions and a forum where parents can talk, ask questions and share their experiences.
“A forum, that's the one thing that Ottawa doesn’t seem to have anymore, just in talking to different people in the area,” she said. “If you want to know about ‘When should I start feeding solids to my child,’ you could post that question on the forum and have someone answer who lives within a kilometre of you.”
The website will also offer contests and a local events page.
“When your child is sleeping, nursing (the website is) something to go to that's fun and relevant,” said Perlin.
She said she plans on updating the blog three to four times a week with posts about parenting, lighthearted and serious issues, and book and product reviews.
“The goal in the idea is to help promote Kanata and Kanata entrepreneurs,” she said.
She will be blogging about the importance of prioritizing marriage, the “princess phenomenon” in girls, body image and advertising, and its effects.
Perlin, who works for the government, said she plans on continuing to post and update Kids in Kanata when she goes back to work.
“I love being at home with them but I do love being a working mom as well,” she said. “As people become more aware with what's going on with it we could have some people buddy up (and contribute).”
Kids in Kanata is offering a chance to win a gift certificate to Jask Salon and Day Spa for everyone who registers on the website.
“Other moms ... they're telling me what a great concept they find it,” said Perlin. “I've been really pleased with the positive feedback.”