More parents are now surfing cyberspace and that’s why Moms Online has made its debut.
Addressing everything from diaper rash to teen angst, the forum, currently available via America Online, is the brainchild of Katharine de Baun, mother of 18-month-old son, Alexander. Three months after giving birth, “I was lonely and depressed. I said there’s got to be a moms club out there (on the Internet),” she says. “I went looking and was really disappointed to find out there wasn’t one.”
So she and brother Robert de Baun, who handles the resource’s business affairs, decided to launch just such a place for mothers to chat, trade tips, be entertained and boast about their kids.
“Moms usually have no time, and a lot are so isolated . . ., we thought there was a need for a place to connect,” says Katharine de Baun, who lives in Port Townsend, Wash.
More than 5,000 visitors access it daily to read “Ma’Zine,” the mom-written magazine, says de Baun, take a daily quiz, chat about burping or interact with experts on topics such as parenting an only child or fertility problems.
Via message boards, moms offer or seek advice from others. For example, one offered that having a premature baby was “the worst experience of my life but with medical treatment, prayer and time we’ve recovered. If you have any questions or want someone to talk to about your preemie, please e-mail me.”
In September, Moms Online will launch its World Wide Web site at http://www.momsonline.com.
