Ask the parents of a child aged 3 to 8 what is the toughest parenting challenge, and there will be some stock replies: what to pack in the lunch box, how to keep children off TV/gadgets, and how to keep them occupied in the right way. In the age of nuclear families, with shrinking support system and living space, keeping a child creatively occupied can be really challenging, especially in the metros and big cities. It is perhaps this necessity that has given birth to concepts like play dates, activity kits and group learning. By making your child participate in group activities, experts feel, you can not only keep them occupied but also give them the opportunity to learn collaborative, social and problem-solving skills. (Also read:Modern-day parenting: Follow these 6 rules for a happy family) But how do you choose a group for your child if your friends or acquaintances don’t have children in the same age group? The solution then is to expand your circle, make new friends, just as your growing child is doing right now. By sharing information, experiences and knowledge on child rearing, parents, especially the first-timers or those living away from elders in the family, can also deal with other parenting issues that they didn’t face before. To help you out, there are some websites offering what you may be looking out for. MyCity4Kids.com This online platform covers a lot of areas concerning children and parenting, right from the pregnancy stage. Parents can search for activities and content related to children in their chosen cities. It also helps you find a day care centre, crèche or a venue for your child’s birthday party. Its app, called ‘mycity4kids Family Organizer’, helps parents manage day-to-day tasks by sending reminders. “We would like to become the indispensable mobile platform for today’s multi-tasking Mum by giving her access to everything she needs, in one place. The app helps her organise the kids’ schedule, discover interesting things to do in the city, learn from the shared experiences of other parents. This is our way of ensuring that the job of parenting never overtakes the joy of parenting,” says Vishal Gupta, co-founder and MD of MyCity4Kids. (Also read: Parenting Tips: How does one prepare a child to face the world?) Colour-coded for each member, the Family Calendar feature helps parents record the kids’ activities along with own schedules in one place. KleverKid.in Parents looking for suitable programmes, after-school activities, tutors or coaches in your vicinity can log on to KleverKid.in. You can choose from a host of avenues to let your child engage in. The website lists a number extracurricular activities, hobby classes and educational events your child can participate in. Launched in Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore as of now, the portal helps you find activity classes for different subjects such as arts, computers, dance and music, and events for children in your vicinity. CEO Shabnam Aggarwal says the portal focuses on children’s needs, “with a belief that all children can and will learn”. Frogo.in Frogo likes to call itself the ‘personal concierge for your daily entertainment’, identifying activities in your vicinity or any other city you may be travelling to. It has a kids section where parents can find various afterschool activities. You can choose an activity from the listings and book slots online through its app. "It becomes very difficult for parents who are living in a nuclear family, as juggling a career with parenting puts a lot of pressure on parents. Frogo help these parents find apt activities for their child according to their interest, in close vicinity, at trusted safe and secure places. It is convenient for parents to choose from a number of diverse options and book them online,” says co-founder Manoj Agarwal. The Kids Corner section is available only for Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai cities as of now. Parentune.com There are times when options are aplenty but it’s important for parents to feel confident when it comes to choosing the place they want to send their children to. A word of advice from or consultation with other parents is what they need most in such a situation. (Also read: Parenting tips: Here’s how you can protect your child from substance abuse) Working in this direction, Nitin Pandey founded Parentune.com in 2012. The website, popular with parents, supports them through relevant advice, blogs and tips by fellow parents and trusted experts to help them raise children in an effective manner. Parentune has a mobile app too and its website regularly shares with registered users relevant information about parenting, child development and current issues through email. Besides an open forum and a live chat section for discussions on different topics, the website also has as ‘Ask An Expert’ feature where parents can seek advice on health, nutrition or any behavioural issue with their children. It has a blog section too covering topics such as education, babycare, health, child psychology, special needs, outdoor activities & events, food, and personal parenting experiences. Tinystep.in Tinystep.in too has come up with a platform for parents to connect and collaborate. Parents can share information or discuss several aspects of parenting, with the site connecting them with doctors, educators and different service providers not just in India but all over the world. It has a blog section that features informative write-ups on topics ranging from pregnancy to children’s food habits, motherhood and child abuse. Says it CEO and founder Suhail, “It can be the much needed vertical social network around parenting. Tinystep is focused on developing a seamless experience for parents to connect and share information. The platform puts parents together in chat groups based on their child’s month of birth. Parents can also ask questions anonymously in the open forum where other parents and even paediatricians answer.” The Tinystep mobile app has seen around 10,000 downloads so far. Flintobox.com Flintobox is an early child development portal that promotes educative kits in the form of a series of activity boxes for children aged 2-8 years. The kits, especially designed for three age groups - 2-3 years, 3-4 years and 4-8 years - can be ordered online. Costing Rs 695 each, the activity boxes come with a new theme every month. Prepared over a period of one month at Flintobox, each activity kit contains learning material that is designed to keep children occupied for days. For example, the February box, Garden Adventurer, will teach toddlers (2-3 years) garden activities, and they will graduate to Automobile Adventure in March. April will bring Colour Carnival, giving the children tips to identify colours. Children in the age group of 3-4 years can look forward to 'Nature Detective' in February, 'Little Transporter' in March and 'Junior Colour Scientist' in April. A three-month subscription is available at a discounted price of Rs 2,085 at present. “We want Flintobox to be a complete package and one-stop destination for everything on early child development. Our objective is to make early learning a fun experience for kids,” says Vijaybabu Gandhi, co-founder, Flintobox.com.
