An App for Mothers Who Missed Out on Tinder (www.nytimes.com)

I love when technology is used to help support people and to create real-life connections. The app described below is interesting and has helped some feel less isolating. The caution mentioned about excessive use of technology by parents is worth considering, too (though it always seems geared at mothers and not fathers). 

Maybe one day we'll even have a sub-category for those parenting with ACEs who are looking to give/get peer support in order to find each other?

Here are a few excerpts from the article by Sohia Kerchermay:

"The app is the brainchild of Michelle Kennedy, a London entrepreneur who was integral to the start of the dating app Bumble (she named it) and a former executive of the highly successful Badoo, Europe’s version of OkCupid. Ms. Kennedy, 34, created the app when she was a new mother and discovered she couldn’t find mothers with similar interests to connect with.

From an emotional perspective, I felt quite isolated, and I don’t think that’s a very comfortable thing to say,” Ms. Kennedy said.

She decided to fix that by creating a digital space where women could form meaningful relationships while balancing the new, and often transformational, act of parenting."

and

Well, for Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, parent-focused apps conjure unsettling images. Dr. Turkle has spent more than 30 years interviewing hundreds of children and parents (and has written two acclaimed books) as research into our relationship with technology.

“I’m not saying that being a mom doesn’t have some lonely times when adult companionship would be welcome.” she said. “But right now the pendulum has swung away from finding companionship with your child.”

She described scenes of mothers texting while pushing their baby’s stroller, and others too occupied with their phones to recognize that their child was trying to get their attention. She encourages mothers to check in with their children to be sure that they aren’t feeling isolated.

Full article.