Growing up with Kidoinfo

When Kidoinfo started, we were 6 years old. Now we’re 16. A lot has happened in that time and personally we feel we’ve changed a lot in these past ten years. But one thing has remained constant and that is the reliability of Kidoinfo, there for the best weekend picks and insights into parenting. Though we’ve long ago grown out of the site’s target age range, our mom has continued to work tirelessly to keep her website fresh and essential for parents. Her work ethic and commitment to a satisfying and sometimes untraditionally rewarding job is inspiring to us both. Talking to her about Kidoinfo’s start she told us “I started it because I personally felt a need to gather information for things to do with kids as a new parent.” She spread the word about events that were great for kids but not marketed towards them. The site grew and grew and it became “definitely bigger than what I set out to create.” She began by sharing her own articles of parenting advice but it soon became “a collection of people and contributing writers who shared their voices.” What started as her own quest to help out other parents grew to a “trusted brand within the community” outgrew the voice of one and became a deeper reflection of Providence and its families in doing so.

It’s hard for us to point out exactly how Kidoinfo impacted us because it feels like its always been there. Kidoinfo is 10 now, but it’s leaving its nest and going through a new change. We’re a lot older than the young kids we were when it began but it still feels like a part of us as it involved our family, our coming of age, and of course our mom. Looking back through the archives is like looking back on a unique kind of family album. We asked our mom how life for kids and their parents has changed in the last ten years, since Kidoinfo began. The blog began the year the iPhone was invented but before everyone had one in their pockets, along with social media accounts and iPads as toddlers’ entertainment. It started at a time when she felt “a need to meet people” in person to discuss parenting. Now, it exists in a world where parents are just as likely to be checking their phones while at the park as they are to be watching their kids. The digital world’s dominance isn’t a total downside, though. Kidoinfo was born out of this digital revolution and social media’s success has helped spread the blog to more and more parents in Providence. With her work on the website, our mom helped parents use their digital devices to make their offscreen lives with family more fun and productive.

Kidoinfo has been our mom’s job but it’s also been an adventure for all of us. We’re excited that she’s focusing on other things, even if it’s a bit bittersweet that she’ll no longer be working on the website. Still, she’s done some great work helping parents get engaged in the community and raising kids a little more easy and enjoyable. She remembers a parent telling her that when they moved to Providence, reading her website made them feel they had found a real home. The internet moves faster than a refresh button but for the last decade our mom worked hard on creating a place for families to rely on. She’s supported and inspired us the whole time. Thank you.

E & D