The Enquirer and One-sided Parenting

After a few months of testing, the Cincinnati Enquirer just launched a website geared towards parenting. According to the announcement:

Moms who want to connect with other moms in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky won't have to leave their homes anymore. They can share information, tips and stories with a few clicks of the computer. Starting Monday, log onto cincyMOMS.com and find local moms talking about raising teens, dealing with picky eaters, finding good pediatricians and more.

Let's start by being honest. Even in 2007, several decades after the workforce and gender roles have undergone some sweeping transformations, the weight of the work of parenting is done by moms, overall. Surveys and statistics abound which inform us that many women might be bringing home a paycheck just like men, but they still attempt to do all of the work of motherhood that was done in the days of June Cleaver.

And another reality behind the website's gender-specific demographic might be the fact that the female head of the household has greater sway in purchasing decisions. The announcement tacitly acknowledges this (italics mine):

The Kaboose Family Network, a family-oriented Web site, surveyed 3,500 mothers and found that 91 percent of them turn to friends and family first for advice, referrals and product information.

When the Enquirer ramped up the effort for CincyMoms (and when Gannett mothership reviewed the business plan) you can bet that little nugget was deployed front-and-center as a means courting adverstising income.

But is there another market here, one which may not be visible? Certainly Dads often communicate differently, and are realistically less likely to respond to the same type of "caring and sharing" social networking model, but they have a passionate and often overlooked interest in parenting. It might be "war stories" about a difficult second grader instead of "helpful tips", or it might be coaching advice, or lessons that are important to teach a teenage daughter about boys (or a teenage son about girls) - but nevertheless, fathers have much to offer and room to learn.

And most mothers and fathers recognize that a child, and a family (and by extension, society) thrives when both parents are involved, contributing equally to growth and development in their own gender specific way. And conversely, a deep social cost is incurred when Dad is absent from the process. As a Dad who checks homework, helps with athletics and after-school activities, and takes care of about half the meals (not to mention takes the kids to school) - I was disappointed by the Enquirer's implicit endorsement of ultra-traditionalist parenting roles, even if the craven economics are apparent.

They do own the web domain CincyDads.com - so there's a chance they may move to address this underserved but tremendously important market.

Tags: Cincinnati, Parenting, Fatherhood