netmums.com

...at nature. My sister mentioned Netmums.com to me after finding the site through her toddler group so I decided why not give it a try.


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MUMS ON THE NET
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Netmums was founded only a few years ago in 2000 and has grown to one of the largest online parenting organizations with member count rising to well over half a million.

Although called Netmums, it ...
...etc. At Netmums parents especially can find a whole lot of information both around the country and local from child friendly restaurants to places to go and so much more. There is also many articals from both parents and professionals covering everything from pregnancy through each stage of a childs life and more.

Each local part of the site is run by a local mum with support from a central team so it is all run really efficiently and ... more

Netmums.com

Mothers Meeting

After having my daughter I wanted to meet other mums with children around my daughters age so that both me and my daughter could hopefully meet new friends, even though I am quite shy at nature. My sister mentioned Netmums.com to me after finding the site through her toddler group so I decided why not give it a try.

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MUMS ON THE NET
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Netmums was founded only a few years ago in 2000 and has grown to one of the largest online parenting organizations with member count rising to well over half a million.

Although called Netmums, it is not only for mums but also dads, grandparents, childminders etc. At Netmums parents especially can find a whole lot of information both around the country and local from child friendly restaurants to places to go and so much more. There is also many articals from both parents and professionals covering everything from pregnancy through each stage of a childs life and more.

Each local part of the site is run by a local mum with support from a central team so it is all run really efficiently and much better than just a central area running it as the local information is more up to date and relevant this way.

You do have to sign up to reap all of the benefits, though it is absolutely free and well worth it. The sign up is a very simple process with no personal information being asked. If you decide to meet up with other parents or email them, you can then decide to pass your information across securely.

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OUTLOOK
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On first look at the site you are met with lovely pale pinks and lilac colours with an inviting layout on the homepage. I have to admit although it is for dads too – the outlook seems more aimed at mums though this is something that can easily be overlooked and I am sure there are some dads who don’t mind pink!

At the top of the homepage are the various links under different categories, all laid out well and easy to read with no broken links at all (I have used this site for a while now and never had any problems with links). I will discuss the different topics below. Under there links there is a brief introduction to the site and sign up button alongside an interactive map in which you can choose your local area. Below that are well laid out boxes with what is happening around the country now, certain events and activities etc, which is updated regularly so is always different and always worth looking at the links which are there, sometimes taking you off to different sites via the link.

Once you have signed up and activated your account, which as I already mentioned is very easy to do; you can select your local area which after signing in then after will take you straight to your home page for the local area – don’t worry, you can still access the main homepage, links and other areas.

There are five main categories on this site with many different options, activities and information sites that can easily be accessed. The navigation is pretty straight forward and simple to understand with the same links and categories found at the top of every page on the site so you don’t need to return to the homepage to find another category. Below is a basic outline of the categories and what can be found on the site. Bare in mind that information will all slightly differ from day to day and also in all different places around the country.

LOCAL BOARDS

The first category covers all information relevant to you chosen local area which you can choose on or after sign up. The first main part of this area is the notice boards. Here you will find areas where you can communicate with other parents whether it be introducing yourself in hope of maybe ending in some emails to another person/s and maybe meeting up or advertising baby and children toys and equipment to give away or sell. These parts of the site are very simple areas where you post a message with the latest ones being first on the list and being pushed down when new ones come so it can be quite annoying to have to scroll down for pages – I think it would have been better forum based though I suppose you cant have everything and people run this for free so Im not really complaining.

There is also lots of updated information on local activities for a wide range of children, and also adults, and lots of local information is available. These extra links are on the side of each page under the main links and all work fine. Certain information includes childcare, household help and more. All of these areas depend upon members making the posts themselves.

The local boards are great to help meet other parents and although I haven’t as of yet met up with anyone (as someone kept making dates and breaking them which became very annoying indeed!) my sister met up with a lady and her two children and is looking forward to meeting up with her again so it is a wonderful area and you only give the information you want to whom you want to give it to.

LOCAL ACTIVITIES

Another local area of the site (as you may have guessed!) which helps you find places to go and things to do in your local area – though in my local area the information does span for about a 20 mile radius. Here information is added by both the people running the area and also members themselves. Information is also set out in various ways making it better to find things and places. For example you can click on the specific months to see whats been added here month by month or you can click on specific links by category such as local baby and toddler groups, adult classes, days out, soft play and many more. Within these categories there are also sub-categories breaking information down further so although it may sound long and drawn out it is actually a very easy way to find what you are looking for.

You will also find craft ideas in this section as well as information to help you come up with ideas to host parties, mixed with some downloads and instructions online. The information found her is very basic though there is quite a lot of information and ideas to work through. I do like this section as an added incentive to try craft with both glue and food wise, though it isn’t updated as much as the rest of the site so I tend to look elsewhere for this information.

SPECIAL INTEREST

There is more food ideas in special interest for everyday cooking with over 300 recipies covering a whole range of likes in food. It also helps you with ideas for cooking on a budget which actually is really helpful. There is a handy meal planner as well as healthy eating information and ideas and lots more including special dietary needs. There is also a section where members can share their own recipe ideas so there is something for everyone here. There are so many sub categories to this one part in special interest alone and is a very large section and very helpful and interesting for both beginners and professional cooks. It is possibly one of my favourite parts of the site.

Also in special interests is a whole section on holidays with information from planning to arriving at your destination to activities and budget ideas. Here any special deals are posted which can come in handy though I always find the Sun newspaper deals to be the best going most of the time.

With the recession has come a whole section on work and money advice with everything from information on maternity benefits to housing benefits, working advice to childcare listings and much more. This is purely an information part of the site with so much information that your head will begin to hurt, though saying that it is a helpful read to find out exactly what you are entitled to.

The last main part of this section is the shop window where the latest and best according to surveys are of baby equipment and toys.

Each section you can join the coffee house forum chat about what you have read and discussions with other parents on this.

FRIENDS AND SUPPORT

This section does as the title says and offers a basic forum type of chat in many different categories such as coffee house chat, wine room, fun and games board and much more. This area is one of the better parent chats I have come across even though it is very basic, though I have found it friendly and inviting with some great topics both serious and fun. This is the area where you can find the local meet a mum which is also linked in the first category too.

There is also some information sections to help you, the parent from anything from birth scares to dads, maternity worries to children and even teenagers – there is also a young mums section which is great as I know a couple of young mums who feel they cant go to toddler groups because there are older people there – this gives them a way to talk to other people in their situations which is great.

This is a lovely section and the biggest section where you can simply chat about anything and everything and get information from other parents as well as information pages.

YOUR CHILD

Here you will find sections for each stage of your childs life including pregnancy. You are able to chat with other mums as well as read information on how to cope and ideas for your child. At first glance it looks rather a small section though the links take you to all of the relevant sections of the site according to the age of your child, some repeated sections in other categories, so simply another way to navigate the site.

There are of course many other parts of the site which come and go accordingly and to look around the whole site would take a very long time. I have been a member of the site for about a year now and still find something new every time I log on. At the moment I have been reading about potty training and getting advice from reading other members posts which has come in very handy as we have just started potty training our daughter. It helps to know that we are not alone!

Members can privately email one another as well in a basic email system that allows you to keep a lot of emails before getting full which is great for people like me who forget to regularly delete messages! You are also able to sign up for various newsletter of your choice with no forcing you to like some sites, and adding and amending your profile is very simple.

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NAVIGATION, LINKS AND SAFETY
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The navigation is very simple and easy to follow with the main category and links at the top of every page you visit. On each page there are also even more links both sides of relevant information according to what you are searching for. Although navigation is very simple and works well, it can also mean that sometimes you miss something as there is just so much to look through though it means you never get bored of the site and there is always something new to see. The search function is average in the way that it does the usual and finds topics according to search word though more often than not it is quicker to go through the various links to find what you want as there is no advanced search capability.

All links have always seemed to work absolutely fine and I have never come across a broken link since I have used the site and flitting from page to page is extremely fast.

The site is updated regularly by a team of people, though this will also depend on what area you are signed up for as local parents help run the local sections so this can differ from place to place. My local site is run very efficiently as is my sisters local site, with regular updates and ever changing information according to what is happening in the world.

Safety on the site is average. Personally I have never had a problem and they don’t ask for any personal information unless you decide to give it to another person. Of course you do have the matter of safety when meeting up with a new person though this is obvious really.

Overall the inner workings of the site is fantastic and I really have no complaints here.

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FINAL WORD
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This site is a life line for many parents and offers a wide range of information and online chats as well as the chance to meet up one on one with other parents as well as attend local meet a mum groups. It seems more aimed at mums over dads though to be honest the information appeals to both sexes. I have found this site really helpful and the information provided is great. It is easy to navigate and actually becomes quite addictive. It doesn’t matter your age either which is brilliant. Overall I would recommend this site for all parents as a source of information as well as a way of meeting new people in the same situation as you both on and offline.
 

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