This one goes out to the parents. Can we have some "real talk" here for a minute?
Parenting ain't easy.
Yes, we LOVE it and we wouldn't trade our kids for the world (although you're not alone if you've thought about it...) but we're not meant to do this parenting thing on our own and the past couple of years have been especially hard on parents as we've had to do SO.DANG.MUCH. without the hands-on help of our community.
I know a lot of moms have turned to the Internet to find community. I know I have! I get a lot of advice, support and inspiration from Facebook "mom groups" and from following moms on Instagram (many I'll honestly never meet yet know WAY TOO MUCH about - isn't the Influencer world just wild?!). While there isn't necessarily anything wrong with this (I mean Boise With Kids is an online resource afterall...), I believe it leaves moms wanting more.
For example, I've seen this happen time and time again on social media. A parent is looking for something specific and they turn to a Facebook Mom group to ask for recommendations. Let's say they need recommendations for a pediatrician because they're new to town or had a bad experience with their last one. They get 30 DIFFERENT responses. And most of them are just doctors' names with no other information. (Is this any different than googling "pediatricians in Boise"? Not really!) So the parent goes with the most mentioned name and sets up an appointment. They take their kid in for their well-check and have an awful experience. Turns out the pediatrician and the parents don't have the same philosophy on basically anything regarding their child's health and wellness. Back to the drawing board they go.
This day and age when a parent like you or I have a personal question, we turn to people we know and trust for help. We don't want a famous "mom blogger" or Influencer to tell us something they're just being paid to say. We don't want to fall deep into the depths of Google. And we've finally learned our lesson that asking a Facebook Moms group of thousands of random moms just doesn't get us the information that we need. We rely on our family and friends because they know us and know what we like and don't like, what we need and what we definitely DO NOT need.
But when you're new to town or don't feel like you have a good community around you, you don't necessarily have that option. That's where I hope that Boise With Kids can come in.
I hope that Boise With Kids can be more than just an online resource. That it can develop into a community of intentional and engaged parents just like you. A space where we can share real life, relatable, and personal experiences that aren't filtered "for the 'gram" to make family life look like a cake walk. A space where random stuff isn't being recommended to us just because it makes someone a quick buck. Where the rabbit hole of Google doesn't exist but a quick and easy search bar does. A space where you can get quality input, recommendations and advice that you can trust - both here and on social media.
This is why I'm sooooooo excited to start a new weekly series called "Real Life in Boise With Kids" where each week I will feature real, relatable, normal parents doing awesome things across the Treasure Valley. It'll be a space where local parents can share about their passions and give real, honest, tried and true feedback and tips for living their "best (family) life" in Boise. Hopefully it'll give you a chance to learn more about our community, inspire you to try out new places and activities, and get hooked up with pertinent, useful stuff that will help you and your family to thrive in Boise.
Get ready to meet the "Real Parents of the Treasure Valley" - 😜
If you'd like to share about yourself and be featured in this new series email Becca at becca@boisewithkids.com. We can't wait to learn more about you!