iPhone app aims to become Foursquare for parents, babies

Since moms use mobile web more than computer-based web, Yellowbrck provides them with deals, activities and useful tips to help with child rearing.

By ALEXANDRA MAN/ NO CAMELS
iPhone 4 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS/Truth Leem)
iPhone 4 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/Truth Leem)
Alexandra Man writes for No Camels
Young parents know the next scenario pretty well: Your child was fed, played a game, then another, took a nap, watched TV and now he or she is bored and cranky. You already visited the zoo last week and the grandparents yesterday and it’s too hot for a picnic. What do you do to keep them happy?
A young Israeli dad, Eli Mandelbaum, based in New York, faced this situation on more than one occasion and decided to create a new iPhone app full of child-rearing tips, called YellowBrck. The app aims to connect parents, share tips on ways to entertain children and learn about family events and activities nationwide. The app requires some details about the children, including their names, gender and date of birth. When checking in to a certain activity, the child’s name will be connected to the activity.
Just like Foursquare, YellowBrck comes complete with check-ins and badges – but the best part is that parents can actually earn coupons and reductions at stores like Totsy, Abe’s Market, Dapple, EcoMom and Torly Kid.
Yellowbrck explained: “By checking into our social network on a regular basis, a parent can earn discounts and rewards and maintain regular contact with other parents. For example, try checking in a diaper change 3 times and see what you receive.”
Amongs the activities, everyday parents can find pre-listed tasks like diaper changing, shopping for baby, potty training, breastfeeding, bowling, birthday parties and cooking together with dozens of different parent-child activities. Check-ins can be displayed in the user’s Twitter or Facebook feeds.
The main thing this app provides to new parents, beside the social aspect, is the ability to keep track of all the activities and time spent with the kids. Virtual “badges” are awarded to encourage parents to be involved in their kids’ lives.
In addition, parents can meet with other parents in their area, let the kids play together, see what other parents (social network friends or neighbors) are doing now and of course discover new family-friendly places around the neighborhood.
The Yellowbrck site and app say they are focused on finding more “old-school” activities, and avoiding expensive theme-parks and easy activities like plonking your kid in front of a television.
Adding to Yellowbrck’s chances of success is a recent Baby Center report, indicating that 68 percent of new moms already use their smartphones while doing activities like shopping and 53 percent of the women surveyed said they purchased a smartphone as a direct result of becoming a mom.The report also said that moms index higher than the general population for mobile social networking and use the mobile web more than the computer-based web.
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