Dads' web aid for wee small hours

Andy Gourlay
BBC Wales News

Andy Gourlay with his wife Lenore and new baby son Sion

A website which has been designed to help new fathers with parenting has been launched.

dad.info promises to cover everything from pregnancy to birth and new parenthood from a dad's perspective.

The site's "founding fathers", including Tom Beardshaw of Cardiff, say it is a response to dads' increasing involvement in children's lives.

I became a father for the first time recently, so the timing couldn't be better to give it a road-test.

Our little lad Sion was born three weeks ago and, after an oh-too-short honeymoon period - feeding well, staying healthy, even sleeping some of the night - he's now decided sleep is for wimps and insists we stay up and listen to him grizzle.

I wouldn't call my mates asking them to recommend a car seat or why junior's tongue has suddenly turned white - but will happily trawl through the net for answers

Of course we're trying not to be over-fussy, first-time parents and don't want to call the midwife every time he sneezes, so the net is one of the first places we turn to when we need some answers.

Granted there are a huge amount of parenting websites out there already (and heaven knows I've looked at a few in the wee small hours) but the main advantage with dad.info is that the information is all in one place and easy to find.

It covers everything from pregnancy to divorce - including sections on money, work, education, health, relationships and entertaining kids.

The website aims to cover information on health and other issues

The easy-to-read articles are similar to what you'd find in men's magazines - with titles like The Biggest Myths About Dads and Treats For Your Pregnant Lady. Not surprising as they seem to be written by the same contributors.

There's also lots of practical advice and information like Baby First Aid, How To Boost Babies Brain Development and Coolest Family Cars - the last one of particular interest to me as I'm currently replacing my MX5 - (low mileage, great condition, good price...!)

There's also a useful search engine for getting info quick, from both the website or from the web.

The backers have printed 375,000 wallet-sized "Dad Cards" marketing the site which they aim to distribute at maternity units, workplaces and with the armed forces.

I can see it being popular. Our partners might like to talk through every nappy change with their friends, but I think men find it easier to search around and find answers on their own.

I certainly do at least. I wouldn't call my mates asking them to recommend a car seat or why junior's tongue has suddenly turned white - but will happily trawl through the net for answers.

Baby Sion asleep - but he's not always this peaceful

One thing I found particularly interesting was the Money section which has some useful ideas for budgeting as well as advice for tax and benefits (I'd forgotten the UK government gives Sion £250!) and provides links to download the forms you need.

The founders are targeting what they describe as "a niche male audience" particularly "men aged between 25 and 35, with disposable income..."

They'll certainly need one looking at some of the ads on the site - I don't know many blokes who'd splash out £70 for a nappy changing-bag (even if Brad Pitt does use one...) so it's not a site for cut-price cots or swapping baby clothes.

It does however promise online chats with experts, regular emails, a newsletter and Facebook group - though a simple forum would probably be a lot easier to use.

All in all I'm sure I'll be adding dad.info to my list of favourites - I just hope I won't be reading it at some unearthly hour for too long.