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Text-based Parenting Support Platform Launched
L OCA L
SOPHIE PANZER | JE STAFF
WHEN BECCA D’ONOFRIO
had her daughter Charlotte
two-and-a-half years ago, she
was blindsided by how difficult
parenting was.

“I feel like it’s something
that nobody talks about,” the
Center City resident said.

Her master’s degree in
education and teaching experi-
ence helped her figure out the
best strategies for navigating
teething and temper tantrums,
but she knew other parents
were also struggling. When the
pandemic hit, raising children
became even more hectic as
families were confined to their
homes and cut off from support
networks. That was the inspiration
behind Partner in Parenthood,
a text-based parenting advice
platform she launched in
February. “I want to help parents stop
feeling so overwhelmed and
exhausted through parenting,
and give them strategies and
tools to be able to actually
enjoy the moments they have
with their children because
they grow up so fast,” she said.

Subscribers can text Partner
in Parenthood at any time
with parenting questions or
problems. They receive on-de-
mand advice from parenting
and early childhood education
experts, who check in with
clients to make sure every-
thing is going smoothly. The
concept was partially inspired
by the text-based therapy apps
that have become increasingly
popular during the pandemic,
which connect users to
mental health professionals
on-demand. “To my knowledge, there
isn’t anything like this in the
parenting world, where you can
instantly ask for expert advice.

I find that parents tend to post
in Facebook groups, they tend
to scroll through Instagram
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Becca D’Onofrio with her daughter Charlotte
looking for answers, but there
isn’t anything that’s immediate
these days in the parenting
world,” D’Onofrio said.

This model allows parents to
ask questions about long-term
issues, such as preparing a
toddler for the arrival of a new
sibling months in advance,
as well as more immediate
problems like tantrums.

D’Onofrio, who is Jewish,
said Partner in Parenthood
clients have children from a
wide range of age groups, and
questions can range from best
practices for baby-proofing
homes to helping kids follow
directions to get ready for
school in the morning.

Jess Bird is a Partner in
Parenthood client who asked
for help handling her youngest
child’s teething irritability.

One day, her daughter was
screaming for snacks as Bird
tried to make dinner, but she
didn’t want to cave and ruin
her appetite. D’Onofrio advised
giving her a healthy snack as an
appetizer to calm her down.

Bird gave her cucumbers with
cream cheese and said it made
a big difference.

“It also just helped me to
be able to overcome these
things now on my own without
having to stress each day when
things come up, because she
presented me with options,”
Courtesy of Becca D’Onofrio
she added.

Lindsay Catarino, another
client, has relied on the service
for advice as her child transi-
tions into day care. She said the
personal aspect of one-on-one
JEWISH EXPONENT
texting has helped ease her
stress levels more than other
online parenting resources,
which makes the monthly $35
cost worth it.

“I follow a ridiculous
amount of parenting Instagram
accounts, but they’re really not
personal,” she said. “I find that
in Facebook groups like New
Moms of Philadelphia or sleep
training accounts and all of that
I get a lot of basic information,
but it’s definitely overwhelming.”
D’Onofrio also gets a lot
of questions about helping
children learn from home.

Before Passover, she even had
a Jewish family ask about the
best ways to prepare children
for the holiday. She advised
them to tell the story of the
escape from Egypt and explain
ritual aspects of the seder in
advance to make sure the kids
knew what to expect and could
get excited about participating.

She said Partner in
Parenthood is an educational
resource and cannot offer
medical or therapeutic advice.

For problems that are more
specialized, such as children’s
dental issues or disagreements
with a spouse, D’Onofrio said
clients are directed to ask the
appropriate professional.

D’Onofrio also reminds
caretakers who are burnt out
from more than a year of
pandemic parenting to make
time for themselves.

“When you’re too stressed
out, children feed off that
energy, so you want to make
sure that you’re calm, you’re
composed and you have the
self-care that you need to keep
things together,” she said. l
spanzer@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
APRIL 22, 2021
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