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Show HN: Just Launched an App for Dads

Hey there, First time posting on HN. We're looking for feedback from parents. We're 2 dads who started working on Dadditude in the midst of covid lockdowns last year. Being a dad can be a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. Through our research we learned that dads want to improve their parenting but are too shy to ask for help, and are tired of reading content online written for mums. We set out to fix that and create a platform that would help dads feel seen, validated, and supported. By helping dads, we hope to support moms and partners too, because all parents deserve more support. Quick timeline so far: We started a community of dads on Instagram last Feb to test hypothesis and learn about their needs. We then launched an MVP in April, a super simple app serving weekly coaching guides created with a parenting professional partner. We made several updates in summer and fall, working like crazy in the background to convince parenting professionals to write coaching guides for us. Especially hard when you're a nobody. But people are kind and we found all the support we needed. We launched a v1 app mid-December with 50 coaching guides and a more full fledge community board (and a paid membership tier). We've just added on-demand parenting professional support in Jan. And last week added a picture board for dads to upload pics of their families, and that's become more popular than the forums!! ← I knew dads wanted to feel more visible but I love these discoveries! Super proud of the work done so far, but still so much to do to smooth out the product experience, and get closer to PFM. So much learning. web: http://www.dadditude.app http://www.dadditude.app ios: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1558653576 https://apps.apple.com/app/id1558653576 android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dadditude.app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dadditude.... (part of the experience is behind a paywall, but you can test nearly all paid features once for free - so long as you register through Apple or Google) All thoughts and feedback welcome in the comments below, especially if you're a parent entrepreneur. TYIA [edited top statement to "can be long..." for the dads here who felt it was too gloomy - it was]

pbarondadditude 5y ago
To give it a try: web: http://www.dadditude.app http://www.dadditude.app ios: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1558653576 https://apps.apple.com/app/id1558653576 android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dadditude.app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dadditude....
grvdrm 5y ago
Downloading now and will come back to this with more comprehensive commentary!
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Appreciated.
sandermvanvliet 5y ago
Soon-to-be-dad here, I’m going to give this a spin. So far I really appreciate that I can just open the app and have a look, no account creation or anything. Truly a breath of fresh air. It looks quite clean too, nice work!
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Thanks! It's still early days but we're trying to create an experience that offers a break from the craziness of the rest of our internet experience. No ads, subdued design, relatable illustrations on launch. Some might find it too bland. We'll improve.
ziggus 5y ago
So it's basically a blog and a forum, but in an app?
- slothtrop 5y ago
  First pertinent criticism I've seen.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Fair enough. We try to offer a more relevant experience by reformatting the "blog posts" into more digestible chunks of content as decks of cards / guides. Forums: we're not even there yet, I wish. We're working on new features that will make part of the experience more guided, and we'll focus on dads that want to work to improve their mental wellbeing and parenting. Sort of a guided micro journaling, with specific commitments around specific dad skills.
nonameiguess 5y ago
My first instinctual reaction was I would love content like this, but why does it need to be an app? It's a great idea for a magazine or even a book series or a video series. The multimedia potential of interactive computing devices means you can do all 3 in one, so sure, an app is just a means of delivery, I guess. Except, it isn't. I was excited that you have a web link, only it's a link that allows you to download the app. I don't want an app. I just want the content. Is there any plan to ever publish the content you're having generated by any other means? Why not put it directly on the website?
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  Yeah this seems like something that could work as a traditional forum? you could even pay-gate some of it in a similar way. I'm not sure why everything tries to recreate the wheel as an app now. Is web discoverability/monetization so bad that everyone's moved on to app stores?
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  We've found that dads in the 0~6 year old range want to have the content at their fingertips for when they have a few minutes off (toilet breaks!!), and not having to fiddle with their laptop and get more distracted. But I get that this might not work for everyone. We think that we have better control over the experience in an app, and I'll add that the type of features we're currently building will be easier to interact with from an app than from desktop.
hwbehrens 5y ago
I like the idea, and it's definitely an under-served market. One comment off the bat: it's not at all clear to me what is the division between the free version and the "Grow" tier. I might be in the minority on this, but the conspicuous absence left me with a feeling of "What's the catch?" I won't start using an app that doesn't let me do anything useful without paying, and I'm not going to sign up for a service if I don't know what I'm paying for, so I always look for that information up front before I even install.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  oh, fair enough. I've gotten that comment before and I'm still wrestling with it. But you outline it simply. I might just need to give a clearer heads up in the app description for starters.
kylebenzle 5y ago
gnicholas 5y ago
I looked at one guide and strangely it involved both scrolling down and then swiping R-to-L to get to the next chunk of text. I could understand wanting to chunk the text and requiring horizontal swipes to move through them, but I shouldn't also have to scroll up/down in each segment. Maybe this is just because I'm on a smaller phone (iPhone 13 Mini)? I was put off that I have to create an account before seeing more than just the introduction to a guide, and that at that decision point I have no idea how much the paid membership will be. Please don't hide the ball and hope to hook people. If this is $5/year, I'd go through the sign up process and see how it looks. But if it's $15/month, I wouldn't spend the time trying it out because there's an incredibly small chance that I'd end up wanting to pay that much. Honestly it looks like most of the content is just stuff gathered from the web (or very similar to content that is free on the web), which also tempers my interest. Some people might be interested in posting public photos of their kids, but I'd never do this in a public app. Maybe I'm not in the target audience, or I'm misunderstanding. But I'm a dad and entrepreneur, so I was curious enough to check this out. Just my 2 cents!
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  The scrolling is clunky isn't it. Thanks for sharing. We're trying to find a balance between chunking up the content for when dads just have 2 minutes of free time with some of the quotes that are a bit longer. Guide paywall, well, we offer the first guide for free so long as you register. The copy mentions that BUT it's not clear enough apparently. We'll need to work on this more. And then again, maybe the first guide is all free without registration but felt like the notice would help people choose the guide they wanted. Back to the drawing board on this one! Again, we should be clearer from the get go Content of the guides: I see what you mean. 80% of the content is written in collaboration with parenting pros for the app, 20% is reformatted with the help of the original writers. Sure, you could find similar content online but it wouldn't be written specifically 'for dads' and we know that most dads don't look for that content online because it's a flood of crappy content written for mums. We're trying to be very specific here. Thanks for your feedback!
  - gnicholas 5y ago
micromacrofoot 5y ago
I appreciate the recognition and the attempt to make a dad-based community. After having a kid it seems like moms are much better at this kind of thing, and I've felt pretty isolated (even before the pandemic). I've found myself interacting with other moms more than other dads, simply because they're more likely to be the ones putting themselves out there... plus I'm not really the sports/beers/bbq type of guy.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Thank you. Moms are great at creating social networks around them. Dads... not so much, and we're not great at opening up in the first place.
  - andrew_ 5y ago
    > Dads... not so much, and we're not great at opening up in the first place. s/we're/some fathers This isn't universal. Please don't present it as such.
browningstreet 5y ago
> Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. This is a strong, negative and questionable statement.
- kylebenzle 5y ago
- jcutrell 5y ago
  I substituted "Being a dad _can be and commonly is_ a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey", perhaps unfairly. This could really just be seen as an expanded version of "being a dad is hard", which some people will identify with and others won't. This is also something that could be spoken from the perspective of that person. "Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey _for me_."
  - pbarondadditude 5y ago
    yes, good point. I should have added "can be", and the platform currently is targeted at dads that identify with that statement.
- eps 5y ago
  Yep, my reaction exactly. That's a very bitter take on the fatherhood. Perhaps the context here is that of single fathers?
- jacobmarble 5y ago
  I agree. Being a dad is fire and ice. Some wonderful times, some hard times. Not lonely at all. I get to help good, small people become good, big people, and I grow along the way.
- hughrr 5y ago
  Yep. I’m a single dad of three and it’s amazing on all fronts.
- andrew_ 5y ago
scary-size 5y ago
Looks nice enough, so I downloaded it. Lost me at the signup step within the first guide. I don’t see the need for this if don’t plan on subscribing to your paid plan. Though I can understand it form a business perspective.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Fair enough. It's a balance between experience and business. And we may adjust this in the future. Question for you: had the first guide been freely readable without a sign-in, what do you think would have been your reaction when starting the second one and being showing a paywall? (even if there would be ways to warn you softly)
  - scary-size 5y ago
    I think I would have liked to have one free guide. Then I can make an informed decision whether to commit to using the app. I also was irritated that the "sign-in/paywall" only showed up after few pages into the guide. Be upfront about it, be honest. Clearly indicate that sign is required.
brainwipe 5y ago
Don't want an app, only want the web. Also... > Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. Paints being a Dad as something I've not experienced. So perhaps your app isn't for me. And your website doesn't include a cookie banner, instead just begins tracking me through Google. So you don't meet your own GDPR statement in your privacy policy. Hard pass.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  App: Yeah, we wanted to be able to control the full experience and remove distractions (other tabs etc). But the future might include a web component. Why do you only want the web, if you don't mind me asking? Cookie banner, apologies, we're fixing this. No harm intended. We actually track as little as possible.
  - brainwipe 5y ago
    I don't interact with forums on my phone. Long form discussion is far better used where I can type using a keyboard.
andrew_ 5y ago
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Kluny 5y ago
  > beta male audience You lost me there. > get your ass to a qualified and experienced therapist and work through your issues, rather than turning to an online support group for answers If you're feeling bad, do this arbitrary thing instead of this other arbitrary thing to fix it. Alright.
  - moss2 5y ago
    Couldn't agree more. Holy hell this guy has issues.
- metadaemon 5y ago
  Hey settle down, ok?
- slothtrop 5y ago
  You added nothing of value with this.
- donw 5y ago
  You, plus anybody that agrees, ping me. Email in profile. Becoming a father was the best decision I ever made. The duty of fatherhood has made me a tenfold better man. Fatherhood is not a bitter load to be carried. It is the greatest responsibility you will ever face, the true test of your character, and a duty to be met with great joy, energy, and devotion.
  - mcphage 5y ago
    > Becoming a father was the best decision I ever made. The duty of fatherhood has made me a tenfold better man. > Fatherhood is not a bitter load to be carried. It is the greatest responsibility you will ever face, the true test of your character, and a duty to be met with great joy, energy, and devotion. None of these are mutually exclusive. The idea in our culture that something is either all good, or all bad, is an incredibly shallow way of experiencing life. Fatherhood is fantastic, and it's also difficult. There are times it is wonderful, and there are times it is terrible. It's both. Don't try to reduce everything into a one dimensional caricature, otherwise once you find a negative you can't explain away, you'll revert to the "this is horrible, it's only horrible", which is just as wrong.
arkit3kt 5y ago
I mean r/daddit...
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  ...is an inspiration for sure! And a proof of the need for more support for dads. But it's also a gigantic mess. We're trying to build a resource for dads wrapped in a more quiet experience.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
tomcam 5y ago
> Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. Dad of more than one severely handicapped kid here. I have found the journey the greatest part of my life for going on 25 years. Not at all draining or lonely, and, because of our children, filled with joy even on days when there was tragedy. Not trying to dis OP or the work they have done.
- mef 5y ago
  is it that hard for people to assume OP meant "can be" rather than "is"?
  - pbarondadditude 5y ago
    I just wanted feedback on the app! heheh No, I'm grateful for all the feedback, and indeed meant "can be". Thanks for your support.
    - tomcam 5y ago
      Good luck, broseph!
  - tomcam 5y ago
    Words are important to me. And OP did in fact mean something different. Props to both of you.
ianceicys 5y ago
Soon-to-be-dad of twin girls (due in June), downloaded the app and it looks nice. I'm wondering if there's a way to connect with other Dad's of say twins in my area. Also interested to see if your partnering with other content from Dad's on YouTube. Nice job, and I signed up for the Grow Membership!
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Oh!! <3 A sort of "Buddy System" where you get paired with other dads in same situation, yes!! It's on the roadmap.
- djbusby 5y ago
  I found talking to other dad's that were not in my area was helpful. I like getting the outside opinion and support but I don't want to see them at the grocery or the pub.
- drcongo 5y ago
  I'm a dad of twin girls too. The only advice you're going to need for the first two years is "don't worry, it does get easier". After that it becomes insanely fun and much easier than parenting just one as they have each other to keep amused.
  - pbarondadditude 5y ago
    well, there you go, who needs Dadditude when the HN community is looking out for each other like this! (As a dad of 1, I feel triggered by your last words... I wish we'd bought a duo pack)
    - drcongo 5y ago
      Ha. You wouldn’t be happy with that purchase for the first two years, that bit is a living hell.
- chayesfss 5y ago
  Father of 5 with 3 yr old identical twins. Hopefully you’ve got family nearby to help, if not look around and lost on facebook nanny groups and look for a nanny who’s had twins. Makes a HUGE difference.
LeifCarrotson 5y ago
I'm a Dad who wants to improve his parenting, I'll give it a look and let you know! I will say that I was initially a bit confused by the web page; it took me a minute of looking around for a register/login link, for sample guides, or for the community boards... before I realized that the web page is just a brochure for the mobile apps and a place to link your 'gram. I prefer to consume long-form content on my PC rather than my phone, so that was a bit of a disappointment. On downloading the Android app, I was greeted with this error message: https://i.imgur.com/gi0MfZz.png https://i.imgur.com/gi0MfZz.png Hopefully that's just HN's Dad hug of doom (I'm on solid wifi and have a great network connection; it's almost certainly not on my end as the message implies). Starting to page through the app now; looks like you have lots of content! I'll let you know when I have more time to really dig into a few articles and the features. Another place I go to for Dadditude-like conversations is https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit. We do have a very limited policy for self-promotion, see https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit/wiki/blogs https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit/wiki/blogs for details (or message the mods), in particular self-promotion should be <<10% of your content. But if you are already a redditor who wants to help fathers you're probably already there, encouraging and commiserating with us over people who call dads parenting 'babysitting', cleaning up the messes of our kids, and trying to be better dads... PS: I'll echo and slightly disagree with the sibling commenter who was distracted by the first paragraph of your pitch: "Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. Through our research we learned that dads want to improve their parenting but are too shy to ask for help, and are tired of reading content online written for mums. We set out to fix that and create a platform that would help dads feel seen, validated, and supported." Wow, that's a depressing framing to everything that follows. Try something more positive, and be willing to qualify it with some weasel words where you have to: Being a Dad should be an rewarding, amazing, fulfilling, awesome journey, that has commensurately high challenges and requirements, and it can sometimes feel draining or lonely. Asking for help is hard, and it's difficult to find quality, precise help when you do ask. We want to help dads be the best Dads they can be, recognize the work they're putting in, and support them in the important role they have in their families. Good luck!
- howmayiannoyyou 5y ago
  Hi Dad. Dad here. Here's _general_ guidelines for being a competent Dad: Remember SOS: S = Self-awareness. You need a sense of your own insecurities, biases and an awareness of your feelings. O = Objectivity. With that self-awareness hopefully comes objectivity. The ability to look at the world from your child's perspective and not in a manner governed by your own ambitions, dreams, fears and hopes. S = Selflessness. This can be the grueling part. Sacrificing other priorities (sleep, work, wind down time, personal interests) to support your child in their interests, with their difficulties, and often to expose them to different activities and ideas so they can identify what is right for them. My kids are older now, but I still run down this list frequently in my mind as a way of ensuring I am preparing the kids for life in age appropriate and healthy ways.
farleykr 5y ago
I don’t know why so many comments are railing against the characterization of fatherhood as being a ‘long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey.’ If you’re a father and have never experienced any of that then bully for you. I have. I can absolutely say that fatherhood is the biggest blessing of my life next to my marriage and I also agree with the quote. It’s possible for something to be both a blessing and difficult, draining, and all the rest.
- watwut 5y ago
  > If you’re a father and have never experienced any of that then bully for you I guess this was autocorrect, did you mean "good" or something else?
  - tfehring 5y ago
    "Bully for you" is an idiom that basically means "good for you" https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Bully+for+you https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Bully+for+you!
  - farleykr 5y ago
    Bully for you is just a figure of speech that means ‘good for you’ with a touch of irony. Got it from the Ron Swanson character in Parks and Rec.
    - watwut 5y ago
      Ah, thank you.
  - technothrasher 5y ago
    Bully as an adjective means "good". It's mostly archaic at this point, but you do still hear people use the idiom "bully for you" occasionally. Theodore Roosevelt liked to use the adjective, and he is where the term "bully pulpit" came from.
- RHSeeger 5y ago
  I like to say that being a parent didn't make me happier on a day to day basis, but it made me more fulfilled; which makes me happier overall. Long term enjoyment of my life, vs short term enjoyment of any one day.
kgin 5y ago
For those reacting to the inclusion of "lonely" in the description: lonely isn't a dirty word. I worked at Meetup for over a decade and one thing I learned there was that loneliness is a normal experience when you start anything new in life. You can be "lonely in a context" without being existentially lonely (though that's a very normal human experience also). Loneliness just means that at the present time, you don't know enough people who you can relate to in a certain context. You may have a million friends, but if you want to start a new career, you may be lonely in that context and feel the need to know more people in that industry. If you are newly diagnosed with a disease, you may be lonely in that context, not knowing anyone else who has been through the symptoms you're experiencing, even if you are surrounded by supportive family. And if you're a new dad or mom, you may have your spouse, you may have your kids, but you can absolutely feel the need to connect with other people who have experienced what you're experiencing. Loneliness is just your emotions telling you that you could benefit from the presence of people who have travelled and are traveling the same road. It isn't a failing. It's fuel to reach out and connect.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Loneliness may not be a dirty word indeed, but there is a huge stigma associated with it for men, and the result is sobering: it's called the "silent killer of men": https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fear-intimacy/202111/the-high-cost-mens-loneliness https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fear-intimacy/202111... "Loneliness in men is correlated with cardiovascular disease and stroke; 80 percent of successful suicides are men, and one of the leading contributing factors is loneliness (Murphy, et al., 2017)."
  - skeeter2020 5y ago
    Those same studies about it then go on to find being in a relationship and having a family are some of the most effective ways to fight loneliness. SO it is kind of weird to include "lonely" in the call to action.
  - donw 5y ago
    True! The thing that myself and others found so disagreeable is that your copy sounded… maybe “whiny” is the right word? It reminded me of the “buddy dad” that cares more about his kids thinking of him as a “best friend”, than being a father. Those are very different things. Maybe your copy is right for your audience, depending on your goals, but it stuck a strong negative chord for me. Email in profile, by the way. Happy to iterate and provide direct feedback, as fathers do need good resources.
farleykr 5y ago
Thanks so much for your work. I am a father of two and also recently assumed the role of father figure to my 8 year old nephew. I’ll definitely be checking this out.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  You're welcome. Don't hesitate to reach out with comments or questions in the future over email - from within the app.
veryfancy 5y ago
“Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey.” This statement seems like a useful filter for finding your target audience.
anoojb 5y ago
Even with 7-8 hours of childcare I'm struggling to find time to code. How do you find time?
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  My son just turned 13, so things are a little bit easier at home. I first had the idea for this service 10 years ago but "life" got in the way... in the best possible way... and so here I am, after a "short" delay.
warmcat 5y ago
How did you get the parenting professionals to write the guides? Did you pay out of your pocket to write the guides and be available for on-demand support initially? Reason I am asking is I am working on something in a different health field and want to know how to convince the right medical professionals to get onboard.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Great question. Worked hard to convince a couple of higher profile parenting professional to join as advisors. No cash but a tiny share of equity. Then used that and the early traction that I could demonstrate on the Instagram account and our MVP to approach other parenting professionals and it snowballed from here. But it took in between 2 to 6 months per professional (we ended up with 16 professional partners - unpaid for now until the app gains traction) so I'd say that you need to be very organized and approach many people in parallel. If you email me, I can share more details.
  - warmcat 5y ago
    Thank you. How can I find your email?
shmatt 5y ago
Just a bit of a warning with the whole login blockade that seems to be rubbing people the wrong way. At least for Apple, having a quick install -> uninstall flow for your app completely tanks your app store ranking
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Gotcha, thanks for the heads up. You mean, short time between install and uninstall? We'll need to balance that with the need to keep the lights on. People seem generally OK with signing-up to post a question or tip but to read a free guide, there is resistance. Hey, that's why posting the HN is so great! Thanks for your feedback.
tsuujin 5y ago
I’m struggling to find a way to word this that doesn’t seem dismissive or snarky, but I’m genuinely curious so I’m going to take a stab at it anyways. I am a dad who has felt all of the things you mention and my interest in this platform is high, but you mention that you started this off as an instagram group and it sounds like a lot of your content and focus is going to be around what you learned from people that I don’t identify with at all. I have never felt comfortable with the social aspects of social media; I don’t have a Facebook or Instagram because I simply don’t feel that the social constructs there are healthy for me. It’s not a dig at people who do it, it just isn’t for me. I like being social, I just have never felt comfortable with the feedback cycle pushed by the big platforms. Do you feel like your platform is going to be biased or weighted towards the type of people who do value social media? How are you distinguishing yourself from that?
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  I've spent a year researching and talking to parenting professionals, academic researchers, therapists, parent support group organizers (online and offline). We ended up working with 18 parenting professionals, most of them PhDs, to write content that is relevant to the spectrum of needs that dads are expressing. The social network side of things was to try and reach dads where I was able to (being a non parenting professional) and validate that dads were indeed looking for such support on this range of subjects. Dads are on social networks and it's a great place to reach out to them. We agree that social networks are a terrible interface to offer support. We use it as a beacon to say, we hear you, we see you and we have our app if you want more qualified support.
szszrk 5y ago
I'm into it. I see that a lot of content is either relevant to US/English speaking dads, or hard to understand to "those other" dads, but still see some nice content I can relate to. There is definitely a room for it and I love the attempt to create community. Would love to see such thing in my native tongue. I fully agree on that "a blog and a forum, but in an app" opinion, but I still like that. It's hard to find sites that provides a lot of resources in clear form, even if paid. Sites with clickbaity titles with barely any content and ads on 70% of the page is becoming a on my local sites. I miss old school forums and simple web pages. I browse on mobile a lot and haven't seen more then 3-4 mobile friendly sites that were actually mobile friendly, so an app suits me. I absolutely hate navigation and all negatives I found are UI related. - Swipe left on every paragraph? A big no! - It's not comfortable (physically) to do that all the time. I haven't really used an app that requires that, ever. - It's hard to grasp larger context (especially when using second language) - There is no way of copying text - oh come on, how am I supposed to use a dictionary, or send part of text (the app sends the whole screen)? - Many places requires using the "x" button at the very top. Sorry, it's around 7 years since a had a phone where I could do that with one hand. - It displays "full screen", hiding my system-native navigation buttons, so I can't get out of settings easily. - It's even worse when reading an article - system navigation "back" button does nothing. That is just too aggressive for me. - There is a "like"/heart button on every page, but it's hard to tell what it does. I found it eventually, but by accident. It also doesn't say where is the "card" I liked - what article was that from? Also I find it a bit too expensive, as this will not be anything I'm relying on. I would prefer it to be one time payment, not a subscription. I know, I know, "it's just $3" (or whatever it is, I see my local currency), but to be honest I have way to many "just $3" apps and services already and am not going to invest in any more of them. It's slightly more expensive then lowest google drive/one subscription. For me a one time payment is easier to control and accept, as it feels more like buying a newspaper or book.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback. Some great food for thought and some quick fixes needed immediately. Grateful.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
evo_9 5y ago
Thank you for creating this app and NOT requiring an account / login just to check it out. I’m a new dad with a 13 month old and look forward to using this app going forward!
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  Right?! So many apps don't even let you see the home screen without signing up.
thenerdhead 5y ago
Cool concept, but I don't really understand the value here. I have to pay to view articles that could likely be found online for free or have close alternatives? I think it's cool that you were able to find a community, build a knowledge base of content for, and create an app for. That's impressive itself. I just don't think I'd ever use it. I have more than enough resources already to figure out the dad thing, this is just another one to remember and one i'd probably not trust as much as a book, close relatives/friends, vetted articles on the internet.
- MisterSandman 5y ago
  Not a dad, but I imagine a bunch of people would be ready to pay a nominal amount for a decent lost of compiled resources and a community.
  - naurupatel 5y ago
    I am and I'm not willing to pay for that. Love the idea but it seems greedy to charge for freely available text-content. r/daddit acts as a pretty good aggregator of this info already (downside - you have to go on reddit).
  - thenerdhead 5y ago
    yeah people will pay for just about anything packaged in a better form. These types of things come and go though. Hoping the author the very best they can make this work long term!
jpthurman 5y ago
This is a cool concept and I applaud your efforts to focus on improving parenting for Dads. With my close friends I have an outlet to vent about all the challenges of parenting and I find that most helpful - to be heard and to hear their challenges. In general there’s no “safe space” to vent about how difficult parenting is. If you do it on social media you’re likely to get skewered or misinterpreted - just look at this thread as an example. To the degree you can create a safe space to vent and feel heard without judgment I think that’s the greatest potential value.
rjrogerto 5y ago
Great idea, as a recent new Dad can definitely see the value of this. What is the technology you used to develop it? Flutter...?
meristohm 5y ago
Targeting dads specifically might be kinda like all the resources out there specifically for mums? Why not put this out there for parents? I’m increasingly aware of my insecurities (largely thanks to The Blindboy Podcast, which started as a book promo and then mental-health-for-men and now it’s for everyone, he says, after growing up a bit more), and I’m more willing to read and learn from advice targeted at women, and not take it personally that I’m not included. Maybe dadditude will be another bridge to better parenting in general, to help us grow up so our actual and ideal selves overlap.
1970-01-01 5y ago
Played with it for 5 min. Decent free content, abysmal privacy. They keep your info as long as they deem necessary, and almost everything required linking an account. 2/5 stars, uninstalled.
grue_some 5y ago
Honestly, I agree that it can be draining and lonely. That doesn't mean it isn't rewarding or that it is somehow regrettable. Maybe it is just me, but I do feel that men in general have trouble sharing the load they carry. Being busy, which you definitely are if you are parenting little kids, will make that self evident. If you aren't able to share your thoughts and emotions, it can make you feel both of those things. I am a bit of an introvert so I drift in this direction at times and am always refreshed when I talk to other parents for a bit. I should do it more, but it is not in my nature. I could see a resource like this being useful.
t0bia_s 5y ago
It is incredible amount of time you invest in development... However, as father of tree, I'm not into apps and generally I would never ever look for "life hacks" online. Maybe I'm too old, but I prefer personal sharing with other families or even talk about fatherhood with other friends in pub. It is actually very stress revealing to socialize IRL. More screen time makes me more anxious. Sorry about that, just my personal opinion. Btw, fatherhood has so many attributes. But definitely not "lonely".
rc_kas 5y ago
Hi. Dad here. I don't care much about emotional or whatever support. I do care very much about very practical things. For example right now I'm trying to figure out a way to protect my kid from all the insane and stupid things on the internet ... while at the same time allowing them access all the brilliant knowledge on the internet. Current plan is two wifi routers one for kids one for adults. And the kids one has a firewall I maintain .. and I'll whitelist whatever sites they request (so long as they are good sites). This maybe is difficult to maintain though.

pbarondadditude 5y ago

To give it a try: web: http://www.dadditude.app http://www.dadditude.app ios: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1558653576 https://apps.apple.com/app/id1558653576 android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dadditude.app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dadditude....

grvdrm 5y ago

Downloading now and will come back to this with more comprehensive commentary!

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Appreciated.

sandermvanvliet 5y ago

Soon-to-be-dad here, I’m going to give this a spin. So far I really appreciate that I can just open the app and have a look, no account creation or anything. Truly a breath of fresh air. It looks quite clean too, nice work!

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Thanks! It's still early days but we're trying to create an experience that offers a break from the craziness of the rest of our internet experience. No ads, subdued design, relatable illustrations on launch. Some might find it too bland. We'll improve.

ziggus 5y ago

So it's basically a blog and a forum, but in an app?

slothtrop 5y ago
First pertinent criticism I've seen.
pbarondadditude 5y ago
Fair enough. We try to offer a more relevant experience by reformatting the "blog posts" into more digestible chunks of content as decks of cards / guides. Forums: we're not even there yet, I wish. We're working on new features that will make part of the experience more guided, and we'll focus on dads that want to work to improve their mental wellbeing and parenting. Sort of a guided micro journaling, with specific commitments around specific dad skills.

nonameiguess 5y ago

My first instinctual reaction was I would love content like this, but why does it need to be an app? It's a great idea for a magazine or even a book series or a video series. The multimedia potential of interactive computing devices means you can do all 3 in one, so sure, an app is just a means of delivery, I guess. Except, it isn't. I was excited that you have a web link, only it's a link that allows you to download the app. I don't want an app. I just want the content. Is there any plan to ever publish the content you're having generated by any other means? Why not put it directly on the website?

micromacrofoot 5y ago
Yeah this seems like something that could work as a traditional forum? you could even pay-gate some of it in a similar way. I'm not sure why everything tries to recreate the wheel as an app now. Is web discoverability/monetization so bad that everyone's moved on to app stores?
pbarondadditude 5y ago
We've found that dads in the 0~6 year old range want to have the content at their fingertips for when they have a few minutes off (toilet breaks!!), and not having to fiddle with their laptop and get more distracted. But I get that this might not work for everyone. We think that we have better control over the experience in an app, and I'll add that the type of features we're currently building will be easier to interact with from an app than from desktop.

hwbehrens 5y ago

I like the idea, and it's definitely an under-served market. One comment off the bat: it's not at all clear to me what is the division between the free version and the "Grow" tier. I might be in the minority on this, but the conspicuous absence left me with a feeling of "What's the catch?" I won't start using an app that doesn't let me do anything useful without paying, and I'm not going to sign up for a service if I don't know what I'm paying for, so I always look for that information up front before I even install.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
oh, fair enough. I've gotten that comment before and I'm still wrestling with it. But you outline it simply. I might just need to give a clearer heads up in the app description for starters.

kylebenzle 5y ago

gnicholas 5y ago

I looked at one guide and strangely it involved both scrolling down and then swiping R-to-L to get to the next chunk of text. I could understand wanting to chunk the text and requiring horizontal swipes to move through them, but I shouldn't also have to scroll up/down in each segment. Maybe this is just because I'm on a smaller phone (iPhone 13 Mini)? I was put off that I have to create an account before seeing more than just the introduction to a guide, and that at that decision point I have no idea how much the paid membership will be. Please don't hide the ball and hope to hook people. If this is $5/year, I'd go through the sign up process and see how it looks. But if it's $15/month, I wouldn't spend the time trying it out because there's an incredibly small chance that I'd end up wanting to pay that much. Honestly it looks like most of the content is just stuff gathered from the web (or very similar to content that is free on the web), which also tempers my interest. Some people might be interested in posting public photos of their kids, but I'd never do this in a public app. Maybe I'm not in the target audience, or I'm misunderstanding. But I'm a dad and entrepreneur, so I was curious enough to check this out. Just my 2 cents!

pbarondadditude 5y ago
The scrolling is clunky isn't it. Thanks for sharing. We're trying to find a balance between chunking up the content for when dads just have 2 minutes of free time with some of the quotes that are a bit longer. Guide paywall, well, we offer the first guide for free so long as you register. The copy mentions that BUT it's not clear enough apparently. We'll need to work on this more. And then again, maybe the first guide is all free without registration but felt like the notice would help people choose the guide they wanted. Back to the drawing board on this one! Again, we should be clearer from the get go Content of the guides: I see what you mean. 80% of the content is written in collaboration with parenting pros for the app, 20% is reformatted with the help of the original writers. Sure, you could find similar content online but it wouldn't be written specifically 'for dads' and we know that most dads don't look for that content online because it's a flood of crappy content written for mums. We're trying to be very specific here. Thanks for your feedback!
- gnicholas 5y ago

micromacrofoot 5y ago

I appreciate the recognition and the attempt to make a dad-based community. After having a kid it seems like moms are much better at this kind of thing, and I've felt pretty isolated (even before the pandemic). I've found myself interacting with other moms more than other dads, simply because they're more likely to be the ones putting themselves out there... plus I'm not really the sports/beers/bbq type of guy.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Thank you. Moms are great at creating social networks around them. Dads... not so much, and we're not great at opening up in the first place.
- andrew_ 5y ago
  > Dads... not so much, and we're not great at opening up in the first place. s/we're/some fathers This isn't universal. Please don't present it as such.

browningstreet 5y ago

> Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. This is a strong, negative and questionable statement.

kylebenzle 5y ago
jcutrell 5y ago
I substituted "Being a dad _can be and commonly is_ a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey", perhaps unfairly. This could really just be seen as an expanded version of "being a dad is hard", which some people will identify with and others won't. This is also something that could be spoken from the perspective of that person. "Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey _for me_."
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  yes, good point. I should have added "can be", and the platform currently is targeted at dads that identify with that statement.
eps 5y ago
Yep, my reaction exactly. That's a very bitter take on the fatherhood. Perhaps the context here is that of single fathers?
jacobmarble 5y ago
I agree. Being a dad is fire and ice. Some wonderful times, some hard times. Not lonely at all. I get to help good, small people become good, big people, and I grow along the way.
hughrr 5y ago
Yep. I’m a single dad of three and it’s amazing on all fronts.
andrew_ 5y ago

scary-size 5y ago

Looks nice enough, so I downloaded it. Lost me at the signup step within the first guide. I don’t see the need for this if don’t plan on subscribing to your paid plan. Though I can understand it form a business perspective.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Fair enough. It's a balance between experience and business. And we may adjust this in the future. Question for you: had the first guide been freely readable without a sign-in, what do you think would have been your reaction when starting the second one and being showing a paywall? (even if there would be ways to warn you softly)
- scary-size 5y ago
  I think I would have liked to have one free guide. Then I can make an informed decision whether to commit to using the app. I also was irritated that the "sign-in/paywall" only showed up after few pages into the guide. Be upfront about it, be honest. Clearly indicate that sign is required.

brainwipe 5y ago

Don't want an app, only want the web. Also... > Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. Paints being a Dad as something I've not experienced. So perhaps your app isn't for me. And your website doesn't include a cookie banner, instead just begins tracking me through Google. So you don't meet your own GDPR statement in your privacy policy. Hard pass.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
App: Yeah, we wanted to be able to control the full experience and remove distractions (other tabs etc). But the future might include a web component. Why do you only want the web, if you don't mind me asking? Cookie banner, apologies, we're fixing this. No harm intended. We actually track as little as possible.
- brainwipe 5y ago
  I don't interact with forums on my phone. Long form discussion is far better used where I can type using a keyboard.

andrew_ 5y ago

deleted 5y ago
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Kluny 5y ago
> beta male audience You lost me there. > get your ass to a qualified and experienced therapist and work through your issues, rather than turning to an online support group for answers If you're feeling bad, do this arbitrary thing instead of this other arbitrary thing to fix it. Alright.
- moss2 5y ago
  Couldn't agree more. Holy hell this guy has issues.
metadaemon 5y ago
Hey settle down, ok?
slothtrop 5y ago
You added nothing of value with this.
donw 5y ago
You, plus anybody that agrees, ping me. Email in profile. Becoming a father was the best decision I ever made. The duty of fatherhood has made me a tenfold better man. Fatherhood is not a bitter load to be carried. It is the greatest responsibility you will ever face, the true test of your character, and a duty to be met with great joy, energy, and devotion.
- mcphage 5y ago
  > Becoming a father was the best decision I ever made. The duty of fatherhood has made me a tenfold better man. > Fatherhood is not a bitter load to be carried. It is the greatest responsibility you will ever face, the true test of your character, and a duty to be met with great joy, energy, and devotion. None of these are mutually exclusive. The idea in our culture that something is either all good, or all bad, is an incredibly shallow way of experiencing life. Fatherhood is fantastic, and it's also difficult. There are times it is wonderful, and there are times it is terrible. It's both. Don't try to reduce everything into a one dimensional caricature, otherwise once you find a negative you can't explain away, you'll revert to the "this is horrible, it's only horrible", which is just as wrong.

arkit3kt 5y ago

I mean r/daddit...

pbarondadditude 5y ago
...is an inspiration for sure! And a proof of the need for more support for dads. But it's also a gigantic mess. We're trying to build a resource for dads wrapped in a more quiet experience.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

tomcam 5y ago

> Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. Dad of more than one severely handicapped kid here. I have found the journey the greatest part of my life for going on 25 years. Not at all draining or lonely, and, because of our children, filled with joy even on days when there was tragedy. Not trying to dis OP or the work they have done.

mef 5y ago
is it that hard for people to assume OP meant "can be" rather than "is"?
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  I just wanted feedback on the app! heheh No, I'm grateful for all the feedback, and indeed meant "can be". Thanks for your support.
  - tomcam 5y ago
    Good luck, broseph!
- tomcam 5y ago
  Words are important to me. And OP did in fact mean something different. Props to both of you.

ianceicys 5y ago

Soon-to-be-dad of twin girls (due in June), downloaded the app and it looks nice. I'm wondering if there's a way to connect with other Dad's of say twins in my area. Also interested to see if your partnering with other content from Dad's on YouTube. Nice job, and I signed up for the Grow Membership!

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Oh!! <3 A sort of "Buddy System" where you get paired with other dads in same situation, yes!! It's on the roadmap.
djbusby 5y ago
I found talking to other dad's that were not in my area was helpful. I like getting the outside opinion and support but I don't want to see them at the grocery or the pub.
drcongo 5y ago
I'm a dad of twin girls too. The only advice you're going to need for the first two years is "don't worry, it does get easier". After that it becomes insanely fun and much easier than parenting just one as they have each other to keep amused.
- pbarondadditude 5y ago
  well, there you go, who needs Dadditude when the HN community is looking out for each other like this! (As a dad of 1, I feel triggered by your last words... I wish we'd bought a duo pack)
  - drcongo 5y ago
    Ha. You wouldn’t be happy with that purchase for the first two years, that bit is a living hell.
chayesfss 5y ago
Father of 5 with 3 yr old identical twins. Hopefully you’ve got family nearby to help, if not look around and lost on facebook nanny groups and look for a nanny who’s had twins. Makes a HUGE difference.

LeifCarrotson 5y ago

I'm a Dad who wants to improve his parenting, I'll give it a look and let you know! I will say that I was initially a bit confused by the web page; it took me a minute of looking around for a register/login link, for sample guides, or for the community boards... before I realized that the web page is just a brochure for the mobile apps and a place to link your 'gram. I prefer to consume long-form content on my PC rather than my phone, so that was a bit of a disappointment. On downloading the Android app, I was greeted with this error message: https://i.imgur.com/gi0MfZz.png https://i.imgur.com/gi0MfZz.png Hopefully that's just HN's Dad hug of doom (I'm on solid wifi and have a great network connection; it's almost certainly not on my end as the message implies). Starting to page through the app now; looks like you have lots of content! I'll let you know when I have more time to really dig into a few articles and the features. Another place I go to for Dadditude-like conversations is https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit. We do have a very limited policy for self-promotion, see https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit/wiki/blogs https://www.reddit.com/r/daddit/wiki/blogs for details (or message the mods), in particular self-promotion should be <<10% of your content. But if you are already a redditor who wants to help fathers you're probably already there, encouraging and commiserating with us over people who call dads parenting 'babysitting', cleaning up the messes of our kids, and trying to be better dads... PS: I'll echo and slightly disagree with the sibling commenter who was distracted by the first paragraph of your pitch: "Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey. Through our research we learned that dads want to improve their parenting but are too shy to ask for help, and are tired of reading content online written for mums. We set out to fix that and create a platform that would help dads feel seen, validated, and supported." Wow, that's a depressing framing to everything that follows. Try something more positive, and be willing to qualify it with some weasel words where you have to: Being a Dad should be an rewarding, amazing, fulfilling, awesome journey, that has commensurately high challenges and requirements, and it can sometimes feel draining or lonely. Asking for help is hard, and it's difficult to find quality, precise help when you do ask. We want to help dads be the best Dads they can be, recognize the work they're putting in, and support them in the important role they have in their families. Good luck!

howmayiannoyyou 5y ago
Hi Dad. Dad here. Here's _general_ guidelines for being a competent Dad: Remember SOS: S = Self-awareness. You need a sense of your own insecurities, biases and an awareness of your feelings. O = Objectivity. With that self-awareness hopefully comes objectivity. The ability to look at the world from your child's perspective and not in a manner governed by your own ambitions, dreams, fears and hopes. S = Selflessness. This can be the grueling part. Sacrificing other priorities (sleep, work, wind down time, personal interests) to support your child in their interests, with their difficulties, and often to expose them to different activities and ideas so they can identify what is right for them. My kids are older now, but I still run down this list frequently in my mind as a way of ensuring I am preparing the kids for life in age appropriate and healthy ways.

farleykr 5y ago

I don’t know why so many comments are railing against the characterization of fatherhood as being a ‘long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey.’ If you’re a father and have never experienced any of that then bully for you. I have. I can absolutely say that fatherhood is the biggest blessing of my life next to my marriage and I also agree with the quote. It’s possible for something to be both a blessing and difficult, draining, and all the rest.

watwut 5y ago
> If you’re a father and have never experienced any of that then bully for you I guess this was autocorrect, did you mean "good" or something else?
- tfehring 5y ago
  "Bully for you" is an idiom that basically means "good for you" https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Bully+for+you https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Bully+for+you!
- farleykr 5y ago
  Bully for you is just a figure of speech that means ‘good for you’ with a touch of irony. Got it from the Ron Swanson character in Parks and Rec.
  - watwut 5y ago
    Ah, thank you.
- technothrasher 5y ago
  Bully as an adjective means "good". It's mostly archaic at this point, but you do still hear people use the idiom "bully for you" occasionally. Theodore Roosevelt liked to use the adjective, and he is where the term "bully pulpit" came from.
RHSeeger 5y ago
I like to say that being a parent didn't make me happier on a day to day basis, but it made me more fulfilled; which makes me happier overall. Long term enjoyment of my life, vs short term enjoyment of any one day.

kgin 5y ago

For those reacting to the inclusion of "lonely" in the description: lonely isn't a dirty word. I worked at Meetup for over a decade and one thing I learned there was that loneliness is a normal experience when you start anything new in life. You can be "lonely in a context" without being existentially lonely (though that's a very normal human experience also). Loneliness just means that at the present time, you don't know enough people who you can relate to in a certain context. You may have a million friends, but if you want to start a new career, you may be lonely in that context and feel the need to know more people in that industry. If you are newly diagnosed with a disease, you may be lonely in that context, not knowing anyone else who has been through the symptoms you're experiencing, even if you are surrounded by supportive family. And if you're a new dad or mom, you may have your spouse, you may have your kids, but you can absolutely feel the need to connect with other people who have experienced what you're experiencing. Loneliness is just your emotions telling you that you could benefit from the presence of people who have travelled and are traveling the same road. It isn't a failing. It's fuel to reach out and connect.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Loneliness may not be a dirty word indeed, but there is a huge stigma associated with it for men, and the result is sobering: it's called the "silent killer of men": https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fear-intimacy/202111/the-high-cost-mens-loneliness https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fear-intimacy/202111... "Loneliness in men is correlated with cardiovascular disease and stroke; 80 percent of successful suicides are men, and one of the leading contributing factors is loneliness (Murphy, et al., 2017)."
- skeeter2020 5y ago
  Those same studies about it then go on to find being in a relationship and having a family are some of the most effective ways to fight loneliness. SO it is kind of weird to include "lonely" in the call to action.
- donw 5y ago
  True! The thing that myself and others found so disagreeable is that your copy sounded… maybe “whiny” is the right word? It reminded me of the “buddy dad” that cares more about his kids thinking of him as a “best friend”, than being a father. Those are very different things. Maybe your copy is right for your audience, depending on your goals, but it stuck a strong negative chord for me. Email in profile, by the way. Happy to iterate and provide direct feedback, as fathers do need good resources.

farleykr 5y ago

Thanks so much for your work. I am a father of two and also recently assumed the role of father figure to my 8 year old nephew. I’ll definitely be checking this out.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
You're welcome. Don't hesitate to reach out with comments or questions in the future over email - from within the app.

veryfancy 5y ago

“Being a dad is a long, emotional, draining, and lonely journey.” This statement seems like a useful filter for finding your target audience.

anoojb 5y ago

Even with 7-8 hours of childcare I'm struggling to find time to code. How do you find time?

pbarondadditude 5y ago
My son just turned 13, so things are a little bit easier at home. I first had the idea for this service 10 years ago but "life" got in the way... in the best possible way... and so here I am, after a "short" delay.

warmcat 5y ago

How did you get the parenting professionals to write the guides? Did you pay out of your pocket to write the guides and be available for on-demand support initially? Reason I am asking is I am working on something in a different health field and want to know how to convince the right medical professionals to get onboard.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Great question. Worked hard to convince a couple of higher profile parenting professional to join as advisors. No cash but a tiny share of equity. Then used that and the early traction that I could demonstrate on the Instagram account and our MVP to approach other parenting professionals and it snowballed from here. But it took in between 2 to 6 months per professional (we ended up with 16 professional partners - unpaid for now until the app gains traction) so I'd say that you need to be very organized and approach many people in parallel. If you email me, I can share more details.
- warmcat 5y ago
  Thank you. How can I find your email?

shmatt 5y ago

Just a bit of a warning with the whole login blockade that seems to be rubbing people the wrong way. At least for Apple, having a quick install -> uninstall flow for your app completely tanks your app store ranking

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Gotcha, thanks for the heads up. You mean, short time between install and uninstall? We'll need to balance that with the need to keep the lights on. People seem generally OK with signing-up to post a question or tip but to read a free guide, there is resistance. Hey, that's why posting the HN is so great! Thanks for your feedback.

tsuujin 5y ago

I’m struggling to find a way to word this that doesn’t seem dismissive or snarky, but I’m genuinely curious so I’m going to take a stab at it anyways. I am a dad who has felt all of the things you mention and my interest in this platform is high, but you mention that you started this off as an instagram group and it sounds like a lot of your content and focus is going to be around what you learned from people that I don’t identify with at all. I have never felt comfortable with the social aspects of social media; I don’t have a Facebook or Instagram because I simply don’t feel that the social constructs there are healthy for me. It’s not a dig at people who do it, it just isn’t for me. I like being social, I just have never felt comfortable with the feedback cycle pushed by the big platforms. Do you feel like your platform is going to be biased or weighted towards the type of people who do value social media? How are you distinguishing yourself from that?

pbarondadditude 5y ago
I've spent a year researching and talking to parenting professionals, academic researchers, therapists, parent support group organizers (online and offline). We ended up working with 18 parenting professionals, most of them PhDs, to write content that is relevant to the spectrum of needs that dads are expressing. The social network side of things was to try and reach dads where I was able to (being a non parenting professional) and validate that dads were indeed looking for such support on this range of subjects. Dads are on social networks and it's a great place to reach out to them. We agree that social networks are a terrible interface to offer support. We use it as a beacon to say, we hear you, we see you and we have our app if you want more qualified support.

szszrk 5y ago

I'm into it. I see that a lot of content is either relevant to US/English speaking dads, or hard to understand to "those other" dads, but still see some nice content I can relate to. There is definitely a room for it and I love the attempt to create community. Would love to see such thing in my native tongue. I fully agree on that "a blog and a forum, but in an app" opinion, but I still like that. It's hard to find sites that provides a lot of resources in clear form, even if paid. Sites with clickbaity titles with barely any content and ads on 70% of the page is becoming a on my local sites. I miss old school forums and simple web pages. I browse on mobile a lot and haven't seen more then 3-4 mobile friendly sites that were actually mobile friendly, so an app suits me. I absolutely hate navigation and all negatives I found are UI related. - Swipe left on every paragraph? A big no! - It's not comfortable (physically) to do that all the time. I haven't really used an app that requires that, ever. - It's hard to grasp larger context (especially when using second language) - There is no way of copying text - oh come on, how am I supposed to use a dictionary, or send part of text (the app sends the whole screen)? - Many places requires using the "x" button at the very top. Sorry, it's around 7 years since a had a phone where I could do that with one hand. - It displays "full screen", hiding my system-native navigation buttons, so I can't get out of settings easily. - It's even worse when reading an article - system navigation "back" button does nothing. That is just too aggressive for me. - There is a "like"/heart button on every page, but it's hard to tell what it does. I found it eventually, but by accident. It also doesn't say where is the "card" I liked - what article was that from? Also I find it a bit too expensive, as this will not be anything I'm relying on. I would prefer it to be one time payment, not a subscription. I know, I know, "it's just $3" (or whatever it is, I see my local currency), but to be honest I have way to many "just $3" apps and services already and am not going to invest in any more of them. It's slightly more expensive then lowest google drive/one subscription. For me a one time payment is easier to control and accept, as it feels more like buying a newspaper or book.

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Thanks for all the thoughtful feedback. Some great food for thought and some quick fixes needed immediately. Grateful.
pbarondadditude 5y ago

evo_9 5y ago

Thank you for creating this app and NOT requiring an account / login just to check it out. I’m a new dad with a 13 month old and look forward to using this app going forward!

pbarondadditude 5y ago
Right?! So many apps don't even let you see the home screen without signing up.

thenerdhead 5y ago

Cool concept, but I don't really understand the value here. I have to pay to view articles that could likely be found online for free or have close alternatives? I think it's cool that you were able to find a community, build a knowledge base of content for, and create an app for. That's impressive itself. I just don't think I'd ever use it. I have more than enough resources already to figure out the dad thing, this is just another one to remember and one i'd probably not trust as much as a book, close relatives/friends, vetted articles on the internet.

MisterSandman 5y ago
Not a dad, but I imagine a bunch of people would be ready to pay a nominal amount for a decent lost of compiled resources and a community.
- naurupatel 5y ago
  I am and I'm not willing to pay for that. Love the idea but it seems greedy to charge for freely available text-content. r/daddit acts as a pretty good aggregator of this info already (downside - you have to go on reddit).
- thenerdhead 5y ago
  yeah people will pay for just about anything packaged in a better form. These types of things come and go though. Hoping the author the very best they can make this work long term!

jpthurman 5y ago

This is a cool concept and I applaud your efforts to focus on improving parenting for Dads. With my close friends I have an outlet to vent about all the challenges of parenting and I find that most helpful - to be heard and to hear their challenges. In general there’s no “safe space” to vent about how difficult parenting is. If you do it on social media you’re likely to get skewered or misinterpreted - just look at this thread as an example. To the degree you can create a safe space to vent and feel heard without judgment I think that’s the greatest potential value.

rjrogerto 5y ago

Great idea, as a recent new Dad can definitely see the value of this. What is the technology you used to develop it? Flutter...?

meristohm 5y ago

Targeting dads specifically might be kinda like all the resources out there specifically for mums? Why not put this out there for parents? I’m increasingly aware of my insecurities (largely thanks to The Blindboy Podcast, which started as a book promo and then mental-health-for-men and now it’s for everyone, he says, after growing up a bit more), and I’m more willing to read and learn from advice targeted at women, and not take it personally that I’m not included. Maybe dadditude will be another bridge to better parenting in general, to help us grow up so our actual and ideal selves overlap.

1970-01-01 5y ago

Played with it for 5 min. Decent free content, abysmal privacy. They keep your info as long as they deem necessary, and almost everything required linking an account. 2/5 stars, uninstalled.

grue_some 5y ago

Honestly, I agree that it can be draining and lonely. That doesn't mean it isn't rewarding or that it is somehow regrettable. Maybe it is just me, but I do feel that men in general have trouble sharing the load they carry. Being busy, which you definitely are if you are parenting little kids, will make that self evident. If you aren't able to share your thoughts and emotions, it can make you feel both of those things. I am a bit of an introvert so I drift in this direction at times and am always refreshed when I talk to other parents for a bit. I should do it more, but it is not in my nature. I could see a resource like this being useful.

t0bia_s 5y ago

It is incredible amount of time you invest in development... However, as father of tree, I'm not into apps and generally I would never ever look for "life hacks" online. Maybe I'm too old, but I prefer personal sharing with other families or even talk about fatherhood with other friends in pub. It is actually very stress revealing to socialize IRL. More screen time makes me more anxious. Sorry about that, just my personal opinion. Btw, fatherhood has so many attributes. But definitely not "lonely".

rc_kas 5y ago

Hi. Dad here. I don't care much about emotional or whatever support. I do care very much about very practical things. For example right now I'm trying to figure out a way to protect my kid from all the insane and stupid things on the internet ... while at the same time allowing them access all the brilliant knowledge on the internet. Current plan is two wifi routers one for kids one for adults. And the kids one has a firewall I maintain .. and I'll whitelist whatever sites they request (so long as they are good sites). This maybe is difficult to maintain though.