In 2006, Paul Banas launched the site GreatDad.com after he researched parenting tips online and found they were all written by women, for women. He felt his website would offer support to fathers by talking about different parenting techniques dads use compared to mothers. For example, mothers may organize bottle feedings on a set schedule, while fathers may play it by ear depending on the baby’s sleeping patterns that day. Banas’ view is “the way they (fathers) instinctively parent isn’t wrong; it’s just different.”
GreatDad is formatted a little differently than usual parenting websites because of the audience it caters to. Women like to visit online parenting sites multiple times a day to check in with the online community. Men are more likely to visit parenting sites on an as needed basis, which according to Banas, in no way reflects low volume on his website. GreatDad receives about 95,000 new hits a month, and offers over 4,000 articles on different parenting topics contributed by a team of 16 writers. The site also has a feature for expectant fathers to receive a weekly pregnancy newsletter to help them prepare for their new baby.
As a father of two himself, Banas hopes his mission of helping fathers continues as people keep visiting his website. He wants to make sure other fathers understand his own passion when they visit GreatDad. “The more involved you are with your kids, the more you understand how bountiful (parenting) is, and how it dwarfs everything else in the world,” he shared.
You can visit GreatDad by clicking here.
Read the original article on the site’s success over at the Richmond Times-Dispatch by clicking here.
