PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Having a child can be an joyous experience, but it can also be confusing. Some mothers say they want support — not advice — when it comes to raising kids. One local mom started a first-of-its-kind network to help other mothers feel more connected.
Jen Knight works from home and has two children: 4-year-old Connor and 2-year-old Brielle. Their family moved to Oregon two years ago.
“There are people all over who are in the same situation,” Knight said. “It’s easy to feel alone.”
Knight said she would often scan the Internet seeking answers to questions she had about raising her kids, when instead, a solution found her 3 months ago.
“I felt like it made sense when the opportunity came up, but it wasn’t something I was really looking for,” Knight said.
She discovered a variety of mom blogs online, but none of them were aimed at the Portland area. She launched ‘Portland Moms Blog’ in March, which is the first on the west coast that’s part of the National Moms Blog Network.
“The fact that we have a local community focus is something you don’t see in a lot of mom blogs, so we really do get to be a parenting resource for mom’s in the Portland area,” Knight said.
The site’s 10 volunteer writers have recently written articles about birth control and making your own food pouches. Knight described them as relatable and real, and she counts 20,000 page views a month on her site along with more than 1,000 Facebook fans.
But the growing support doesn’t surprise Knight who said moms want to feel that support, too.
“For women in general, I think we appreciate hearing what our girlfriends are going through and what other moms are experiencing, whether they’re in the same stage as us or maybe they’ve already been through that stage and we just a need a bit of encouragement around whatever child-rearing topic we’re dealing with that day,” Knight said.
Building a community is never easy, but Knight said she knows her hard work is worth it to make sure moms everywhere know they’re not alone.
“This is where life brought us and now I can’t imagine being anywhere else,” Knight said. “Funny how all of that works together.”
Last month, the blog hosted an event for local moms to meet one another. They plan to host more this fall, along with play dates for their children throughout the summer, including one July 15.
