For new moms who are transplants or seasoned moms who have been in the area for generations, there’s one thing that binds them together — the beach.
Coastal Point • File Photo
Beachmoms.com is a new resource for area mothers to communicate and share ideas with other moms in the area. Lisa Sumstine, a Milton native, came up with the idea after surfing other mom related sights and realized there wasn’t one that served the beach area.
And now, for all those beach moms, there is a place to congregate, get parenting advice and shares stories and questions and concerns — all without leaving the house. Enter BeachMoms.com. (And, of course, for those who want to leave the house, there are lots of activities, too.)
The online forum is the brain child of Lisa Sumstine, a native of Milton, Del. She had been a visitor to another local “mom” forum site, but soon realized that much of the talk centered around upstate Delaware, as opposed to moms at the beach.
“I had been involved in another forum, and I thought something like this would really be helpful down here,” explained Sumstine.
The informal site has been up and running for a few months now and has recently signed on its 100th user. They have had more than 500 “threads,” or topics of conversation, and close to 5,000 posts to those threads. They have contests, play games online and have a live chat room and an arcade.
“An escape from the real world,” said Sumstine with a laugh.
She is especially excited that something she had really hoped would happen through the site has.
“New moms moving in are able to get on and get recommendations about things like pre-schools and pediatricians,” she explained. “And this is one of the things I had really hoped would happen. Our community is growing so much. There are so many young families coming in. I have been here most of my life and already knew what schools I liked and what doctors. I think it must be difficult to move anywhere blindly.”
She emphasized that moms of all kinds are welcome.
“Most of the moms have preschool-age kids. But in the immediate future, I’d like to see more moms with older kids. We say moms with children in utero or in college — we welcome you!”
Member mom Courtney Powell, who moved to the area from Virginia, enjoys the camaraderie of the site and that it is just a stepping stone for other “real-word” activities.
“What I like about it is it’s local moms right where I live, and we do a lot of activities. It’s helpful for parents,” said Powell. “The other day I posted a thread asking when the train’s out in the park in Milton and got answers, and there’s been a trip to Funland. And they do stuff like that all the time. It’s a good way to meet people and other moms.”
Sumstien added that the site allows moms to get support and encouragement, if nothing else. “It’s easy to lose yourself, and we try to offer a place and encourage moms to step out and be themselves for just a few minutes.”
The moms have also enjoyed “moms’ night out” at local restaurants, and they have classes on things many would like to learn more about, such as saving money at the grocery store.
“You can join starting Nov. 2 for our three-week coupon class,” said Sumstine. “From the comfort of your home, you can learn things like efficient shopping and coupon strategies, coupon clipping and organization, local store policies and where to find coupons, along with meal planning and budgeting. All you have to do is register and mark your calendar so you don’t miss this valuable information. Registration and the class is free, so plan to join us today.”
For more information about BeachMoms.com and their offerings, visit them online at www.beachmoms.com.