Local webmasters challenge parents to engage their kids

School is out, sugar-drenched cookies are everywhere, and it's getting hard to peel little Johnny off the ceiling.

Wondering what to do with the kids during the holidays? There's a free local Web site that aims to help frazzled parents with that dilemma: www.mykidsweek.com.

"Basically we want to provide parents with comprehensive information about activities and programs and places they can go to engage their kids," said Dan Woolley.

Woolley and wife Christina started the site in October 2007. A special education teacher and a mom who likes to go-go with her two boys - Josh, 5, and Nathan, 2 - she had amassed a sprawling collection of brochures and calendars.

"We just thought, ‘This should be on the Web,'" said Dan Woolley, an Internet marketer for Compassion International. "We really wished we had something, and we didn't feel like there was anything like this."

He manages the tech, she manages the content. Now the site is attracting 10,000 to 15,000 page views a month. That number climbs when school is out or the weather is cold, because that's when parents are scrambling for fun stuff to do.

Mykidsweek.com is also popular around holidays, when parents are searching for the right event to attend - Fourth of July fireworks, Halloween harvest festivals or Christmas programs.

"One of the amazing things is how many kids' activities are going on," Woolley said. "If you wanted to do a Christmas event on December 6, you had 35 choices."

The site allows you to search by age level or date, or to sift through coupons and free events. Woolley said he's seen more bargain hunters hitting the site in recent months.

Overall, they've been pleasantly surprised by the response to their homespun Web site by parents looking for one-stop activity shopping.

"It's been phenomenal," Woolley said. "We knew it would be appreciated, but we've been surprised by how much."

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CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0226 or bill.reed@gazette.com

HOW IT WORKS

The www.mykidsweek.com site allows you to search by age level or date, or to sift through coupons and free events. It's recently been a hit with bargain hunters.