With school programs, afternoon activities and weekend events, managing children’s schedules can seem like running a small business.
And like successful professionals—who know it’s not what you know, but who—parents hoping to connect their mini movers and shakers to others like them are turning to some time-honored tools.
Mommy Cards, like their business card cousins, help streamline the schedules of even the smallest social butterflies.
“Scheduling your child for a play date falls in line with how business meetings are scheduled—there’s a time and a date—and parents, who have so much going on right now, are always looking for the next best thing,” says Erin Brown, co-owner of Orland Park’s Paper Creations, which began carrying Mommy Cards last year.
Embossed with mom’s name, (or dad’s, granny’s or nanny’s), children’s names, cell phone, home phone, e-mail address and emergency contact, the cards provide parents a way to connect with other parents.
“When it’s time to exchange numbers you’ve got to dig through your purse or diaper bag and the kids are yelling, so (with cards) you don’t have to search for the pen and paper because you have everything right on there,” says Brown, a mother of two.
Not only is handing out a card second nature for many moms who’ve left their jobs to stay at home, but it’s an affirmation that full-time mothering demands as much respect as any other full-time job, says Karla Porter, mother of four and owner of Nashville-based fruitiondesigns.com.
“Being a mom has always been respected, but it’s become more of a status thing—for instance, Hollywood has embraced it—so I think the cards just hit a chord,” Porter says.
