
Long before The Kids were born, I would regularly send emails to friends and families updating them on what we were doing and sharing a picture or two. It would have been fun to share those times with you, however, unfortunately, all that correspondence is gone.
When The Kids came along, I wanted to capture their milestones and put them into words and pictures. In turn, Journeys of The Zoo was born. Having the blog has really worked for me, however, not so much for my Family or for Privacy. When I heard about a Canadian company called HiMama, I knew that I wanted to share them with you.
What is HiMama and How Do I Get Started?
HiMama is a Toronto based company whose goal is to create innovative ways for parents, caregivers and others to record, share and relive a child’s moments. By providing an easy way to capture and share loved ones’ moments, you can receive smiles and experience events as they happen. We’re not the only one that thought it was a good idea because since 2012, their customers have captured over 1.3 million moments.
Getting started is easy and free! Go to HiMama’s website, “Request an Invite”, Create a Journal (for each child or in our case, I created one for both kids), customize your “crew members” privileges and in less than 5 minutes, you and your crew members can start creating activities. Upload a picture, video or even just text. There are no limitations on file size or the number of activities you can add.
If others are allowed to add activities, you can clearly see who added them and receive an email when they do. This email functionality is one feature that really drew me to the application. I love that it can send members (like my Mother-In-Law), an email about a new event prompting her to visit the journal. For her, it’s easier to navigate than a blog and she doesn’t have to read an entire blog post that may or may not have a picture of The Kids. The bonus, people can leave comments. The Kids will really appreciate this once they start to read.
Can You Integrate with Caregivers?
Yes. If you’re a working parent and your caregiver subscribes to HiMama you can also get updates about your kid’s activities throughout the day. For the little ones, you get informed about essentials like fluid intake, meals and sleep times. As your child transitions into preschool and kindergarten, you start getting more information about what they’re learning.
HiMama replaces uninspiring written daily sheets with a personalized touch that you can view via email, the HiMama website and HiMama’s mobile apps. Receive instant updates with photos and videos during the workday, which can help alleviate anxiety about how your little one’s doing and can provide a good little pick-me-up during those down times at work!
What About Internet Safety?
One of the first questions I asked was what about internet safety. Ron, the Founder assured me that The Kids identity, pictures and milestones were secure. Since I am not extremely technical, I found this document on their website about Internet Safety very useful.
Another thing he told me that I wasn’t aware of was that all pictures posted to your Facebook Account are implicitly granting Facebook a worldwide license to use those pictures even if they’re private!?
Like everyone else, I’m busy. However, since I already share the pictures via multiple social media platforms, taking an extra two minutes to add a picture to the Kids HiMama Journal isn’t too much. And the value added in having their Grandparents involved in their day-to-day lives is Priceless.
Do You Share Your Child’s Milestones with Loved Ones?
Disclosure: Journeys of The Zoo received compensation in exchange for sharing our story with you.
I love this program!~ Its like a baby book but online!! Too Cool! Thanks
neat idea!
Jessica recently posted…Book Three Blank.
I’d like to give it a test run.
FB is seeming more and more sinister these days, isn’t it?
Thanks for the cool new techie toy idea.
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Dear Peady,
I had no idea that Facebook had those rights but I’m not surprised.
I’ve already shared The Kids journal with Family and it’s a success!
Besos, Sarah
Sarah recently posted…I Should Lie More To My Kids
That is really a cool idea. My poor kids only got a baby book 🙂
Christy Maurer recently posted…$25 Amazon Gift Code Giveaway Back to School Blog Hop Open WW Ends 8/31
Daughter loves this sight for the grandchildren.
not heard of this before but will let others know about it.
I know my mom and my hubby’s parents would appreciate something like this. I have to look into it more as I am otherwise hesitant about posting pics online.
I hadn`t heard of this program before, but it`s a neat idea.
very interesting
Love this Sarah! What a great platform to share & record family moments.
Emily Smith // The Best of this Life recently posted…Win a Gift Card and Get More Rewards for Back to School Shopping! #rbcrewards101
I tried scrapbooking and after 1 page gave up. This would be a cute way to share photos and moments that we don’t want everyone to see.
Great idea!
Will pass this onto my daughter, she will love it
Thanks for this, I didn’t think it was worth it bc of FB but, I realize more and more that I don’t want to post kids pics to FB anymore.. I like this!
What an interesting concept!
I love this idea. Sharing photos safely with family. The Facebook thing scares me. I might just take down all my children’s pictures.
Maria medeiros recently posted…Possibilities
This sounds like a great website! Especially when family members are far away from each other!
This sounds like a super fun app! I love what you made 🙂
Dear Amanda,
Thank you. It was fun and really easy to update. My MIL is loving it. If she’s happy, I’m happy 🙂
Besos, Sarah
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Very neat!! Iam going to sign up and join. Looks great for all my family photos. Thanks!
Dear Amy,
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. The best part is that the service is FREE so nothing lost, only gained.
Besos, Sarah
Sarah recently posted…Explore Your Kids Artistic Interests at the Art Gallery of Ontario #Toronto
It loos like a great, and more secure way of sharing family pics with others. Like it
I am old enough to remember always getting double prints, so that photos could be sent via snail mail to grandparents and friends!
I’ll definitely be checking out himama! Never heard of it, but I’d love to learn more…
Great concept
So, I’ve finally set up my account and it looks great – I think this will be really useful for my mother who can’t see my FB photos – I can just add her to our ‘crew’ and away we go! Thanks for sharing this – it looks awesome!
Dear Rene,
Yes, perfect to share with Grandparents and people without Facebook!
Besos, Sarah
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Thanks for sharing,this looks great.Will sign up soon
I send photos via snail mail to my family members who do not have a computer or who do not have access to certain friends on facebook. ( There are really people out there who, for whatever reason, do not have a computer). These family members seem to love pictures, especially those of our Great grands who are really cute and know how to milk a photo op!