MOTHER SPECIAL.................. Mum’s the word

Mum’s the word Even exceptional multitaskers could do with a helping hand sometimes. So, here are six online resources for the ladies who work selflessly and tirelessly for you in the background WORLD MOMS BLOG The WMB connects mothers from over 20 countries who blog about their daily experiences at home and at work, covering a wide range of topics, from motherhood and culture, to human rights and social work.     India-based Purnima Ramakrishnan, for instance, has written about a group of pre-teen boys in Chennai who started their own sports club. In fact, this stay-at-home mother was recently invited by the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies to travel to Brazil and cover human stories from the South American country.     Similarly, US native Kim — writing under her nom de plume of Mama Mzungu or “white mama” — blogs about her humanitarian work and the travails of raising two boys in Kisumu, Kenya.     Then there’s Susie Newday, a New Yorker working as an oncology nurse in Israel, who shares the ups and downs of working with outpatients in Tel Aviv.     Browsing through this weblog is like walking in their shoes: as a nurse, a teacher, an international lawyer, a social worker. Simply put, this collaborative effort is a great resource that raises public awareness for social causes that are actively championed by these moms. www.worldmomsblog.com CIRCLE OF MOMS Circle of Moms is an online community of over seven lakh members who exchange tips, how-tos and advice on parenting, single motherhood, education, recipes, relationships, family time and more. There’s even a section dedicated on how to keep your sanity (yes, really).     There are communities for working as well as stayat-home mothers; for moms from specific cultural backgrounds, or with children in a particular age group. The list is exhaustive — adoption, spouse fitness, diet, special needs, etc. — and user interaction is high. All you need to do is register and join the communities that interest you.     If needed, you can create your own community and invite others to join and share anecdotes. And it doesn’t always have to be about parenting – you can also join hobby groups that could be about a specific television show, music, books, art, and pets. www.circleofmoms.com MAKERS While Makers is not strictly about mothers, it is about women who have made a mark in arts, politics, music, science and tech, sports, business, education and more.     Here you will find inspirational videos and interesting posts, including the one about fourteen accomplished women — like singer Susan Boyle — who had been diagnosed with autism; Reshma Saujani and her NYbased organisation that teaches girls to code, NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson who calculated the flight path of the first American space mission, etc. You can sign up for the newsletter, create an account to upload your own Maker Story and even create a playlist of your favourite videos. www.makers.com COZI If there’s any organising or planning that has to be done at home, it’s usually the mater who does it, but even mommies could use a helping hand.     Cozi is a neat calendar and task-planning app that every family member needs to have installed on their smartphone. Login using a single ID, and each and every member in the group can view a unified calendar, to-do tasks, grocery lists and even journal entries.     When you run out of toiletries, for example, just add items to the list of things to buy and everybody gets to see the update. Entries are colour-coded so you know who has added an item to the app. Import your phone’s calendar and everyone in the group will also know your schedules, friend’s birthdays and school functions. You can even e-mail the week’s agenda to the entire family. Now, nobody will be able to make excuses about forgetting to pay bills, buy groceries, or even attend an uncle’s birthday party. Where: www.cozi.com Available for: Android, iOS | Free LIFE360 If you are in the habit of calling to find out where your kids are, then install Life360 on their smartphones. It’s a family locator app that lets you add family members to “circles” to track their whereabouts throughout the day. It also doubles as a navigating tool: Create a temporary circle, and you can add the friends you are going to meet and use the tracker to follow their route to the destination. All through the journey, you can also have one-onone chats with members in the circle.     More importantly, this app also includes an alert button that raises an alarm on all the members’ phones, informing them of an emergency with a call, text message and location coordinates – a must-have app for peace of mind. Where: www.life360.com  Available for: Android, iOS | Free MYFITNESSPAL CALORIE COUNTER Mothers have to juggle hectic schedules and deal with stress all the time. This is why it is extremely important they keep a tab on their own health. With MyFitnessPal Calorie Counter, mommies will be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle and also manage her family’s diet regimen.     This app lets you plan your diet and even keeps a track of what you eat. When you sign up, it first asks for details such as your height, current weight, target weight, type of job – and accordingly builds a profile with how many calories you should be consuming each day.     Just add whatever you eat into the Calorie Counter by searching for the meal — including Indian dishes — or ingredients. You can then view the day’s summary or your weekly consumption to check your progress.     Don’t forget to add your family members into your group so that you can encourage each other to follow a healthier lifestyle. Where: www.myfitnesspal.com  Available for: Android, BB, iOS, WP 7.5 | Free

ashutosh.desaiTL140511