A West Hartford dad and his business partner have launched Yellowbrick, a new website to help educate parents about important questions they may have about raising their children.

Matt Connell of West Hartford has partnered with John Christensen to launch the parent community Yellowbrick. Courtesy photo

By Cassidy Kotyla

A new source of parental guidance has recently emerged from West Hartford onto the internet scene, gaining attention from medical professionals and parents seeking advice all around the world.

Yellowbrick, a website dedicated to educating parents and facilitating important discussions about parenting and childhood, is gaining much attention.

The faces behind the site are Matt Connell, 41, of West Hartford and UConn professor John Christensen, 35. The pair created the site for the primary reason that there needed to be “a place to learn” from one another.

The site was named for the Wizard Of Oz’s “yellow brick road,” and intends to evoke images of a guide that will lead parents in the right direction in terms of the educational tools they need for parenting.

UConn professor John Christensen has partnered with Matt Connell to launch Yellowbrick. Courtesy photo

Yellowbrick is a fun way to interact and make life a bit easier at the same time.

The site is broken up into different sections. Parents can access various forum posts written by other parents and medical professionals such as licensed psychiatrists or child psychologists.

Parents can research and ask questions about a wide range of topics including parenting styles, tips, and tricks – as well as tough-to-discuss information like suicide prevention tips, drug abuse advice, and more. “Explaining police brutality to children” is the heading of one recent thread,” along with “When should my baby start sleeping in her own room.” The site even allows postings to be anonymous, for those who want their identity to remain private.

Yellowbrick also contains an “expert corner,” where licensed professionals can apply to become part of this program. When the experts post on the site, it lets the audience know about their background and qualifications.

But, the duo haven’t stopped at Yellowbrick’s existing capabilities. With approximately 7,000 monthly users already on board, Connell and Christensen are planning to expand their site to launch various courses that address parenting issues. These online courses, like “How To Start A Meaningful Conversation With Your Child,” will be taught by the same professionals already licensed to post on the site. Parents can sign up for a free membership and get notifications about when the classes will take place.

In the future, Yellowbrick also plans to team up with local non-profit organizations to give educational courses to mothers and families in need.

“This is not just the average social media site,” Christensen explained. “It’s a community-based site.”

For more information visit Yellowbrick.me.

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