Your partner is pregnant. Congratulations! And now it’s time to pack.
I’ve already written about the idea of “dadchelor” parties where men preparing for a major life-changing moment. Now an BSFG Travel Network has gone a step further with BabyShowerForGuys.com, which is basically a site for planning a trip with your friends along with a lot of other content on male parenting.
What follows is an e-mail interview with Nick Scappini, the company’s co-founder and CEO.
When did you know the idea of a “dadchelor party” had reached a big enough tipping point that a site like BabyShowerForGuys.com made sense?
It actually happened the other way around. I had my first “baby shower for guys” six years ago when my wife was pregnant with our first child. To me it seemed like a golden opportunity to get away with my buddies and celebrate in a guys’ way – not with diaper games and baby gifts. Ever since, my group of friends has had at least one dadchelor party every year, and somewhere during the last few years, I was inspired to create a company around making it easier for expectant fathers to plan their own celebrations.
Fate has been on our side. The trend of dadchelor parties became mainstream right in time with the timing of our launch.
A major feature on the site is an area that helps men make the “business case” for a trip to their wife or partner. How long before planning a trip like this becomes an accepted an routine part of men preparing for fatherhood?
Our aim is to create a brand new holiday for men: a baby shower for guys. Of course this can only happen if a man’s better half is on board with the idea. Because our site also includes content focused on parenting, relationships, childbirth and other topics relevant to new parenthood, we believe women will see why it is so important for dads to have their own resources and more importantly, their own way of celebrating their part in bringing a life into the world.
I think the sea change is already happening, and within the next five years, a baby shower for guys’ getaway will be as common and accepted as the traditional bachelor party.
How would you profile the kind of visitor/audience BabyShowerForGuys.com will attract, and over the long term, how do you see the demographic changing?
Our primary demographic for this site is men ages 21-40 years. There are 5 million expectant fathers in the U.S., and our site is created for them. Long term, we envision the site becoming a regular source of articles and entertainment for fathers, men considering fatherhood, their friends, and their partners.
If a guy felt uneasy or embarrassed about the idea of BabyShowerForGuys.com, what would you tell them?
Man, you have no idea what you are missing! Becoming a father is an exciting but stressful time for most guys, and in order to be a supportive partner, you have to be at the top of your game. Nothing better than a golf weekend, fishing trip or great seats at a bowl game to recharge and refocus in preparation for the chaos that a new baby brings into a family.
How do you see the Internet changing the way men see themselves as fathers?
Fatherhood has changed drastically for this generation of fathers. Most dads today are much more hands on and directly involved in child rearing than the average father in our parents’ generation. There are more pressures and responsibilities now; but there are also many more resources.
The internet has enabled dads to share information amongst each other with blogs and social media, making it easier to educate ourselves about parenting, and thus be more confident about fulfilling our role as husband or partner and father. BabyShowerForGuys.com will build upon that, providing community, information, advice and travel deals specifically designed for dads and making it easier to celebrate fatherhood.
