Tinyhood

What Tinyhood is

Tinyhood is an online class library for parents, covering pregnancy, birth, the first year and the toddler years. It is a learner product: expecting and new parents sign up for a membership, watch short expert-led video classes on their own schedule, and can join weekly live group sessions with other parents. The homepage greets visitors with "Kids don't come with a manual, but this is pretty close" and promises "Expert-led classes from pregnancy through parenthood."

The company, Tinyhood, Inc., describes itself on its own site as "the leading online learning platform offering classes to prepare, guide, and support you" and lists its subjects as "childbirth, infant & child CPR, breastfeeding, newborn care, sleep, and more." It stresses flexibility: "Classes are 100% online and 100% flexible." The stated aim is a day when parents everywhere will say, "Ok, we've got this."

What a membership includes

The homepage spells out what members get under "WHAT'S INCLUDED IN A MEMBERSHIP?":

• "On-demand classes for every stage of parenthood"
• "Instruction from leading certified experts with years of hands-on experience in their fields"
• "Downloadable class handouts, checklists and guides for easy reference"
• "Weekly live group sessions with certified experts and parents of same age kids"

Membership gives "full access to Tinyhood's class library", and classes are organized into featured collections: Expecting, Baby, Safety, Toddler, Breastfeeding, Introducing Solids, Grandparent Prep, Postpartum, Adoption and Baby 101 Prep. Three larger collections group the library by stage: the Expecting Collection, "From Birth to Baby"; the Baby Collection, "Baby’s First Year and Beyond"; and the Toddler Collection, covering "Development, Behavior, Sleep, Safety, Potty Training & More." When you sign up, the site asks for a due date or your child's birthdate, which it says it uses to personalize your experience.

The core courses

The company's course overview describes six named courses in some detail.

Childbirth 101: From Labor through Postpartum is presented as the newest course, a "100% online, watch-at-your-own-pace course" covering the weeks leading up to labor through postpartum recovery.

Baby 101: The Parenting Prerequisite is the flagship. It was "Designed by experienced parents and certified experts" as a crash course in "the most essential information, including video coursework in breastfeeding, sleep, safety, and newborn care." The site suggests taking it before the baby arrives and coming back to it later when you need it.

Safety 101: Infant & Child CPR (for 0-12 years) is described as the most-requested course. Tinyhood says it designed it "specifically for parents and caregivers" rather than as a traditional CPR course, focused on what to do in a choking or CPR emergency. The course description explains the emphasis with the line "Choking is a leading cause of death in children". It is "broken into short and digestible chapters, with easy to access downloadable guides and checklists."

Introducing Solids 101: From Purees to Baby-Led Weaning is taught by Vanessa, "a Registered Dietitian with a specialization in pediatrics." Parents watch a baby being introduced to solids, learn which first foods to offer, get current recommendations for introducing common food allergens, and compare the two feeding approaches, purées and baby-led weaning.

Infant Sleep 101: A Guide to Newborn & Infant Sleep offers suggested schedules, the components of "a safe and sleep-conducive environment", how to read a baby's sleep cues, soothing techniques for night wakings, tips for "the dreaded 4-month sleep regression", and an overview of different sleep training methods.

Baby Sign: How to Support your Baby's Communication Skills teaches parents to use baby sign language, which Tinyhood says can "accelerate communication skills AND reduce frustration with fewer meltdowns."

Tinyhood Sessions

The live part of the product is Tinyhood Sessions, billed as "Support groups for the modern parent." You "gather weekly with a small group that is going through a similar stage of life", ask real questions, and get guidance from fellow parents and "a certified, highly-regarded facilitator who has seen it all." Sessions also open the door to a virtual community and to Tinyhood's "roster of certified parenting specialists covering newborn care, sleep, breastfeeding, and more."

That combination matters for new parents. The recorded classes deliver the information, and the weekly group gives a place to raise questions about your own baby and meet people at the same stage.

Prices, discounts and the donation model

The homepage buttons read "Get Started for Free", and the site offers a preview of its classes. Membership prices themselves are not printed on the homepage. Tinyhood does publish its discounts: newsletter sign-ups receive a code for "15% off your first purchase", an offer "valid for new subscribers only", and a partner article offers "20% off a course of your choice" with a checkout code. That wording also shows that individual courses can be bought on their own as well as through membership.

The company runs a one-for-one model: "For every membership purchased, Tinyhood donates a membership to those in need." Memberships can also be bought as gifts, and the site publishes free expert articles alongside the classes.

For organizations

Tinyhood also sells to organizations. Its menus list offerings for employers, health plans, and health systems and providers, plus a page for consultants and an affiliate program.

What parents say

The homepage quotes three expecting parents. Kara, a first-time expectant parent, likes that "you can do it on your schedule, and you don't have to actually leave your house or drive somewhere" and that "you can go back and re-look at content." Tina, an expectant mom, writes that "The content is in meaningful, bite-sized pieces, which is perfect for busy moms-to-be." Molly, also expecting her first child, writes that the course showed her how much she had not known she needed to learn.

Who it suits

Tinyhood suits expecting parents who want to prepare before the baby arrives, at home and at their own pace, and new parents who need a quick, reliable refresher on sleep, feeding or safety in the middle of the first year. The infant CPR course is a practical buy for any parent, grandparent or caregiver, and the Grandparent Prep and Adoption collections show the library reaches beyond the birth parents. The weekly sessions suit parents who want company and live answers as well as videos.

It is a parenting education service, not medical care, so questions about a particular child's health still belong with a pediatrician. Parents who want an in-person childbirth class will want a local option alongside it.