About Us

HelpingFamily.com is a collaboration of ideas and people that are coming together to help one another. Thanks to the volunteer help of some really great people, HelpingFamily.com is being launched and we are excited to watch it grow into it’s full potential. Please see our Catch The Vision page to learn how you can help.

Our Story:
It all started when we were at a Del Taco in Anaheim California with our toddler (now 13). He was in his “pull ups” and needed to use the bathroom. It would be my job to take him. Upon entering the restroom I found it totally gross and couldn’t do anything regarding parenting and potty training. It was an unbelievably frustrating experience. Unfortunately, that type of experience would be repeated many times in food establishments in the upcoming years.

To add to our frustrations, we discovered that almost every high chair in every restaurant from Carl’s Jr., to Wendy’s, to McDonalds, to Taco Bell, to Denny’s, and more, had broken seat belts. So a squirmy kid had as much chance at falling out of his/her high chair and getting hurt as actually eat those chicken nuggets.

As we would experience different restaurant’s “kids meals”, we quickly learned that some places “get it” and some simply don’t. When the bean & cheese burrito kids meal combo is made with a green tortilla and hot sauce, you know “they don’t get it”. When your child won’t eat her dinner because the chicken nugget meal is made with “spicy chicken” that would make a parent reach for the Tums, you know they haven’t thought to research what entails a kid’s menu.

We began to think that if only there was a way to collaborate as families and bring unified change (or at least warning).

A few years ago my family wanted to have a mini-getaway at the Disneyland hotel for my wife’s birthday. Although it is a bit pricy for us, we wanted to do something special. When calling the hotel I learned that I was going to have to purchase two rooms because we have four children. Next, they informed me that they could not guarantee that these two rooms would be adjoining. Further, the woman politely explained that it is possible that these two rooms might even be on separate floors. I can’t tell you how I felt when I learned that the “family friendly Disneyland hotel” couldn’t accommodate a family with four children without separating us. We did not make the reservation. (We still love the Disneyland theme park though. I will tell you why elsewhere in the website.)

In our own experiences and in talking to others, we learned that some institutions want to be known as family friendly but aren’t. Others honestly don’t even want our kids there. My wife & I began to talk more about how families can unite. Further, we feel that those that are doing it right should be rewarded by our business, acknowledgement, and support.

As my children are getting older, I am finding it increasingly difficult to simply buy stuff at Walmart and Target without exposing them to pictures on magazine covers that send messages that are contrary to what is healthy for children their age to be pondering. One month, some of the magazine covers were especially exposing. When I asked the manager at our local Target if we might be able to select one checkout isle that could be safe for families with children, she looked at me as though I were crazy. Nothing changed.

Many parents select television shows for their families to watch based on the ratings. However, I have been completely shocked by some of what “Fox Family” and “ABC Family” call family shows. With so many video games, comic books, and movies, parents can not preview it all. Together we can help each other and possibly influence what comes out.

As a pastor, I work with people who have struggles in marriage and parenting. I have learned that the challenges that most people face are pretty common. People need training, help, and support in these critical areas of life. I believe that societal ills such as the current drug epidemic, gang violence, various addictions, relationship problems, ethical dysfunction, and our educational crisis, can be best remedied in the home.

This is part of our family story. Each of us have our own story. Your opinions and experiences are most valued here. Much of this site is meant to be user driven and conversational. We look forward to benefiting from what you have to say. While it is not expected that opinions expressed in this site would always be in agreement, we do ask that all posts be respectful, “family safe & appropriate” for a diversity of readers, and HELPFUL.

Thank you for investing the time to be with us at HelpingFamily.com . We hope that you will join us regularly on this website and that you find it beneficial for your life. We also hope that this might be a place where you can be a help and blessing to others: Helping Families Helping Each Other. Please let us know how we can serve you better.

` Sincerely, Dan & Shelley Nelson
owners/founders, HelpingFamily.com