The Web Site of All Mothers
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TRAFFIC on the Yahoo parents' group known as Peachhead, based in Los Angeles, slowed for a few hours last Sunday. One mother desperately needed a large portrait painted from a photograph of four children. Another was ballyhooing a...
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TRAFFIC on the Yahoo parents' group known as Peachhead, based in Los Angeles, slowed for a few hours last Sunday. One mother desperately needed a large portrait painted from a photograph of four children. Another was ballyhooing a Pacific Palisades dental office "where you get all kinds of spa services while you get your teeth worked on." The real action, however, was happening off line at a park in Culver City where more than 500 members of the group — some pushing expensive baby carriages, others in teeny Elmo T-shirts (and those were just the moms) — were stepping away from their computers for the fourth annual Peachhead Day. Peachhead is the offhand brainchild of Linda Perry, who started it to e-mail 15 friends in her new-mothers group after her daughter Amber was born in 1997. "None of us knew much about dealing with babies," said Ms. Perry, 41, who, with two children, is as exuberant as a high school cheerleader. The group now has 3,000 members, and Ms. Perry bookends her workdays as a secretary in a Santa Monica law office with hours at home in Venice spent answering posts and selecting new members. Unlike some of the larger sites for parents, like Urbanbaby.com and iVillage.com, Peachhead does not accept advertising or sponsors. Ms. Perry personally screens all members and monitors the discussion. This combination of factors has made her disproportionately powerful in the small community of businesses that serve affluent mothers on the fashionable West Side of Los Angeles. A rave or a thumbs-down from her can make or break, say, a children's hair salon or even a pediatric practice. This clout has made her the don to a kind of mommy mafia in the hyperattentive child-rearing circles. As the day began, Ms. Perry greeted people near a cake shaped like a stack of Dr. Seuss books and inscribed, "Dear Linda, Thank You for Peachhead!!!" Nearby, two Peachhead mothers, Judye Hendish and Leesa Zelkin, launched into an impromptu showdown about who had gotten more help from the group. "I got my housekeeper from Peachhead," Ms Hendish said. "Party-planning advice, tips on strollers and where to get the kids' underwear — " Ms. Zelkin interrupted: "The guy who built my backyard play structure. The woman who cleans for us on Fridays — and what an angel!" "Infertility advice," Ms. Hendish said. The women, who had never met before the event but knew each other intimately from Peachhead postings, noted that various warring factions had emerged in the group, and they cautiously peered around at name tags to see if any noncircumcisers or family-bed-sharers or anti-immunizers were lurking. The Peachheader they most hoped to meet was LimoBunny1, who set off a firestorm in April after venting about a "weird, rude encounter" with a Hollywood actress at a Beverly Hills passport office. Apparently, the actress didn't appreciate the fuss LimoBunny1 was making over her daughter, LimoBunny1's post said. The actress told LimoBunny1 that "the world doesn't revolve around your 3-year-old." LimoBunny1 shot back via Peachhead, saying the actress was "jealous of my gorgeous baby who was getting MORE attention than she was." Another post that had people talking was by a breast-feeding Malibu mother who "broke down" and had a cigarette the day her best friend died. Dozens of largely supportive responses followed, including one from a pediatrician who wrote, "no harm whatsoever ... from that one cigarette." But then someone posted a link suggesting that nicotine in breast milk could cause brain damage, and a second torrent of posts began. "Peachhead's about as up-to-the-second a picture as you can get of the thousand little things moms wonder and worry about in L.A.," said Ms. Perry, who admitted that even she was occasionally surprised by how picayune certain exchanges could be. "I'll log in first thing in the morning and see dozens of fresh posts about, like, clipping a baby's fingernails, and just go, 'Aye yi yi.' " Peachhead Day put faces to the mostly anonymous mothers (and the fewer fathers, including this writer) in the group, but it was also an opportunity for local businesses to pander openly to this highly critical and influential group of potential customers. As baffled-looking children watched demonstrations of baby sign language, representatives from Ben's Ranch, a home electronics company that helps Peachhead families link their iPods, Xboxes and home theater systems, were passing out FAQ sheets and push-up ice cream pops. At the tent for Snigglezoo, a boutique entertainment company, Bugaboo strollers were double-parked as John Lanza, its chief executive, pitched a DVD, "The Money Mammals," which uses dancing puppets to teach toddlers how to save and prudently spend their allowances. "We've seen kids watch the video and then save their ice cream change for later, so it definitely works," Mr. Lanza said. Nobody was getting more attention on Peachhead Day than Ms. Perry. Parents and children in peach-colored bracelets ($5 each, to help finance a commercial Peachhead Web site) posed with her for photographs or told her how grateful they were for the group. Ms. Perry's husband, Michael, a lawyer, stood off to one side in a Jimmy Buffett-style party shirt, looking slightly wary of all the fuss. "Linda, she's like a rock star, and she deserves it," he said, but he admitted she sometimes missed their favorite TV programs on nights she was deluged by new postings. (Mr. Perry inspired the group's name, a nod to one of his favorite Allman Brothers albums, "Eat a Peach.") He said he looked forward to the day Peachhead would be more than just a hobby for Ms. Perry, something he fully expected to happen given the community response to the group. Glancing over at Ms. Perry, who was being presented with toddler art made from pressed peach designs, Mr. Perry sighed. "Honestly, I always thought we'd retire based on my earnings as a lawyer," he said. "Seeing all this, I'm not so sure anymore. I think it's going to be her." By late afternoon, the Peachheaders were back at their keyboards. Some cheered Ms. Perry for an enjoyable day out, but mostly, the posts were classic Peachhead. One member wanted "end-of-season gift suggestions for Little League coaches." Another was having problems with soiled pull-up diapers. The next day, LimoBunny1, who had put in an appearance at the park, posted a note to say she had a crib mattress with a waterproof cover to give away. There were no immediate takers.
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Parents and children in peach-colored bracelets ($5 each, to help finance a commercial Peachhead Web site) posed with her for photographs or told her how grateful they were for the group.
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