A letter from the CEO
The day my first daughter was born, I lay in the hospital room, resisting the urge to soothe her as she tossed and turned in her plexiglass bassinet. The nurse reassured me: “It’s okay, let her fuss. You need your rest.” I picked her up and held her close. Moments later, she was fast asleep. I’d been a father for only two hours, but I already knew what to do.
I became a father the same year my dad died. Like all caregivers, my parents were imperfect, yet my dad’s passing left an enormous void. I found myself lacking a parental role model and an ideology to guide my path as I began thinking differently about my religious traditions as an adult. Like many parents, I felt adrift at sea, searching for my North Star.
My journey mirrors a significant societal shift. As the rhythm of human life accelerates, we outsource our parenting instincts to experts and authors to help us make sense of raising children in the modern world. The irony is stark: amid this overflow of parenting resources and information, we witness a pervasive sense of anxiety among parents and escalating mental health crises in children. We are torn between external sources of information and our natural parenting instincts, disconnecting us from our children and intuition.
Generation after generation, we’ve been told we’re not equipped to parent. Somewhere along the way, we started to believe it. This realization and juxtaposition birthed Era.
Era serves as a mirror, reflecting and enhancing your natural parenting instincts. It adapts to the nuances of your family life, respecting the individuality of each member. It is a companion in your journey, offering support that aligns with your values and the challenges of modern parenting while fostering healthy, meaningful relationships.
Our mission is to rekindle trust in your parenting instincts — not simply provide another set of guidelines. Through blending proven attachment theory strategies and AI-driven personalization, Era helps you see and understand your child’s individuality, encouraging a deep and authentic connection.
Era stands as a testament that the wisdom to raise our children lies within us, honed by generations of caregivers long before the age of information overload. My first hours of fatherhood planted a powerful belief that parents are naturally equipped to raise our children, just as our ancestors were before us. Era is born from my personal experience as a parent navigating the loss of my dad before the birth of my child, and the realization that amid the noise of external advice, the most resonant guidance comes from within.
Era is a call to action to trust ourselves again. It’s an invitation to step away from the overwhelming noise and rediscover our inherent capacity to parent with wisdom, love, and intuition.
— Joshua Iwata, CEO, Parent Lab
