Frequently Asked Questions

1. Personalization: While parents can turn to Google and ChatGPT for answers, we're personalizing the experience by taking into account historical conversations and data inputted by the parent. In this manner, if your child has had an ongoing challenge, we'll know the context and be able to address it accordingly. Likewise, by understanding each child's unique developmental progress, we're able to delivery personalized guidance and actionable activities.
   
   
2. Privacy: Integrity and Trust are critical to our team and mission. In fact, 'Ferocious Integrity' is one of our Corporate Values. That's why we've built the most secure communication platform using HIPAA standards, knowing that sensitive information about your child and family are important and secure in a deidentified manner. Trust is the backbone of our company.
   
   
3. User Behavior: We’ve surveyed thousands of parents and they currently turn to Dr. Google as their primary source for parenting information. After Google, they are more likely to turn to platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for answers, even before asking their pediatrician. Intrinsically, parents just want to ask a question and get a simple answer, but leaving that up to Dr. Google is a risk. This highlights the immediate need for trusted, accessible guidance from reliable sources. Parents of all ages share the desire for quick answers to their parenting questions. At Avocado Health, we have built the experience to feel like having a personalized coach—offering expert parenting guidance when it’s needed most.
   
   
4. Accessibility: User engagement + adoption drops off significantly when you ask them to sign up and open a mobile app. Access via text messaging is the simplest and most preferred form of communication, which is why we're building that first.
   
   
5. Convenience: Whether it's 2am in the morning and your baby isn't sleeping or 2pm in the afternoon and you're worried about your child's social media usage, questions pop into parents heads at all times of the day. However, a provider's schedule doesn't revolve around those instantaneous thoughts that occur at all times of the day. By bridging the gap between accessibility and validated, credible information, we're delivering the right information at the right time.
   
   
6. Multilingual Versatility: While we believe in-person care is paramount and the gold standard, we recognize not all providers have multilingual capabilities and cannot meet all the needs of parents. By being able to communicate in one's native language parents can freely express their questions and concerns without misinterpretation so that it can be properly addressed with the correct syntax.
   
   
7. Empathy: Knowing that parenting is tough, we've built specific language models to distill information with the correct amount of empathy and understanding. Knowing the journey can be lonely and challenging, all interaction with Avo comes across through a filter of empathy and understanding first and foremost. 

Employers will feel reassured knowing they have the support they need for all parents, not just those with young children. The end result is higher results on the bottom line. Benefits include:

• Improved employee focus and productivity at work
• Reduction in unnecessary doctor visits - to both primary and emergency rooms - lowering healthcare costs
• Higher retention rates and lower absenteeism rates
• Foster a culture of care that boosts morale, satisfaction and retention.

Avocado Health differs from other AI-generated content platforms across 4 primary factors: Personalization, Accessibility, Evidence-based Validation and Trust.

We are able to index a parent’s previous conversational history while at the same time collecting unique information about each child, personalizing the guidance based on their unique needs. If a child has been going through temper tantrums or can’t concentrate in the classroom, Avo responds with hyperpersonalized contextual feedback in the most accessible form factor.

In addition, our knowledge base of parenting resources are based on clinically-validated and evidence based research, all reviewed by our clinical team, meaning there’s no hallucination in the responses. By repeatedly being there, answering a parent’s questions at the right time, we earn our members trust over time. 

The reason we’re focused on text messages is simple: accessibility and convenience. Text messages receive a 98% open rate when compared with 25% on emails and even lower for push notifications from a mobile device. Furthermore, 90% of messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt, meaning text messaging is the best way to deliver the right information at the right time. Additional, busy parents are more likely to respond to a text message than an email or phone call, making texting ideal for urgent real-time communication. Finally, the concise nature of character limits ensures that any feedback is concise and to the point.

In summary, text messaging's high open and response rates, speed, accessibility, personalization capabilities, and versatility make it a powerful form of communication in both personal and professional contexts. Its ability to facilitate instant, engaging, and convenient communication has solidified its place as the best form of modern communication and the reason why we’ve adopted text messaging as our go to platform. In the future, however, we will be adding a mobile app and telehealth services. 

The onboarding process is simple: Employers adopt Avocado Health as a benefit, available to their employees. Once enrolled, a user’s phone number is registered with Avocado Health and they’ll receive an instant welcome message, introducing our service. Over the course of the first month, the parent-employee will receive a few onboarding messages introducing different aspects of our service and how it can best be used. From there, the parent-employee has unlimited, 24/7 access to ask any and all questions, no matter how big or small they may be. 

Parenting is a journey filled with constant learning, questions, challenges and adaptations. Some of the biggest questions parents grapple with include topics relevant to different life stages such as:

Early Childhood (0-5 years):

• Developmental milestones: Am I doing enough to support my child's development? Are they meeting milestones on track? How can I encourage their physical, cognitive, and emotional growth?
• Nutrition and health: What are the best foods to feed my child? How can I establish healthy eating habits? How do I handle common illnesses and ensure they receive proper medical care?
• Sleep: How can I help my child sleep through the night? Is their sleep pattern normal? How do I address sleep problems and establish good sleep hygiene?
• Discipline and behavior: What are effective discipline strategies for this age? How do I handle tantrums and challenging behaviors? How can I teach my child appropriate social skills?
• Childcare: What type of childcare is best for my child? How do I find quality care that meets our needs and budget? How do I balance work and childcare responsibilities?

Middle Childhood (6-12 years):

• Education and learning: How can I support my child's academic success? Are they facing any learning challenges? How do I help them develop good study habits and a love of learning?
• Social development and friendships: How can I help my child navigate friendships and social dynamics? How do I address bullying or peer pressure? How can I foster their self-esteem and confidence?
• Technology: How much screen time is appropriate? How do I manage technology use and ensure online safety? How can I teach my child responsible digital citizenship?
• Extracurricular activities: What activities are best suited for my child's interests and talents? How do I balance their schedule and avoid overscheduling?
• Family dynamics: How do I navigate co-parenting or blended families? How do I maintain a strong parent-child bond during this stage?

Adolescence (13-19 years):

• Identity and self-discovery: How can I support my teenager as they explore their identity and values? How do I encourage their independence while providing guidance and boundaries?
• Emotional well-being: How do I address mood swings and emotional challenges? How can I support their mental health and help them cope with stress and anxiety?
• Relationships and sexuality: How do I have open and honest conversations about relationships and sexuality? How can I provide accurate information and guidance on healthy relationships and consent?
• Risk-taking behaviors: How do I address risky behaviors like substance use, reckless driving, or unsafe online activity? How can I set clear expectations and consequences while maintaining open communication?
• College and career planning: How can I help my teenager explore their options for college or career paths? How do I support their decision-making process and prepare them for the future?

Emerging Adulthood (20-35 years):

• Launching into adulthood: How do I support my young adult as they transition to greater independence? How do I balance letting go with providing guidance and support?
• Financial responsibility: How do I teach my young adult about managing finances, budgeting, and responsible spending?
• Relationships and boundaries: How do I navigate evolving family dynamics and establish healthy boundaries?
• Higher education and career: How do I support their pursuit of higher education or career goals?
• Health and well-being: How do I encourage healthy habits and responsible decision-making regarding their physical and mental health?

Throughout all stages:

• Communication: How can I maintain open and honest communication with my child? How do I create a safe space for them to share their thoughts and feelings?
• Love and connection: How do I express love and affection in ways that are meaningful to my child? How do I foster a strong parent-child bond?
• Values and morals: How do I instill values and morals in my child? How do I guide them to become responsible and ethical individuals?
• Self-care: How do I prioritize my own well-being while raising a child? How do I manage stress and avoid burnout?

Yes, absolutely. While children go through similar challenges and developmental growth, as parents ourselves, we know that every individual and situation is unique. That’s why we’ve purposely built our platform to curate and tailor answers and guidance based on a parent’s unique situation. Furthermore, we know parenting is tough and we strive to lead with empathy across every step of the way. 

It's important to emphasize that all information and guidance is for general knowledge and empowerment purposes only, and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice. Parents should always consult with their child's healthcare provider for any concerns about their health, especially in the case of an emergency.

That said, having talked with hundreds of pediatricians, some common challenges that can be triaged from home include the common cold, mild fevers, minor cuts and scrapes, mild diarrhea, insect bites/stings and mild rashes. These are just a handful of the many issues that can keep a parent-employee away from the workforce if a visit to the doctor is deemed necessary. Like Ken from the movie Barbie, many times parents are enough - they just need to be empowered with the right information at the right time. 

We’re glad you asked and if you’re an employer or a benefits consultant, we’d love to have a conversation. What we can say is that we offer very competitive pricing when compared across similar benefits for parent employees. Unfortunately, at this time, we are only offering our services to employer organizations but we plan to expand our offerings in the future. If interested, let’s chat!