Frequently asked questions

It takes a village to raise a child — and that village has disappeared. Familou brings it back. Here, you arrive with a question, a doubt, a sleepless night, and you find parents who have been there, reliable knowledge and good addresses near you. You receive help, then you give it in turn.

For you, whatever your children’s ages and whatever your family looks like. Parents-to-be, parents of a newborn or a teenager, blended or single-parent families: the village is here for everyone. We don’t judge anyone, and we never pit “good” against “bad” parents.

Yes, the essentials are free and always will be: reading the knowledge, asking and answering questions on The Square, exploring the address book, creating your account. An optional subscription unlocks all our in-depth knowledge and, above all, helps keep the village independent. Learn more about the subscription.

No, and that is not its role. Familou gathers parents’ experiences and knowledge to help you see more clearly, never to make a diagnosis. If you have any doubt about your child’s health or safety, talk to a professional (doctor, paediatrician, midwife…). In an emergency, call 144.

Familou doesn’t live off advertising or selling your data. The village runs thanks to the parents who subscribe to support it. That’s what lets us stay free and at the service of families, and no one else.

In-depth articles to understand what you’re going through: sleep, feeding, emotions, developmental stages… We grow with them, too. Open Knowledge.

The news that matters to families, filtered for you. You already have enough on your mind: Familou keeps what can really change a decision or flag a risk, and leaves the rest aside. See the news.

Dossiers that bring together, around one theme, the knowledge and landmarks that help when a question stays with you for a while. Explore the big topics.

The beating heart of the village: where you ask your questions and other parents answer, without judgement. Here, the village answers you. Go to The Square.

Places to discover, outings, health professionals, childcare and leisure near you — recommended and enriched by families. Your village may be right next door. Discover the address book.

A question in mind, a situation, a place? Write what’s on your mind: search looks through Knowledge, News, The Square and the address book all at once. Start a search.

To understand why Familou exists and what we believe. Read our story.

Go to the Create an account page, enter your first name, email and a password. You’ll then receive an email to activate your account: open it and click the link. Until you do, your account stays pending.

No. Creating an account is completely free and already gives you access to The Square, the address book and most of the knowledge.

On the login page, click “Forgot password?” and enter your email. If an account exists, you’ll receive a link to choose a new password (at least 8 characters).

From your member space, under “Account and security”. For email, a confirmation link is sent to the new address: the change only takes effect once you’ve clicked it.

No, your information stays private by default. In your profile, you choose what the village can see (photo, bio, links…). Sensitive information — like your date of birth or details about your children — is encrypted and never shown without your consent.

From “Account and security”, at the very bottom. Deletion is permanent: your personal data is erased and your contributions anonymised. We ask for your password to confirm.

It’s your personal space in the village: the best of the site gathered for you, your exchanges, your bookmarks and your profile. You reach it once logged in, from your member space.

It’s your personalised home page: the knowledge, news and questions from The Square that matter most to you, including good addresses near you.

From “My community” or from a parent’s profile, you can follow the faces that matter to you. You’ll then find their questions and answers more easily.

Yes, if you’d like to. Introduce them to the village (first name, date of birth, a few words) and Familou will suggest the right knowledge and addresses. This information is encrypted and its visibility is set child by child: nothing is shared without your consent.

Everything is tidied away in your member space: your bookmarks, your answers on The Square, your ratings of good addresses and your comments (the “voices of the village”).

On The Square, click “Ask my question”, give it a clear title, describe your situation and add a few tags to help others find it. You need to be logged in to ask a question.

Open a question and share what you’ve experienced. You don’t need the perfect answer: often, just knowing you’re not alone already helps enormously. You can also like a question or an answer to support it.

They show where the discussion stands: New has just been posted, Needs help is still waiting for answers, Solved has found an answer that fits. The author can mark their question as solved, reopen it, and choose the best answer.

Yes. The “Parents you follow” filter shows only the questions and answers of the parents you follow — handy for keeping in touch with the people who matter to you.

Yes, for a while after posting it, you can edit it. A discussion can also be closed: you can no longer reply to it, but it stays readable.

In the village, tidying tags is a helping hand you earn over time. When you post your own question, you freely choose its tags. Helping tidy the tags of other people’s questions — adding a missing tag, or removing one that doesn’t belong — becomes possible as the village gets to know you: first adding, then, a little later, removing, which is more delicate. Moderators can always do it. That’s why the option appears some days and not others: it comes with the trust you build by being present, never with a score.

Every question and every answer can be reported. When several parents report the same message, it’s automatically set aside until a moderator looks at it. The Square is moderated so it stays a safe and kind place.

Each badge tells a moment when you brought the village to life: a helping hand, a useful tip, a good address shared. They’re markers of a journey, not rewards to collect.

Simply by taking part, at your own pace: helping on The Square, sharing knowledge or good addresses, being present over time. Some badges are also awarded by hand by the team, as a special thank-you.

Yes. You can pin up to two badges on your profile, one per badge family, keeping the most recent of a given path. The others remain to be discovered as village life unfolds.

No, absolutely not. There’s no score, no level, no competition between parents. Badges tell a story — yours — never a performance. No one is “better” than anyone else in the village.

A living address book, kept by families: places to discover, outings, services and helpful professionals around you. You can filter by family amenities (changing table, pram access…) and search around a town, within the radius that suits you. See the address book.

From the address book, click “Suggest a good address” and fill in the listing. It’s reviewed by a moderator before appearing, to keep the book’s quality.

From your member space, under “My pro page”. There you present your activity, your services and your opening hours. The page goes through review before becoming visible to the village.

No: your page stays free in every case. A pro subscription doesn’t determine its presence — it only adds a highlight (at the top of results) and consultation statistics. It showcases your page; it doesn’t make it possible.

It’s up to you. If you’d like, you can make an address visible from your member space: it then appears only to village members, never to visitors.

From a parent’s profile, you can send them a private message. Your exchanges are encrypted and are found under “My messages”, in your member space.

Yes. In your settings, you decide: open (anyone can write to you), on request (a first message becomes a request to accept — people you follow go straight through), or closed. A daily limit on new conversations protects everyone from spam.

Yes, for about thirty minutes after sending, you can retract a message.

From a conversation, you can hide it, block the person or report them. A hidden exchange comes back if the person writes to you again; a block, on the other hand, ends the exchange.

It unlocks access to all our in-depth knowledge and, above all, it helps Familou live: without advertising, without selling data, at the service of families. Subscribing means keeping the village alive. See the subscription.

You choose the rhythm that suits you: monthly or yearly, with the same access either way (yearly works out as two months free). The exact price is shown on the Subscription page.

By card or TWINT. With a card, the subscription renews automatically. With TWINT there’s no automatic renewal: it’s a one-off payment, and we let you know before it expires so you can decide whether to continue.

At any time, from “My subscription” in your member space, you can stop the renewal (you keep access until the end of the period already paid) and reactivate it whenever you like.

Yes. The change of plan takes effect at the next renewal: nothing is charged today, and you can change your mind before it renews.

Yes. Payments go through Stripe, a specialised provider: Familou never sees and never stores your card number.

The detailed terms are on the Subscription terms page.

Familou is designed to protect families. Sensitive information (such as dates of birth or details about your children) is encrypted. When you share a photo, the hidden data it contains (location, device…) is automatically removed before publishing.

Only if you decide so. By default, everything about your children is private and encrypted. You set the visibility child by child.

Wherever you see a question, an answer or a message, you can report it. The team and the village watch together to keep Familou a safe place.

The village speaks French, English and German. To switch, click the globe at the very bottom of any page and pick yours — you’ll land on the equivalent page. Our content is translated over time: if a page doesn’t exist yet in a language, that language appears dimmed in the menu.

Yes. Familou comes with two display modes: “Soft” and “High contrast”. To switch, click the small circle next to the globe, at the very bottom of any page — no account needed. If you’re a member, your choice is saved with your profile: you’ll find it again on any device, and you can also set it in My account.

“Soft” is the village’s original face: sandy and coral tones, delicate inks. “High contrast” shows exactly the same pages, but with bolder text, clearly outlined form fields and a visible marker when you navigate with the keyboard. Small print, bright sunlight, tired eyes or simply your preference: give it a try — switching back takes one click.

We take this seriously. The “High contrast” display meets level AA of the international accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1): every text colour is verified, keyboard navigation comes with a visible focus marker, and form fields are clearly outlined. It’s available from every page, without an account. The “Soft” display favours the village’s original mood: some of its contrasts are deliberately gentler. Something getting in your way? Write to us — accessibility, like everything else here, gets better when we work on it together.

Sign up for “The village letter” from the bottom of the page. We share, soberly, stories and useful landmarks — nothing more, promise.

Two paths: ask other parents on The Square, or write to us directly. In the village, you never stay alone with your question.