Alt-Ctrl Parenting

"Lots of families struggle with managing their lives," says Nanny's Circle founder Gwen Freer, who has a master's degree in education and a bachelor's in psychology. "We see our children far less than ever before."

Solution . . . parenting by computer?

But members seem to love it. Karen Brieant, a mom in Camillus, N.Y., signed up her daughter Lauren, 13, while leaving Lauren's twin brother Nanny-free so she'd have a base line for the program's success. "The idea was, let's get more organized so you can do [chores] without us talking about it," says Brieant.

"There was a lot of nagging" pre-Nanny, Lauren says. "Now she doesn't have to do that. I think it's more fun to go on the computer anyway."

Now, when the Brieants do talk, the conversation focuses less on bickering about what did or did not get done, "and more, 'Hey, how was track? How was practice?' " says Brieant.

It seems, to Mom, anyway, that Lauren does her chores more readily. It's actually pleasant.

Beth Dawson, an interior designer in Old Saybrook, Conn., originally subscribed to Nanny's Circle just to manage her two children's schedules. McKenzie, 8, plays soccer and has a "very full" social calendar. "Charlie is more of my intellectual," says Dawson. "He's experimenting with chess."

Charlie is 6.

Dawson, too, has noticed a decrease in family discord in the few weeks they've been using Nanny's Circle.

She doesn't have to hassle them. Nanny does.

"We're streamlining the parenting process," Dawson says.

There was a time (forever?) when "mom" was synonymous with "nag," when memories of our folks were one part fuzzy and two parts "Yes, that means drying the dishes, too."

Those exhausting parts of parenting seemed to be part and parcel of the other, rewarding stuff. Compartmentalizing the job, making the computer be the bad cop? What a relief.

And yet, one wonders about the outcomes.

Call the Nanny's Circle headquarters in North Carolina and you are met with the greeting, "Welcome to Nanny, your place for family harmony and organization."

That place, apparently, requires separate laptops.