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Once upon a time, five fathers read a bedtime tale every night
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent07.07.09
Five fathers who feared they were missing out on reading bedtime stories to their children have come up with a hi-tech solution.
They have combined their skills in audio editing, advertising and computers to create a website that allows parents to record stories with music and sound effects.
The venture was sparked by a dinner party conversation when they realised they were losing time with their children — they have 11 between them — because of work.
And after years of development, FiveDads.com has launched with 15 tales ready for recording for fees between £4.95 and £6.95.
The stories include The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood. The company is in talks with publishers to make more available.
The software provides a text to be recorded and guides the narrator through. Users can adjust sound levels to merge the story with effects and music, delivered as an MP3 file to download.
Chris Coombs, 44, an audio editor who lives in Kingston, had the idea of recording stories for his daughter, Laura, now 11, when he had to go to Canada after the 9/11 attacks.
He said: “We realised we could be providing something for people to make a connection with their children that otherwise they could never have.”
Scott Paton, 45, who lives in Oxfordshire, quit his advertising job in London to concentrate on the venture. He said: “I used to spend my life on aeroplanes and I thought it would be a great thing to do for my kids. We thought if this worked for us, it would work for other people.”
