When Brit Matt Connolly’s mother asked him to help her find her “knight in shining armor,” a new online dating platform was born. After Connolly browsed some of the available outlets and found them too impersonal, he decided to start his own dating site—one designed specifically with older adults in mind. He sees MyLovelyParent.com as a way for older singles to find companionship, even if they are not totally comfortable making dates online at their age.

“One of the roles, a really vital role the child has, is saying digital can help you meet new people, Web sites are good,” Connolly told the Guardian.

And MyLovelyParent does just that by allowing adult children to sign up their parents. After the profile is registered, it is emailed to the parent to accept before being activated.
But the online dating guidance doesn’t end there. The adult children can also browse through the available matches for their parents.

“So I can have a look at all the handsome chaps who live nearby who are into dog-walking and have great big beards, whatever it is, and if I see somebody lovely, I am able to then view his profile and recommend him to my mum,” Connolly said.

The parents can choose how much or how little they want their children involved with the process, adjusting settings that allow whether or not the offspring are alerted when the parent receives a private message or favorites a potential match.

Connolly guarantees that all profiles are checked and vetted before going online, so children needn’t worry about throwing their dear ol’ mum or pops into a shark pool. Plus, profiles are only visible to other members and personal email addresses are not shared.

In order to encourage membership, the first three months are free. Currently, in fact, the site is trying to boots is male membership and has launched the “Older Gent Academy.” Each father signed up will receive free membership “for as long as they need to meet that someone special.”

“Older dads can often find it difficult to form new relationships in later life,” Connolly told the Daily Mail. “Many can become very set in their ways and lose the confidence and courage to meet new people. But it doesn’t have to be like this. The Academy gives single dads the chance of a new look, new skills and a new start.”