Parenting Resources

Please check out our extensive Parenting Collection in the Children's Department.

Below are some of the subjects included in our Parenting Collection. Check the Library Catalog for more specific information.

Adoption
Baby Names
Behavior
Breastfeeding
Child Care
Child birth
Cookbooks and Nutrition
Education
Fatherhood
Fertility
Games
Grand-parenting
Growth and Physical Development
Health and Safety
Homeschooling
Parenting Picture Books
Pregnancy Pre- & Post-Natal Exercise
Psychology
Reading
School Readiness
Toilet Training

You can find the following magazines in our parenting collection.

Family Fun
Home Education
Mailbox
Parent & Child
Parents
Practical Homeschooling
Working Mother

Some useful Parenting Links organized by subject:

Child Safety

Child Abuse Prevention Network - A network of organizations and individuals fighting child abuse.

Children's Safety Network - A resource center for child and adolescent injury and violence prevention.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - Information on the AMBER Alert system, Megan's Law, and other topics relevant to missing and exploited children.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission - The latest recall information!

Development (cognitive, emotional, physical)

Hello Kindergarten - Explore the online toolkit for transitioning your child to Kindergarten.

Dr. Toy - Information on the best toys and educational products, as well as articles, resources, and toy-related links.

Zero to Three - Extensive site with information on child development from birth to three years of age.

Education/Child Care

(for Homeschooling, see our Homeschooling page)

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) - Information on Early Childhood Education and a searchable database of NAEYC accredited childcare programs.

Connecticut Office of Early Childhood - for daycare information

Exceptional Children

Council for Exceptional Children - Information on special education.

Exceptional Parent - Information, support and ideas for parents and families of children with disabilities.

LD Online - Leading web site on learning disabilities, learning disorders and learning differences for parents.

General sites with multiple parenting links

Children's Defense Fund - Information on and support for the Leave No Child Behind program.

Family TLC - Age-appropriate family activities - games, sports, crafts, music, cooking, nature and more. Also, parenting tips and articles on child development.

iVillage Pregnancy & Parenting - iVillage's parenting section, with articles, bulletin boards, quizzes, newsletters on topics such as fertility, childbirth, pregnancy, multiples, safety, baby care, and more.

Goal Meeting

Handipoints - Create a task chart for homework and chores and every time your child completes one, he/she gets to play with a cartoon kitten!

Health & Nutrition

Food for Tots - Children's nutrition, recipes, and an ask-the-pediatrician section.

KidsHealth.org - Covers all aspects of children's health

Speechville - Resources to help the child who has difficulty with speech, language, communication, or is a late talker, who has a communication impairment or disorder.

Internet Safety

Chat Danger - Suggestions for being safe in Chat Rooms.

SafeKids.com - Detailed tips for Internet Safety, including a family contract for online safety.

Media

ScreenIt! - Detailed movie, DVD, and video reviews. Gives MPAA rating, brief plot summary, breaks down content by alcohol/drugs, blood/gore, disrespectful/bad attitude, frightening/tense scenes, guns/weapons, imitative behavior, jump scenes, music (scary/tense), music (inappropriate), profanity, sex/nudity, smoking, tense family scenes, topics to talk about, and violence.

Pregnancy

Baby Center - Bulletin boards, a due date calculator, birth club where you meet moms with same month due date, pregnancy calendar to track your baby's development, and lots of general pregnancy information!

Childbirth.org - Links to information on a huge array of topics related to pregnancy, including VBAC, fertility, birth plans, birth stories, a pregnancy calendar, and more!

Online Birth Center - Articles and information related to a midwife-mediated pregnancy and birth.

Reading

Jim Trelease Home Page - Read-aloud guru, Jim Trelease, offers links to some excellent homework and reading pages, as well as promoting his own books and lecture circuit.

Traveling with Kids

Travel for Kids - Useful information on places to go with children around the world. Includes wonderful bibliographies of books relating to the area you plan to visit!