Parents' Online Resources

Blogs (our favorite parenting blogs!)

• Illustrated With Crappy Pictures - A mom illustrates her life with two young boys.
• Scary Mommy - A parenting community for imperfect parents.
• Single Dad Laughing - Single father blogs about his life and experiences.
• The Honest Toddler - A child's guide to parenting, Honest Toddler has quite the fan following on facebook and twitter.
• World's Best Father -  Artful and hilarious confessions of the "world's best father" through staged pictures.

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.
• Good Housekeeping Safety Ideas - Childproofing recommendations.
• 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)

• 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

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

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.

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 

• Surfing the Net with Kids - Fun and educational links for families recommended by School Library Journal.

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

• Movie Mom's Reviews - Movie reviews with suggested appropriate viewing age, MPAA rating, breakdown of content by profanity, nudity/sex, alcohol/drugs, violence/scariness, and diversity issues.
• 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!

Reading

• Early Literacy Tips - This website offers a top ten list to get children “on the road to reading” as well as a selection of preschool literacy tips for families to make reading and writing meaningful.
• Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) - The American Library Association's initiative to educate parents and caregivers on early literacy practices.
• National Children’s Literacy Website - The National Children's Literacy Website is a unique children's literacy initiative and is part of the Soho Center's National Children's Literacy Information Project. It is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to advancing the literacy skills of young children, promoting literacy as an integral factor in the growth of society, and enhancing literacy in a variety of home and child care settings.
• 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.
• Read to Me - Read to Me focuses on six important early literacy skill areas. It provides information on how to choose books for your family, book lists, video clips on the importance of reading to your children and more.
• Reading Rockets - From Babbling to Books is a video presentation discussing research based strategies for developing language and pre-reading skills in young children.

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!