Pregnancy,Infancy,Toddlerhood Web Site: www.baby-place.com
Age Range: 0-3 Rating: ****
Site Description: This website is geared toward pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood, but you can access information and links for information on parenting older children through the sites search function. Site is easy to navigate, interactive, and provides 2,500+ links to other sites. Also serves as a message board for parents to share stories and tips. Information from site is free and printable.
A woman’s guide to pregnancy Web Site: www.ivillage.com
Age Range: 1-18 Rating: ***
A very commercial, yet helpful, website for women, with topics ranging from beauty and style to pregnancy and parenting. The entire site is focused on women and guiding them through the pregnancy and parenting process via articles. The articles are grouped by age as well as topic. ivillage.com is easy to navigate, but ads pop up periodically as you search through the site - I would not advise giving out your personal information on this site. You can "personalize the page" in the parenting section by entering whether you are trying to get pregnant or your child's birth or due date, which gives you free ideas for crafts, calendars, tips on addressing hot topics, etc. This site mainly loses a star as a result of how commercialized it is; the content is well written and helpful and does not seem to focus on a specific age group, although the pregnancy and baby sections appear to have the most specific information.
Pregnancy and Childbirth Web Site: www.thelaboroflove.com/websearch/Parenting/
Age Range: 0-3 Rating:***
Site Description: This is a very interactive site ideally suited for pregnant mothers. The site provides plenty of opportunity to be in touch with other pregnant women and mothers. Geared toward young mothers, lots of tips and links on a variety of topics. Easy to navigate, despite the large number of ads on the site. Many links to articles on pregnancy and childbirth, downloadable pregnancy calendars, maternity shopping, and pregnancy health issues.
New Babies
Pregnancy, infancy, toddlerhood Web Site: www.baby-place.com
Age Range: 0-3 Rating: ****
Site Description: This website is geared toward pregnancy, infancy, and toddlerhood, but you can access information and links for information on parenting older children through the sites search function. Site is easy to navigate, interactive, and provides 2,500+ links to other sites. Also serves as a message board for parents to share stories and tips. Information from site is free and printable.
Childbirth and babies Web Site: www.parenting.com#
Age Range: 0-12 Rating: ***
Another top notch site geared toward mothers with babies or toddlers. The amount of information available is nearly overwhelming. Be assured that whatever topic you wish to learn more about is covered on this site. However, beware the pop-up ads and requests to subscribe to the free newsletter. Some articles will not be available without a subscription, but the majority seem to be readily available and printable. Information on baby and child behaviors, activities, growth patterns, eating, and lifestyle are just some of the topics you will find under the drop-down headers on the site. The free-newsletter may also be helpful for obtaining the most up to date research and information on child birth and babies.
Brand new babies Web Site: www.verybestbaby.com
Age Range: Prenatal – 13 months Rating: ***
Sponsored by Nestle. Contains prenatal information, including milestones and development. Has some information about bringing the new baby home and family issues, including raising moral children and including dads in childrearing. Site contains free downloadable brochures covering a number of topics, from pregnancy, to feeding, and babies first days. Has search capabilities, A-Z index, and Ask the Experts option. Spanish is not available.
Articles, newsletters, and information on parenting babies Web Site: www.babycenter.com
Age Range: Prenatal – 8 years Rating: ***
Site contains pregnancy information, free newsletter, bulletin board, birth clubs, and articles. Separated into Preconception, Pregnancy, Baby, Toddler, PreSchooler, and Big Kids (5-8). Free articles and information cover a range of parenting topics. Must click on A-Z index to access parenting information. Has search capabilities, A-Z index, and Ask the Experts option. Has links to free offers and has an online store. Sponsors include Cheerios, Johnson & Johnson, and more.
A guide to daycare placement Web Site: www.daycaredailies.com
Age Range: 0-6 Rating: *
Site contains information about placing children in day cares, registering day cares, and finding day care. Contains many links to other parenting websites. Gives day care handbook, nutrition information and sample menus. No Spanish.
Mental and Physical Health
0-6 and mental disabilities Web Site: www.parenting-ed.org
Age Range: 0-12 Rating: ****
Site Description: This is a very helpful sight for both parents and parents to be. The focus of this site is for parents of young children (0-6). There are many parenting links, printable free handouts, and information for educators and parents. Many school/home collaboration ideas, as well as very specific focuses for children with mental disabilities. Handouts are available in both English and Spanish.
Infant and toddler health Web Site: http://askdrsears.com
Age Range: 0-6 Rating: ****
This website is set up by a family of pediatricians and is geared mainly toward infants and toddlers. There is some additional family-focused information that will offer a different perspective on health and group well-being. This site is very health intensive, but takes ample time to address how to correct maladaptive behaviors and general fussiness. There is a toolbar at the top of the site making it easy to navigate, and the main topics box makes navigation and searches very easy. There is a frequently asked questions section and a news section that provides up to date information for the concerned parent. The site is very attractive, easy to navigate, and provides information about further resources including books for order by the Sears family.
New mothers and mothers-to-be Web Site: www.parenthoodweb.com
Age Range: 0-6 Rating: ****
This site is excellent for mothers to be and new mothers. With a very user-friendly design, parenthoodweb.com groups information under the headings of conception, pregnancy, parenthood, community, topics A-Z, and work at home. All information is printable and geared toward birthing and parenting a healthy baby in a healthy environment. Charts and pregnancy calendars will be useful for pregnant women who want to know what to expect and how to plan their pregnancies. The list of topics is extensive and provides information on everything from relationships to fashion issues with your children, all of which have several articles linked to them that can be accessed without interference.
Links
Link to websites for 0-14
Web Site: www.ala.org/ala/alsc/greatwebsites/greatwebsitessites.htm
Age Range: 0-14 Rating: ****
Site Description: This website is a link to several other websites appropriate for preK, elementary and middle school children as well as parents, teachers, and caregivers. This site is set up by the American Library Association and allows you to view the criterion by which each "great web site" was judged. Included with each website suggested is a brief description of what the site has to offer. Suggested sights are organized according to who the intended audience is (parents and caregivers, home-schooling, educators and librarians, children's literature, storytelling, and puppetry). The sites include great activities for kids and adults.
Web Site: http://kidstes.org
Age Range: 0-5 Rating: *
This site provides links to other websites that focus around providing activities, games, etc. for toddlers and pre-schoolers. The websites can be browsed by the following categories: Toddlers, pre-schoolers, primary, family and parenting, teachers, and shopping online. The family and parenting category is the only one with a subheading that includes information on kids health and well being. Sites linked run the gamut from very helpful to very commercial. There are some downloads of games for children available through kidsites.org. Information is rather difficult to sort through
Early Education
Education everyday for ages 0-5 Web Site: www.bornlearning.org
Age Range: 0-5 Rating: ****
Site Description: United Way of America, Ad Council, and Civitas have partnered together to create an innovative public engagement campaign that helps parents, caregivers, and communities create quality early learning opportunities for young children. Their website is bilingual (English and Spanish) and provides a wealth of information on how to turn any ordinary experience with your 0-5 year old into a learning experience. Bornlearning.org provides suggestions for "learning on the go" as well as information about early learning. "Learning on the go" provides suggestions for learning at home, while travelling, and in public places. Suggestions are broken down by age ranges of baby, toddler, and preschooler. This campaign is very up to date and geared toward new, young parents - parenting is cool, and this site makes teaching your children cool, fun, and easy.
Early learning and emotional development Web Site: www.zerotothree.org
Age Range: 0-3 Rating: ****
ZERO TO THREE's mission is to promote the healthy development of our nation's infants and toddlers by supporting and strengthening families, communities, and those who work on their behalf. Their web site is bilingual and filled with free information and advice focused on emotional development and early learning. A key component of this site is the free downloading of several books, pamphlets, and handouts on topics such as getting ready for school, the power of play, physical activity, and music. Each topic area is broken down by age ranges of your baby (in 12 month stages) and parent and caregiver advice. This site is also broken down into a parents page and a professionals page, offering everything from parent education resources to training and consultation centers. All references in articles and essays are listed and linked so that supporting research can be easily accessed. Parents looking for quick information will like the frequently asked questions portion of the site which allows parents to browse a list of FAQ's by topic. Fantastic site for parents of children aged 0-3.
Culturally Focused Sites
Culturally Sensitive Site for 0-6 Web Site: www.patnc.org
Age Range: 0-6 Rating: ****
Site Description: This site is full of useful information and links. You can navigate the site as a parent or a professional, accessing free parenting tips, lists of books for parents as well as children, and links to other helpful sites on parenting. All pages are printable, and there is a strong focus on cultural issues when discussing topics that may vary significantly for different cultures.
African American Families Web Site: www.nbcdi.org
Age Range: 0-8 Rating: *
Site Description: This site has valuable information on several programs for African American families. The site is run by the National Black Child Institute, which is geared toward raising educated children who will thrive in the global society. There do not appear to be many resources, but many programs and information about them offered by the NBCI are outlined with information on how to get involved.
Ages 7-12
Education
K-6 education Web Site: www.childparenting.about.com
Age Range: 5-12 Rating:****
Site Description: Though this site may look very commercialized, it is actually a very valuable tool for parents of children in grades K-6. Their menus touch upon essential topics such as childhood bipolar dissorder, elementary education tools for parents, activity resources, parenting advice, and top games for kids. There are hundreds of sponsored links available on the site and all information is printable. Links are easy to access and are very helpful. The elementary education tools links are particularly helpful for parents trying to help children with difficult homework questions. Help is available on everything from math problems to citation of online sources. Be ready to negotiate ads.
Activities
Activities for kids Web Site: www.familyfun.com
Age Range: 3-12 Rating: ***
This site is run by DisneyOnline and is therefore expectedly commercial. Familyfun.com is great as a resource for printable games, coloring pages, craft templates, and car activities to keep your young ones busy. There are pull down tabs for arts and crafts, parties, recipes, games, travel, printables, and the relevant holiday, providing various creative tasks for ages 3-12. The ads that pop up from time to time are a little aggravating - you may have to work around them. If you are an at-home parent, teacher, day care provider, or camp counselor, then this site will serve as a valuable resource for craft ideas. The travel menu provides helpful information on exploring travel destinations that may seem difficult with children, such as New York City. Not a resource for parenting advice, but definitely a resource for those looking for creative ways to entertain their children or students. The search option that appears at the home page is not that helpful.
Internet Games and Activities Web Site: www.netmom.com
Age Range: 6-17 Rating: *
This site is run by author Jean Armour Polly and serves as a review of articles, websites, and information for parents. Information is not easy to navigate and centers around fun games and activities from the internet for parents to enjoy with kids. There are links to articles on pertinent issues for parents with teens in school, as well as 21 reviewed websites. There is a member's sign up box, but no information is available on the site about what signing up as a member gets you. The articles on teen issues seem to be the only information of real value, and this could be improved.
Ages 13-18
Communication
Interacting with your teen Web Site: www.positiveparenting.com
Age Range: 12-18 Rating: ***
Site Description: Positve Parenting provides parent education classes, parenting workshops, inservice presentations and consultation to parents, early childhood education centers, schools, churches, businesses and others who provide services for parents and children. The website is geared toward parents and educators of older childen, likely in the middle school through high school range judging by the topics covered (dealing with power struggles, children's feelings, my rating has dropped). The amount of actual resources is rather limited, and the list of books, while helpful, is just advertisement for a long list of products. List of websites that can be accessed via links, is helpful, and can lead to more information on topics not directly covered by this site.
Health
Teen substance abuse and mental health Web Site: www.samhsa.gov
Age Range: 13-18 Rating: ***
Site Description: This site focuses on teens and parents dealing with substance abuse and mental health issues. It is run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration - Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention. There are many free articles and studies on how to teach and talk to your child about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. Its purpose is to be a family guide to keeping youth mentally healthy and drug free, but it contains other information on community issues as well.
Teen Pregnancy
Teen pregnancy Web Site: www.teenpregnancy.org
Age Range: Teens Rating: ****
Site contains Teen section with facts, stats, surveys, quizzes, tips for avoiding pregnancy, abstinence, contraception, e-postcards and news. Parent sections includes same sections as Teens. Free downloadable tip sheets, fact sheets, presentation materials, poll data, reports, and research. Sections for press, policymakers, and religious groups. Free email updates, search capacity, and Spanish available.
KidsHealth is the largest and most-visited site on the Web providing doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence. Created by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, the award-winning KidsHealth provides families with accurate, up-to-date, and jargon-free health information they can use. KidsHealth has been on the Web since 1995 - and has been accessed by about 300,000,000 visitors. On a typical weekday, more than 350,000 people access KidsHealth's reliable information.
KidsHealth has separate areas for kids, teens, and parents - each with its own design, age-appropriate content, and tone. There are literally thousands of in-depth features, articles, animations, games, and resources - all original and all developed by experts in the health of children and teens.
Physicians and other health experts review all content before it's published on KidsHealth. They also have articles in Spanish.
Education
0-18 from school policy to child help Web Site: www.iamyourchild.org
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: ****
Site Description: This is not only a very well designed informational source, it includes many links to free information on how to deal with parenting issues from prenatal care to teenagers. Whether seeking information on school policy in America or looking for activities to help your child learn to walk, this site organizes and makes available a large amount of information in a very convenient way. The site and its resources are free to use and you can become part of a community of parents to share success stories and frustrations along the way. Point of interest: site is searchable by age.
Special Education Web Site:www.avenue.org/prc
Age Range: 5-18 Rating:**** The Parent Resource Center (PRC) serves parents of children in special education in the public schools and operates on the philosophy that parents are a valuable resource in planning the education of their special child. The Parent Resource Center serves as an information and referral source for needed services that are available in our community, provides training for parents, and promotes an understanding of the special education process in our schools, provides support and information groups for families and educators of children with special needs, maintain a book and video library, promotes a working relationship between parents, educators, and our community resources. PREP/PRC serves the following counties: Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison.
School, entertainment and life Web Site: www.familyeducation.com/home/
Age Range: Birth –18 Rating: ****
Site information is organized into PreK–2nd grade, 3rd–5th grade, and 6th-12th grade sections. These sections are separated into information about School, Entertainment, and Life. Site contains Q&A, search option, and free newsletter. No Spanish.
Family
Whole Family Approaches to Raising Children Web Site: www.wholefa#mily.com
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: ***
The resources available through this site address a wide range of topics in a wide range of manners. There is a panel of columnists who have posted responses to common questions posed by parents of children in early childhood, school-age, and teen years. The information is not laid out as well as it could be, making navigation of the site slightly difficult. This site takes a "whole family" approach, allowing the user to interact with the site via teen center, marriage center, parent center, senior center, and the whole family room. A strong suit of this site is the available real life experiences submitted by parents and children, which provide a sense of community and support for families that may be experiencing seemingly uncommon issues.
Helping families grow Web Site: www.parenthood.com
Age Range: Prenatal - 18 Rating: ***
Site sponsored by The MOM Team and Cosmetique. Site contains parenting articles, a free newsletter, discussion board, and local child care locater. To access articles, click on topics across the top of the websites. Has printable format option. Has search capabilities, A-Z index, and links to other parenting websites. Access the links by clicking on Parenting Resources on the left side.
Research on families and community issues Web Site: www.cyfc.umn.edu
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: **
Site Description: This site is run by the University of Minnesota and is heavily research based. The site itself lacks resources or tools, but has links to several researched based articles and resources for children of all ages. Information is navigable by age, which is convenient. The site moves away from a focus on children and more toward a community/family based approached, offering links to information on intergenerational issues as well.
Adoption and Foster Parents
Foster parents and adoption Web Site: www.fosterparents.com
Age Range: 0 - 18 Rating: ***
Site contains paid online training for foster parents, chat rooms, discussion boards, links, and articles. The articles cover the topics foster parents, adoption, grandparents as caregivers, foster children, and adoption issues. No Spanish.
Foster parenting information Web Site: www.fostercare.org/FPHP/
Age Range: 0 - 18 Rating: ***
Site contains articles covering foster care and parenting topics, local and global news, discussion board, chat room, book lists for teens, children, and parents about foster care, national legal references and some state-specific information, and a mailing list. Mentors and therapists can post that they are looking for clients to help. Also foster parents can search for their grown foster children and vice versa. Links to other websites and limited state DSS and GAL information. Articles are not organized topically. No search option. No Spanish.
Health and Safety
Health, education, recreation Web Site: www.kidsource.com
Age Range: Newborn - 18 Rating: ***
Site information is organized into Newborn, Toddler, Preschoolers, and K-12. These areas contain specific parenting, health, growth and development, and safety sections. Also, there is a Parenting tab on the left side of the page. The articles are rated according to depth and helpfulness. Includes information for health, education, and recreation. No search option. No Spanish.
Parenting articles and product recall alerts Web Site: www.tnpc.com
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: ***
This website is run by the National Parenting Center and addresses important issues for all age ranges of children, including information for pregnant parents. Some of the most useful aspects of this website are the articles and product recall sections. Articles can be searched by keyword or by selecting an age range icon and browsing a full list of articles provided through the website. All articles are written by doctors. The product recall link sends you to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's page on toy recalls. A photo, description, and incidence report is given for each item that has been recalled. The tnpc site also provides a parents chat forum to discuss parenting issues and stories. This site is very valuable, receiving three stars instead of four due to limited resources and navigation that could be improved.
Current/seasonal parenting info for all ages Web Site: www.aap.org
Age Range: 0-21 Rating: ***
Site Description: The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) website contains general information for parents of children from birth to age 21. Topics covered range from selection of car seats, breastfeeding and immunizations to obesity and injury prevention. The site is searchable by both topic and age. Age groups are then broken down by topics. Clicking on a topic leads to a list or essay of information on that topic, accompanied by an ad for the books that the site is selling dealing with the age group that you are concerned with. "Parenting corner" is the most useful parenting resource on this site. "A Minute for Kids" is a radio broadcast addressing up to date issues for adolescents and teens. These broadcasts are free for download. All information is printable and easily navigable.
Medical and behavior information Web Site: www.informedparent.com
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: **
This site focuses on providing medical and behavioral short articles for all ages of children. Articles are primarily from the late 90's to current and are indexed alphabetically by topic as well as by age. This website is easy to navigate, but does not offer information in Spanish, nor does it provide and real advice on how to handle the issues addressed. The focus is providing information about different behavioral and medical conditions. www.aap.org might be a better recommendation for finding medical info for kids.
Prevention and treatment of child abuse Web Site: www.nurturingparenting.com
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: *
Site Description: This site focuses on the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. It is a very commercial site; everything is pay only - no free resources. Mainly a product catalogue for professional program series. Prices of full program resources are $1,000+. "Related Links" section does have valuable information on preventing and treating child abuse and neglect - this is the most helpful part of the site.
Expert Opinions
“Ask the expert” About Raising Kids Web Site: www.raisingkids.co.uk
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: ****
Site Description: Great site with loads of helpful and easy to use information on children of all ages. Topics are broken down by age and issue, thus very easy to find information on exactly what you are looking for. "Ask the expert" question and answer column that adds even better information on topics addressed (free membership required to ask a question; long list of archived questions for free). Information is all free and printable.
Modern parenting questions answered Web Site: www.eproactiveparenting.com
Age Range: 0-18 Rating: ***
Site Description: The purpose of this site is to promote the sale of the "Proactive Parenting" technique, designed by Lynne Griffin, by giving examples based on the proactive technique. The most useful portion of the site can be found by going to the "library" section under the content column on the left side of the main page. This will take you to a list of topics covering themes such as "aggression in young children," "back to school," "cell phones," "calm parent . . . calm baby," and "teaching self control," to name a few. Each topic has a "feature" section with suggestions written by Ms. Griffin, as well as a "father's perspective essay," which is a real life account by a father of the topic being covered. There is also a schedule of Ms. Griffin's upcoming speaking dates and locations.
Expert opinions chat about parenting Web Site: www.connectforkids.org
Age Range: Infants - 18 Rating: **
Site contains parenting articles and links ranging from infancy to adolescence. Click on Search capabilities by topic, subtopic, and content types, such as articles, blogs, and newsletters. Slightly confusing search menu. Has live online discussions with experts. Has a section titled Youth Experts with information about youth from experts. No Spanish available.
Links and Resources
Helpful resources Web Site: www.cwla.org
Age Range: 0-19 Rating: ****
Site Description: This is a great site geared toward children of all ages. It is easy to navigate and offers a wealth of free resources on everything from potty training to understanding your teen. Clicking on "programs" in the navigation bars on the left will give you a detailed list of their programs along with links to other resources and their own free guides. Using the search bar will search google directly from the site. There is also a list of research with statistics and studies to support their programs and highlight their success.
Specialty Topics
Advocacy Sites
Information to inspire change Web Site: www.4children.org
Age Range: for parents Rating: ***
This site is run by Action Alliance for Children, whose goal it is to inform, educate, and inspire a statewide constituency of people who work with and on behalf of children by providing the most reliable information on current issues, trends, and public policies that affect children and families. The site contains a wealth of articles on improving children's education, health care, and policy-making. All information is available in English and Spanish, with pdfs available in Chinese for some articles as well.
Focusing public policy on children Web Site: www.childrennow.org
Age Range: for parents Rating: **
This site is run by Children NOW, a national organization for people who care about children and want to ensure that they are the top public policy priority. The site contains a wide selection of links to other sites with more information, research, and details on areas of needed improvement in public policy concerning the future of our children. The group is California based and thus many of the articles are focused on California, and the obvious goal of the site is to raise money for their cause. Information is easily accessible via the navigation bar at the top of the site. There could be more information made available by the site.
Site Description: the Fireworks Anger Management site is an online course offered through Kansas State University for parents who want to learn to manage their anger, especially in regards to their relationship with their children. The course walks you through a step by step approach to identifying important concepts of anger, what they mean, the risks associated with anger and beliefs surrounding it, what impact our anger can have on our children, and concludes with teaching a set of skills for managing anger. The skills are organized under the pneumonic "REACH," which stands for recognizing, evaluating, assessing, choosing and honoring. The site and course lessons are easy to navigate and free of charge. The site also has headers that will link you to other parenting programs and information offered through KSU that are also helpful.
Web Site: www.isma.org.uk Rating: ****
Site Description: This is a site out of the UK with a long list of useful links to other stress management websites. The site itself has a page that defines stress, with links to pages that identify common signs of stress and some ways to manage your stress. There is also a page for college aged kids in particular on coping with exam-related stress and provides tips for before and during the exam.
Web Site: www.stress.org.uk Rating: ***
Site Description: This website from the UK is a great resource for the working parent who needs to manage their work stress in order to focus on their family. It has great information on what stress is and what the effects of stress are, and backs up the information with research statistics and nicely laid-out charts of the effects of stress. The "about stress" tab on the menu will give you a guide to what stress is, stress at work, bullying in the workplace, and a 10 step guide to managing your stress. Under the "services" menu tab there are recommendations for on-site massages, desk yoga, and visualization exercises to help you relax at work. The site is clearly intended to promote the company's programs, and thus many of the services available in the form of actual products cost money. There is a free 10 step guide booklet to stress that they will send you for free if you sign up for it.
Web Site: www.anxietysupport.org/cc11menu.htm Rating: ***
Site Description: Just in time for the holidays Dr. Robert Falk has come out with an article entitled "Children, Holidays, and Stress Management: Nine Tips." In his article he gives nine tips on reducing the level of increased anxiety and stress that may be experienced by your child around the holidays. The tips that he gives are simple and encourage communication between family members, as well as self monitoring to make sure that you are setting a positive example for your child during the holidays. This article aims at allowing you and your family to enjoy the holidays rather than dread them; a valuable read at this time of year.
Web Site: www.stressmanagementtips.com Rating: ***
Site Description: This site is dedicated to stress management in general, but has a navigation tool that allows you to access pages on family stress management as well as stress management for kids. While this site covers the basics of stress (what it is, symptoms, effects, and general tips), it will be particularly helpful if you want tips directed at how to manage family-related stress. It gives tips on how to spend time as a family, taking daily routines and turning them into family routines. The family stress page does a fair job of putting individual stress management tips into a family context, focusing on working together as a family unit rather than as a group of individuals. Stress management for kids focuses on how to recognize stress in children, which is important because kids show their stress differently than adults do. This is not a complex site. It is fairly stripped down and does not contain links or any other downloadable materials.
Web Site: www.futurehealth.org/stresscn.htm Rating: **
Site Description: While there is not a wealth of information on this site, they do provide some useful free material. If you scroll down past the Products to the Free Content you will find stress management and relaxation tips with frequently asked questions, articles about stress management, stress and relaxation links, and quotations about stress, relaxation, etc. Scrolling down further brings you to stress management links, including links to information on anxiety, panic, and post traumatic stress disorder as well.
Web Site: www.cfc-efc.ca/docs/cccf/00014_en.htm Rating: **
Site Description: This site is run by Child & Family, Canada and focuses on recognizing and managing stress for parents, teachers, and child-care workers. The author of the site, which is composed as one long article, highlights topics such as causes of stress, the stress experience, ways to achieve peacefulness and harmony, and what to do after the onset of stress. All of the references in the article are listed. There are no extra free materials on this site, but the article itself is helpful for families, teachers, and those working with children.
Web Site: www.archrespite.org/archfs41.htm Rating: **
Site Description: This is a factsheet about stress provided by the National Resource Center for Respite and Crisis Care Services. It provides a substantial amount of information about what stress is, the symptoms of stress, myths about stress, and strategies for managing stress. The page is set up in an essay format with bulleted main points as well that make it easy to digest. The site is easy to navigate as each section has a link to it at the top of the page.
Web Site: www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/66.htm Rating: **
Site Description: The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry set up this site in order to provide parents with a tool for helping teenagers with stress. They provide a one page article on things that may cause stress for your teenager, how you can help your teen with stress, and what your teen can do to eliminate some of their stress. While the suggestions are valid and supported by other articles and research, the site does not give further information on how to actually achieve some of the goals that they set out.
Web Site: www.best-stress-relief.com Rating: *
Site Description: This website is focused on adults and stress-relief. It is not geared toward parents specifically in any way, but stress management and relief can be very important aspects of parenthood and thus this site need not be avoided. If you are feeling stressed and want to know how to eliminate that stress and relieve it when it occurs, then this website has helpful information. There are recommendations on different methods of stress relief such as tai-chi, yoga, sound therapy, aromatherapy, etc, all of which include links to products that you can order online.
Web Site: www.theconsultationcenter.org/WFS%20#Logic%20Model.pdf Rating: *
Site Description: The Consultation Center offers a diagram designed by Dr. David L. Snow for coping with work and family stress. The diagram identifies several theories, strategies and activities, immediate outcomes, intermediate outcomes, and final outcomes for methods of coping with mainly work-related stress. The diagram focuses on work-related stress, illustrating that stress at work adds to family stress and makes it more difficult to deal with the stress at home when you are already dealing with work-related stress. This is just a pdf file and will only be useful as a tool for understanding how a therapist might understand the move from a stressful situation, to selecting a theory, and finally to designing a treatment that will lead to the eventual reduction or elimination of harmful stress.
Education
Promoting excellence in early childhood education
Join the “leave no child behind movement” Web Site: www.childrensdefense.org
Age Range: for parents Rating: **
This site is run by the "Leave No Child Behind Movement" and addresses such issues as meeting children's needs, preventing poverty, and advocating for children. The focus here is to provide convincing evidence and statistics on parenting and the needs of our children. The goal of the site is to attract members for the Leave no Child Behind movement whose goal it is "to ensure every child a healthy start, head start, fair start, safe start, moral start. The information provided is thorough and linked to other sites for further support. There are links as well to more data, government organizations, and other helpful information. A parent resource network is available. All information is easy to access and reliable. Again, not a "parenting website" in the typical sense of the word.
Safety in school Web Site: www.kidscampaigns.org goes to www.keepschoolssafe.org/parents
Age Range: Rating: *
This site talks about parents feeling safe leaving their kids at school. It has a few articles and tips about school safety, but has no parenting information. There are links to other web pages. Multiple sponsors. Site does have search capacity.
Montessori teaching Web Site: www.montessorifortheearth.com
Age Range: Rating: *
Site contains information about teaching Montessori in the home. Rates books for children and for home schooling and they are available for purchase. No parenting information available. Does have option to translate webpage to multiple languages.
Adoption Advice
Adoption and care of abused children Web Site: www.fosterparents.com
Age Range: unspecified Rating: **
Site Description: The purpose of this site is: "training; share information between foster, adoptive families, and all other professions working with abused and neglected children." Easy to navigate, offering several online training courses (not free), as well as links to many articles on foster parenting and associated topics. Site is rather vague and it is difficulty to get to much of the substance without paying for it.
Step Parent Advice
Web Site: www.parentingtoolbox.com
Age Range: unspecified Rating: *
Site Description: If you are willing to give your email address and create a password to use this site, it offers tools to change the role of the "wicked step parent" and to re-energize yourself. This site is geared toward changing parents and is very minimalist and commercial.
Family Concerns
Family Concerns for All Ages Web Site: www.troubledwith.com
Age Range: family Rating: ****
Site Description: TroubledWith.com is a collection of articles, resources and referrals organized by topic around family issues and concerns. Their goal is to help families by providing complete coverage of issues including a brief introduction to each topic, an overview of the issue at hand, Q&A with experts and tips for making things better. They have done a fantastic job with this site. Everything is easily accessible, printable, cross-referenced within the site, and well written by professionals. Each topic area is broked down into a list of issues, which are then broken down into a background section, a question and answer section, and a stories section. This site serves as an excellent resource for any concerns a family may have, whether it be with children, teens, life pressures, love and sex, abuse and addiction, relationships, or transitions. This is a 4+ star site.
Managing a Family/Home Web Site: www.family.com
Age Range: all Rating: *
This website has very little to offer and is geared mainly at how to manage your home if you are a parent. Very basic site, offering links to making family meals, cleaning house, and seeing family movies. Aside from these topics there does not seem to be any information of actual importance.
Family Strength and Values Web Site: www.nassembly.org/fspc
Age Range: 0-6? Rating: *
Site Description: National Human Services Assembly site for Family Strengthening Policy Center. This site is easy to navigate and offers links to many other website resources for building a strong family around positive values in a safe and nurturing neighborhood. Accessing links to other sites is easy and broken down by broad topic headings.
Family Medical and Mental Health Web Site: www.infoforyourhealth.com
Age Range: all Rating: *
Site Description: This site provides some general information on common medical concerns as well as a few mental health disorders. It is not specifically oriented toward children/parenting concerns and seems to address adults more so than children. Links are provided to some unreliable and some down right unfounded solutions to adult health concerns. The focus of the site seems to be selling products through other links. There is no information on parenting or child specific issues.
Info for Working Parents Web Site: www.familiesandwork.org
Age Range: Rating: *
Has articles for download, but they are about studies of the workforce and families in the workforce. There is no free information about parenting on this website. There is a list of publications that can be purchased about parenting, child development, fatherhood, and other topics.
Links to Other Parenting SitesWeb Site: www.parenthub.com
Age Range: ? Rating: *
This site is not important as a source of information but as a gateway to other parenting sites. Parenthub.com itself is a rather commercial site featuring links to several topics, one of which is parenting web sites. Clicking this link takes you to a list of about 20 websites for parents. There is nothing impressive about this site, especially since this review of sites should serve the same function as the website itself.
