Health, child development, special needs, child care, summer camps, and more

ADOPTION RESOURCES

North American Council on Adoptable Children NACAC’s mission focuses on placing special needs children in permanent homes. The site provides information about the organization, a sample listing of waiting children, a list of agencies, and access to on-line application forms.

Adoption Travel Adoption travel is a resource for international adoption travel planning. Tips on how to make your trip a successful one, and whether or not to include biological children when picking up your adoptive child, are all addressed here.

Adoptive Families Magazine The Adoptive Families Magazine site provides a wealth of information related to adoption, including listings of adoption magazines and newsletters, photo listings of waiting children, bibliographies, and links to related websites.

Child Welfare League of America The Child Welfare League of America’s site offers information about adoption, as well as other topics related to child protection, parenting, and families.

Infertility Resources A variety of infertility resources are available to parents. Explore your options and learn important information to help address this issue.

Legal Information Institute Learn about adoption and family law. Explore different laws that may affect you and your adopted child.

Adoption.org Adoption.org answers common adoption-related questions, offers educational materials, maintains a database of adoption resources, lists support groups, and provides information covering state and federal adoption laws.

Parents Helping Parents  Parents Helping Parents is an organization devoted to assisting parents of children with special needs. The website features a wealth of information about a variety of special needs, such as ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, and Downs Syndrome. A resource directory, library, bookstore, and schedule of training events are also available on-line.

Rainbow Kids Rainbow Kids is an on-line publication for parents of internationally-adopted children. The website is updated every month with news, feature stories, personal testimonials, and updates about adopting internationally.

RESOLVE RESOLVE is a non-profit organization dedicated to offering support and information to people dealing with infertility. Users can access referrals to specialty physicians, support group listings, newsletters, and current legislative information.

HEALTH

American Speech-Language Hearing Association ASHA is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 97,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, speech, language, and hearing scientists. This site is a resource for ASHA members, individuals interested in information about communication disorders, and for those wanting career and membership information.

Children‘s Visual Health Is your child having problems seeing clearly? The Optometrists Network site helps parents to determine if problems such as headaches and difficulty in school are related to eyesight. Also, log on for help in selecting an eye doctor.

The American Academy of Pediatrics This website provides parents with the most updated information about children’s health, as well as valuable resources on parenting and education.

Center for Hearing and Communication The Center for Hearing and Communication strives to improve the quality of life for people with all degrees of hearing loss. This is accomplished by providing hearing rehabilitation and human service programs for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, and their families.

UC Davis Health System Wellness Center – Children’s Health Through this comprehensive site sponsored by the University of California at Davis, parents can access a wealth of information regarding health and safety issues for children of all ages.

SPECIAL NEEDS

Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD) This national organization is aimed at providing parents with information and resources for children with attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder. This site provides the latest news, upstanding programs, and various blogs on AD/HD

ChildMind The site provides details on a variety of resources for parents, educators and clinicians caring for children with autism spectrum disorder. Look into the newest research being conducted on how to help your child. With these resources, learn more about your child’s diagnosis and types of treatment that are available and possibly needed.

Understood A site dedicated to shaping a world where millions of people who learn and think differently can thrive at home, at school, and at work.

Center for Parent Information and Resources Speech and language disorders are often an early sign of learning disabilities. Learn about the warning signs, types of disorders, what you can do to help your child, and where to find resources at different stages of development.

CHILDCARE ISSUES

The National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care This site offers comprehensive licensing information for all types of regulated child care, state by state. contact information for each state is also available. Parents can also learn about health and safety guidelines for children in group child care settings.

CHANGES & TRANSITIONS

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)A wealth of information on all things child development in the early years.

The Children’s Television Workshop: Parent’s ToolboxThis comprehensive site offers a wealth of information on issues surrounding how to help children of all ages cope with change. In addition to specific articles addressing transition, separation and relocation, parents can access many helpful links devoted to related topics.

Transition is a Journey This site presents a general overview of how children experience the stages of transition. Parents are also given suggestions about how to be supportive of their children during times of change, helping to foster a positive outcome.

Edutopia Supporting children through challenging times, and a wide array of additional educational resources.

INFANTS

Prematurity If you are looking for family support and resources for children born prematurely, you’ve come to the right place. This site has links as well as stories from parents and families with prematurely born children.

KidsHealth Pregnancy and Baby Take care of yourself and your growing family by getting the advice that all new parents and parents-to-be need. Read about babyproofing your home, staying healthy during pregnancy, coping with colic, what to expect when your little one arrives, and much more.

The American SIDS Institute  This site provides complete information and explanations on SIDS, as well as helps parents by suggesting ways to prevent SIDS.

TODDLERS

Toddler Growth and Development During the toddler years children are changing especially quickly. This site helps parents to understand the physical and emotional changes that toddlers undergo.

CAMP RESOURCES

American Camp Association offers information on all types of camp programs for kids and teens within the United States. Parents will appreciate the tips and tools available for evaluating and selecting summer camps, and kids will enjoy reading what others their age have to say about their experiences in the “Articles for Kids” section. Parents can also search for programs devoted to children with special needs.

Child Care Aware find your local child care resource and referral office. Parents can also learn about child care options, how to evaluate and select care, and what it means for providers to be “licensed” or “accredited”.

National Association for the Education of Young Children the nation’s largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children from birth through third grade. NAEYC is primarily known for its accreditation process, aimed at improving the quality of care. Here, you can search for NAEYC accredited programs, learn about NAEYC’s mission in the field of early childhood education, as well as access parenting and educational resources.

CHILDCARE RESOURCES

Child Care Aware find your local child care resource and referral office. Parents can also learn about child care options, how to evaluate and select care, and what it means for providers to be “licensed” or “accredited”.

National Association for the Education of Young Children the nation’s largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children from birth through third grade. NAEYC is primarily known for its accreditation process, aimed at improving the quality of care. Here, you can search for NAEYC accredited programs, learn about NAEYC’s mission in the field of early childhood education, as well as access parenting and educational resources.

National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care offers comprehensive licensing information for all types of regulated child care, state by state. Contact information for each state is available. Parents can also learn about health and safety guidelines for children in group child care settings.

Childcare.gov Independent website explains how to find quality childcare, types of care and paying for services. Includes search feature for state-registered child care agencies and services for each state in the US.

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