Jan 20

Jan 20 Want help with Parenting? Check out these great resources

Lily Morgan

Ages & Stages, Anxieties

Resources for Families

The resources below can help you protect and promote your child's health by increasing your knowledge of children's health issues, providing assistance on partnering with health care providers, and linking you to helpful organizations and tools.

This information is reprinted and linked on this website by permission of Bright Futures

Family Voices is a nonprofit family-led organization that works to keep families at the center of children's health care. Through its national grassroots network and partnerships with families, professionals, and state affiliates, Family Voices promotes quality health care for all children and youth with special health care needs and serves as a trusted resource for families, youth, and professionals. Resources developed by Family Voices include:
- Bright Futures Family Pocket Guide, a collection of advice from the Bright Futures Guidelines, as well as tips, hints, and checklists developed for families by families that can be brought to doctor's appointments and other health care visits and shared with family members and friends. For example, you can find suggestions on how to prepare your child for shots or tests. English and Spanish versions are available.
- Family Voices IMPACT supports the goal of Family Voices by providing materials, tools, and resources based on the Bright Futures Guidelines and is designed specifically for families. For instance, the IMPACT Web site offers health tips and recommendations according to children's ages and stages of development, a one-page checklist to prepare for well-child visits, and the Bright Futures Family Matters newsletter.
- The National Center for Family/Professional Partnerships offers information on how to connect with the Family-to-Family Health Information Center (F2F HIC) in your state. These family-staffed organizations provide support, information, resources, and training to families of children and youth with special health care eds. For example, F2F HICs provide assistance to families and professionals in navigating health care systems; guidance on health programs and policy; and collaboration with other F2F HICs, family groups, and professionals.
AP's Genetics in Primary Care Institute (GPCI) Web sit houses a number of resources to help patients/families become familiar with topics such as family history, enetic testing, mergency care planning, and speciality care coordination, as well as support.
The Well-Visit Planner creates a personalized visit guide for parents or guardians of children ages 4 months to 3 years old who are scheduled to have a well-child visit. Families answer questions about their children's health and pick what they want to talk about at their next visit. The Planner then makes a printable guide that families can bring to the visit and use with the doctor. The tool was developed by the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative and is based on Bright Futures Guidelines, with support from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration.
The Bright Futures Activity Book, winner of the 2009 National Health Information Award, provides a fun, informative, and interactive overview of the 10 Bright Futures themes that can be explored together by children and their parents. Available in English and Spanish.
Healthy Futures, Bright Futures Video can be viewed by age and life stage, theme, or health visit and cover all major Bright Future topics. For example, families can find videos on early childhood toilet training, sleep routines, and promoting good mental health in adolescence. The Healthy Futures, Bright Futures videos were produced in partnership by Bright Futures and the Virginia Department of Health.
text4baby promotes maternal and child health through text messaging. Parents who sign up receive three free weekly text messages that are timed to their due date or their baby's birth date, through pregnancy and until the baby's first birthday. A number of states provide text4baby messages with local phone numbers. The service is available in both English and Spanish. essages cover topics such as:
- Labor signs and symptoms
- Prenatal care
- Urgent alerts
- Developmental milestones
- Immunizations
- Nutrition
- Birth defect prevention
- Safe sleep
- Safet
Bright Futures/Child Care Health Partnership provides handouts in English and Spanish that give parents tools for healthful, active living; tips on topics like “relationships” and “nutrition”; and questions to ask a child’s doctor.
Bright Futures at Georgetown* offers family and professional tools and materials including:
- Tip sheets
- Information on what to expect and when to seek help
- Health record forms
- Nutrition fact sheet
  *Many of these resources are available in both English and Spanish.
cdc offers family and professional tools and materials including:
- Milestone Tracker Mobile App - Track your child’s milestones from age 2 months to 5 years. Share your child’s summary with your pediatrician, get tips for encouraging your child’s development, and find out what to do if you ever become concerned about how your child is developing. **NEW RESOURCE**
- Milestones in Action - Check out photos and videos demonstrating milestones from 2 months to 5 years of age. This library was created by CDC to help parents learn about typical developmental milestones. **NEW RESOURCE**
- Milestone checklis - You can celebrate your child’s milestones by tracking them with a free milestone checklist and sharing it with your child’s doctor. **NEW RESOURCE**
- How to Help Your Child/How to Talk to the Doctor
- Learn the Signs. Act Early.
- Developmental Milestone
- Essentials or Parenting Toddlers and Preschooler
- Positive Parenting Tips
Head Start offers resources for early child care professionals and families including: