Friday 5: Great resources for parents

1. Common Sense Media
   
   I love Common Sense Media. Sometimes, as a parent, I’m not really sure what movies are appropriate for my daughters – it’s been a long time since I was 4, and I love Beauty and the Beast, but I don’t want my daughter having nightmares because Gaston tried to hurt the Beat – or if I want to go to red box, Netflix or the movie theater, I don’t want to be surprised by anything scary or violent.Common Sense Media to the rescue!!!They have independent movie reviews, lists of great movies to see, and parent reviews. We have a “family movie night” every Saturday, and I always check Common Sense Media’s Best Movies for Kids list for ideas!But WAIT! There’s MORE! They also have advice for navigating the digital age as a parent with advice from everything dealing with cyber bullying, rules for cell phones with your kids, apps for kids, and more.

   It’s an amazing resource, and I go to it ALL the time.

2. PBS Kids
   
   For Hurricane Irma, I invested in a $7 antenna for my television set. This opened up the world of digital television to me for the first time in several years. Including, but not limited to, my local PBS station.I have got to say, PBS Children’s programming is FAR superior to all other children’s programming. It’s slower, more interactive, diverse, educational and really developmentally appropriate for young kids. I am trying to limit my kids’ tv and screen time to less than an hour a day, but I feel a LOT better when that screen time is spend with Elmo, Thomas and Friends, Daniel Tiger or any of the other great programs on PBS kids.
3. The Gottman Institute
   I’m a big fan of John Gottman’s books: The Seven Principles for Making Marriage work is a classic that every married person should read. He and his wife also co-authored And Baby Makes 3 – a great book for helping parent’s preserve their relationship through the crucible of their children’s infancy.

   But, if you’re too tired to read a book, they have this great (and free) email newsletter you can sign up for called The Marriage Minute. Twice a week, they’ll email you a newsletter that you can actually read in a minute. It has reminders, tips, articles you can read to help keep your marriage growing, which can be really hard when you have kids. A few weeks ago, The Marriage Minute suggested you try a 7 week Fondness and Admiration Challenge that is in The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. I’ve really enjoyed this daily moment of connecting to my husband!

   Also, they have a positive an uplifting Facebook page that (if you’re on that platform) will fill your feed with good things.

4. Amaze.org

• Are you dreading having “the talk” with your kids?
• Do you want to teach your kids about consent without giving them nightmares?
• Do you want to be accurate and give your kids information they need without being graphic?

  Then, let me introduce you to AMAZE Parents!

5. They have resources for talking to your kids about bullying, being a good listener, sexual health, safety, consent and more. They’re great jumping off points for opening the conversation with you kids. I’m SO glad this resource is available!

NASA Space Place

I live on Central Florida’s Space Coast. Which is code for – very close to the Kennedy Space Center where I can LITERALLY see things launch into space from my backyard several times a month. It’s SUPER cool.

I love the short videos and information that are available for me and my kids to learn from and enjoy. One of our favorites was learning about the recent solar eclipse! Again – I am working on limiting my kids’ screen time, so I like that these videos are just a few minutes long, and their full of great information!

What are your favorite websites and resources for parents on the internet? I’m also a fan of parenting joke blogs – because I think laughter is a key to survival. I also really like Pinterest for finding easy recipes. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest so you can find all my favorite easy recipes!