PARENTING is a tough job and there are challenges at every stage. This week we want to educate parents on all the great resources there are to support families on their journey and to acknowledge all the amazing foster parents who are impacting kids in our community every day.

My aunt told me, "parenting will be your greatest joy and your greatest sorrow." Defined as "the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood," parenting is an experience that elicits every emotion we have at one point or another.

"My current challenge is raising a "tween' boy. Most of our friends will agree that he has always been a pretty easy child - easy baby, gentle toddler, loved school, great grades, nice friends, etc. And then the hormones kicked in...fast forward to age 11 1/2 and I have a son who is nearly my size who is getting ready for middle school and entering adolescence. Fortunately his teachers assure us that he is wonderful at school, but at home we are facing an emerging teen attitude and a real interest in girls. I know this was all to be expected, but I found myself very ill-equipped for this age and stage! I raced down to the bookstore and spent hours thumbing through books that might help us parent this next chapter in our lives. While looking at the many titles and options, I realized that this is how I began my parenting journey when I picked up the classic "What to Expect When You're Expecting' twelve years ago. With this in the back of my mind I picked up several books on raising adolescent boys and their transition to manhood (yikes!). And so, the journey begins!" ~Kim

Spend just a few minutes in the bookstore and you will find aisles of books dedicated to parenting. Truly you can find a book, class, or website to answer just about any question you have. Farther down, you can read a great article about when and how to have "the talk" with your kids and there is a great book on the topic as well.

• PARENT EDUCATION RESOURCES... From pregnancy support through internet education, we have many great resources in Santa Barbara. >
• SPANISH SPEAKING PEP GROUP... Postpartum Education for Parents (PEP) now offers a Spanish Speaking group on Thursday mornings at 9am in the Family Resource Center at Harding Elementary School. 

MAY is NATIONAL FOSTER CARE MONTH... Children enter the foster care system due to a variety of reasons including abuse, abandonment, neglect and/or because of an incapacitated caretaker/parent.  Foster Parents open their homes and provide a temporary safe haven for these children.  No matter their age, all youth in foster care need a meaningful connection to at least one caring adult who becomes a supportive and lasting presence in their lives. Without families or stable relationships, too many of these formerly neglected and/or abused children and teens will end up facing life’s challenges all alone. The average age of foster children is 8 years old and, unfortunately, the older the child, the less likely they are to be adopted. Instead, the majority are shuffled from group home to temporary foster home until they are 18. Once they are 18, they "age out" of foster care. This means they no longer receive financial support, medical insurance or housing from the government. 54% of these children will get a high school diploma, 2% will get a bachelor's degree.  READ THE PRESIDENT'S FOSTER CARE PRESS RELEASE >

• GIVING BACK TO FOSTER CHILDREN... Donating your time, money, items to a foster care agency, or, better yet, looking into becoming a foster parent, would be a great way to support foster children in our community.
  Local foster care agencies and support programs include:
  ~ Angels Foster Care of SB
  ~ Child Welfare Services
  ~ Family Care Network, Inc.
  ~ God's Havens for Children Foster Care Agency
  ~ Koinonia Family Services
  ~ The Children's Project
  THANK YOU to the SB Fair and Expo for donating admission tickets to foster families.  THANK YOU to the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara for donating ride wristbands. 70 foster parents and foster kids were able to enjoy the fair. You can give back, too.

MOM IN THE SPOTLIGHT... Vicki Cope is mom to two and foster mom to four! Anne Rodriguez, Foster Parent Recruiter for SB County, shares about Vicki, "She is the president of the Foster Parent Association. She is a really great person and even better foster mother!" Read full spotlight/profile >

NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT... Real Change, Not Spare Change Santa Barbara aims to help the public understand the root causes of homelessness and change the behavior of those who give to the homeless. As an alternative to giving cash directly to panhandlers, supporting Real Change will fund critical street outreach programs to connect those in need with local services that feed, shelter and help rebuild lives.

SB TEEN IDOL... Congratulations to Allison Lewis, the winner of last night's SB Teen Idol Finale! Allison awarded a recording session at Santa Barbara Sound Design and will receive two front row seats to the May 22 performance of Lets Fall in Love at The Granada, receive a private backstage tour with Broadway stars Howard McGillin and Rebecca Luker, and be formally introduced to Santa Barbara during the VIP Reception immediately following the performance. Congratulations again to all of the finalists.

Don't miss the Family Service Agency's FREE Children's Festival this Saturday at Alameda Park or the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation Spring Fling at Beach Grill at Padaro.

P.S. Congratulations to Ms. Shawn Carey, the new principal at Dos Pueblos High starting in the Fall. READ PRESS RELEASE >

Bike to School Day!

Thirty years ago more than 66% of all children walked to school. Today, only 13% of American children walk or bike to school. The consequences are worrisome: sedentary lifestyles, child obesity, diabetes and heart disease, and behavioral problems are increasing. Bike to School Day is a good place to start reversing this alarming trend.

On May 18 over twenty local schools will participate in Bike to School Day. The event encourages children to bicycle to and from school on this specially marked day. Schools often make this a "walk and roll" event- encouraging any form of alternative transportation to get to school. Festive greeting tables, the school band playing, donated prizes and healthy snacks welcome children who walk or roll to school on this day.

Learn more at www.Walk-Roll.org or contact Kim Stanley-Zimmerman at ksz@linkline.com or read more on our blog>

Below is only a partial list of upcoming events and activities so be sure to click on our EVENT CALENDAR so you do not miss anything >>

Use the PARENT PLANNER to click on events and resources you are interested in and click PRINT MY PLANNER to print or email your list.

Camp Calendar | School Schedules | Movie Showtimes

Click here to see a list of all parenting resources on the SBParent.com site. >
Click on the business names below to go to their websites.

By Kristi Miller, Solutions in Parenting

Spring is on its way, and with it comes warmer weather, your children's deepening friendships/relationships, the birds, the bees...

Inevitably, during this time of year, we get many questions from parents about when is the right time to begin talking to their kids about sex. Are they too young to hear about it? What do I say? What don't I say?

The fact is, it can be hard to know when to have "the talk" with your kids. But believe it or not, your children have been receiving sexual messages since birth. By the time they are in elementary school, their ideas and wonderings are well underway. There is simply no way of avoiding the inevitable discussion of sex and sexuality.

An important point to remember when contemplating your angle, is to know that the kids who understand the real meanings of sex and sexuality, are better able to have loving, whole, healthy relationships later in life. Sexuality has many different facets, and therefore, parents will serve their children well to include all parts of a person's sexuality and not concentrate on just the "sex" part.  CONTINUE ARTICLE >

Submitted by First Five of SB County

Since babies do not come with instructions, it is reassuring to be able to know if your child is meeting developmental markers when he/she should. To find out what developmental milestones your child should be reaching visit MyHealthyChildSB.org and click on your child's age.

When shopping with your toddler, talk to your child in advance about a special thing that she or he can buy at the store. Then look for it, like a treasure hunt. This can help your child learn to be a good observer. Ask your toddler about the shapes he or she sees. Ask him or her to name things that are high on the shelf or low near the floor.

More tips:

• Learning: Connect language to everyday experiences - it helps your baby learn to speak and eventually read better.
• Eating: Combine foods of different flavors. Good mixes include rice and pureed fruit; pureed fruits and vegetables, like apples and sweet potatoes, with pureed chicken or turkey; mashed avocado and bananas.
• Health: Did you know that regular visits to a health care provider help your child stay healthy and keep her learning on track? Tremendous growth and development take place in the early years, so it is crucial to prevent, detect, and treat health issues early.
• Sleeping: Bedtime should follow a schedule. For example, bath, teethbrushing, bedtime story, nightlight, kiss good night and sleep. A consistent schedule helps children learn to go to sleep by themselves.
• Playing: Turn an errand into a fun learning game that helps your child make sense of the surrounding world. If your child likes trucks, look for trucks as you drive and see who can yell "truck" first.

Submitted by Emily Schaffer CPD, CLE, CBP

Deciding to have a child is one of the most important decisions that any family can make. Creating a plan is a crucial first step.A "Baby Planner" provide services to new parents and expectant parents, friends and family of new parents and expectant parents, adoptive parents, as well as persons/couples that are trying to have a baby.

They support and educate you on various birthing options, parenting techniques, fitness and nutrition plans, baby proofing, back-to-work strategies, greening your home and even hiring a caregiver. A Baby Planner can help plan for a baby shower or assist in baby registrations too!

Baby Planning services do not end there. Think of having your own personal baby planning assistant to provide you with a list of prenatal birthing classes, exercise classes, or pampering pregnancy massage services. Baby Planners maintain a database of well-respected professionals from your local area that will allow you to make an educated selection when choosing the right professional for your family. CONTINUE ARTICLE >