Your Developing Child
Parenting is hard work and all families can use support from time to time. These websites share resources on child health and growth, parenting tips and more. Use them to support your own family or share them with the families in your life!
Online Resources
Click on a title below to reveal useful links.
All Ages
Disabilities
- Fact Oregon – Resources for families raising children with special needs.
- ADDitude – For parents of children with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and learning challenges.
- Autism Society of Oregon– Advocacy and support for families living with autism.
Health and Safety
- Behavioral Health Focus – Washington County behavioral health resources
- HealthyChildren.org – Parent resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Topics include stages of child development, safety and prevention, and family life.
- KidsHealth.org – Health information for families. Available in Spanish and English.
- Food Hero – Provides healthy recipes in English and Spanish. Sort recipes by categories such as “5 ingredients or less,” or “kid-approved.” Sign up for a monthly family newsletter from Oregon State University’s Extension program.
- Education on Marijuana – Includes effects for breastfeeding mothers and tips for talking with your teens.
- Safe Kids Oregon works to prevent childhood injury. This is the number one cause of death for children in the United States.
- Child Abuse Resources – Everyone is responsible for reporting suspected child abuse. If you think someone is being hurt or is in danger, call 911. Child Protective Services (CPS) responds to child abuse reports.
Media use
- Media ratings and resources– Common Sense Media
- PBS Kids – Public TV supports family programming and has an endless amount of resources for children and families
- Recommended media use for children and resources– From American Academy of Pediatrics
- Online homework help – For all grade levels from Washington County Cooperative Library Services
- Book lists for children – From birth through grade 5 from Washington County Cooperative Library Services
Parenting
- Oregon Parenting Education Cooperative (OPEC) supports high-quality parent education programs. Read the monthly ‘Oregon Parenting Together’ in both English and Spanish.
- Parent Information by child’s age from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) Children’s Division provides adoption services for children in foster care. They oversee the Foster Parent program and provide information on children with special needs.
Prenatal to 5
- Learn the Signs. Act Early. – What to expect from children at different ages from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Download CDC’s Milestone tracker app to your smartphone or tablet.
- Oregon Health Authority– Resources for parents and caregivers on early childhood developmental screening from Oregon Health Authority.
- Vroom has over 1,000 brain-building activities accessed via a free Smartphone app called Daily Vroom. The app sends tips for each registered child ages 0 – 5 and is in English or Spanish. Vroom is also available by text, which works for cell phones with a text plan.
- Zero to Three – Provides a range of resources for parents of young children. Download The Baby Brain Map to demystify the stages of brain development and nurture baby’s growth. Find special resources for grandparents and extended family, military and veteran family support, and positive parenting approaches.
- Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) ® has an online survey to help parents check on their child’s general development.
- Early Intervention (EI) and Early Childhood Education (ESE) has programs for families with children ages 0 – 5 who have special needs or have a developmental delay.
- Early Learning and Kindergarten Guidelines are for everyone who interacts with children ages 3-6. They cover five areas: approaches to learning, social-emotional development, literacy, mathematics, and language and communication. It is available in four other languages besides English
- National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) helps families find quality child care and supports children’s healthy growth. Sign up for the families newsletter or read timely articles.
- Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) has online resources for parents with a library card.
- 1000 Books encourages parents to think of their children as future kindergartners. Can you log 1000 books read to your child before kindergarten? A WCCLS librarian has created a great list of suggested books to get you started!
- Animated talking ebooks from Tumblebooks are for young children. Some books are in French and Spanish.
- Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a free program for women and children from low- to moderate-income families who qualify. The program is for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women and caregivers with children up to age five. Support topics include prenatal care, breastfeeding, nutrition, buying healthy food, and referrals to health and social services.
- Providence Beginnings is a maternity support program for women who plan to deliver their babies at a Providence hospital. A group of specialized social workers and nurses will help expecting families have the healthiest pregnancy possible and support for your new baby..
6 to 12
School
- Great Websites for Kids from the Association for Library Service to Children
- Understood.org is for parents of kids with learning and attention issues focused on school aged kids. It covers social and emotional topics.
Health and Wellness
- Grade school health topics from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Media
- PBSKids programs help kids learn and build critical thinking skills. The channel is free for TV antenna users statewide and through most cable providers.
- Media topics (phone, social media, cyberbullying) from HealthyChildren.org
Teens
School
- Khan Academy has free practice exercises, learning videos and a customized dashboard to help students learn at their own pace.
- Study Skills for middle school and older students
- Online Homework Help from the Washington County Cooperative Library system. The HelpNow online program offers live tutoring and a writing lab. Home users require a library login.
- Portland Community College Yes to College Program is for youth ages 16 – 20 from participating school districts. Students who have dropped out of school or who will not graduate with their class may apply. The student must want to complete their GED (General Education Diploma) prior to college and career training.
- GED (General Educational Diploma) preparation and testing are found at many locations in the Portland metro area.
- Oregon Promise is a state grant that covers most tuition at any Oregon community college. It is for recent high school graduates and GED recipients.
- FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) for college or career school
Health and Wellness
Physical and Sexual Health
- Youth health resources from the Oregon Health Authority.
- Teen health topics from the American Academy of Pediatrics
- Health clinics in Washington County, which includes school-based health centers.
- Planned Parenthood provides high-quality health care. They have info on birth control, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and relationships. The Washington County clinic is in Beaverton.
- Youth Sexual Health – Information from the Oregon Health Authority
Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention
- Addiction treatment programs for youth ages 12 – 21 and their families from LifeWorks NW.
- Behavioral health and early intervention programs from Youth Contact.
- Hawthorne Walk-in Center in Hillsboro provides urgent care services for mental health and addiction concerns.
- Mental health counseling services from LifeWorks NW support children from as age three to young adults.
- Mental health, substance abuse and prevention and education services for youth ages 0 – 21 from Morrison Child and Family Services.
- YouthLine is a free peer-to-peer help, support and crisis line for youth up to age 24. No problem is too big or too small for YouthLine!
- Suicide prevention resources from Washington County
- Marijuana Prevention – Oregon’s ‘Stay True to You’ marijuana prevention campaign. Talk With Them and Habla Con Ellos websites help parents discuss marijuana use with teens.
- Tualatin Together, Tigard Turns the Tide – Substance abuse prevention coalitions
- Quit smoking resources from Washington County
- Truth Initiative – National tobacco prevention campaign for youth
Life Skills and Supports
- Essential life skills for all teens from the CA Transition Alliance. Resources focus on self-determination, independence, and productivity.
- Life Skills Training for youth, ranging from finding an apartment to cleaning their home
- Home Plate is a drop-in center and outreach team which supports youth with unstable housing
- JobNow provides live online resume, job interview and career help to library visitors or at home for those with a library login.
Media
- Media topics (phone, social media, cyberbullying) from HealthyChildren.org.
Teen Parenting
- How to support your teen during a pregnancy from KidsHealth.org.
- Teenage Pregnancy resources on pregnancy symptoms, birth control options and pregnancy options.
- Healthy Families of Oregon provides parental supports and referrals to pregnant women. Call 503-726-0879.
- Nurse Family Partnership Program helps first-time mothers have healthy pregnancies and improve child health and growth.
- Five high schools in Washington County have Teen Parent programs. They provide early learning and care to help parents in school. The schools are Century High School (Hillsboro), Durham Education Center (Tigard), Forest Grove High School, Merlo Station (Beaverton) and Miller Education Center (Hillsboro).
- Scholarships and Grants for Student Parents