Links to Additional Resources

BabySigns Baby Signs® is a research-based program that teaches infants and toddlers to use simple, easy-to-do gestures to communicate what they need, what they see, and even what they feel with their parents and caregivers.

Center for Disease Control (CDC)  CDC, an organization within HHS, works to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. Under Life Stages and Specific Populations and under Injury, Violence, and Safety, service providers can find information on a wide variety of topics related to new parents, parents of toddlers and preschoolers, and preventing child abuse and neglect.

Child Welfare  This government website provides access to information and resources designed to help protect children and strengthen families. It includes information on building healthy families, child abuse and neglect, and adoption.

Deployment and Coming Home: The Realities for Infants and Toddlers in Military Families
This article, from ZERO TO THREE, describes the challenges encountered by military families with infants and toddlers, and the ways in which policy decisions can ameliorate those pressures. Military families face particular stress during the deployment and homecoming of a family member. These are times that cause anxiety for every member of the family, including infants and toddlers. This article will detail the challenges families face before, during and after deployment, as well as policy recommendations that support infants and toddlers in military families.

Double Duty: Staying Connected With Your Kids When You're a Deployed Dad.  Former Marine and fatherhood expert, Armin Brott, talks to dads on this free CD about ways to stay connected with your child or baby-to-be before you leave home until after you return.  Plus, service members from all branches share their experiences as deployed fathers and offer advice for maintaining and strengthening the daddy-bond, no matter the age or stage of your child.  Get your free copy of Double Duty from Military OneSource or by calling 1-800-342-9647.  You can also download or listen at the Web site (enter "Double Duty" in the search box).  The Military OneSource website lists specific dialing information for other countries.

Resource from Health Resources & Services    
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) via their Office of Women's Health portal offers FREE emotional wellness tools via the Bright Futures for Women's Health and Wellness Initiative.  Scroll down under Emotional Wellness Tools to locate the guides targeting either healthcare providers, young women, or women of all ages. 

These guides can be downloaded, copied and used during home visits, if appropriate, and include tips for broaching sensitive topics, worksheets to stimulate thoughtful reflection, and offer ideas for building and sustaining emotional wellness.

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau, another division of HRSA, provides links to Depression During and After Pregnancy, a Resource for Women, Their Family, and Friends.  A FREE printer-friendly Perinatal Depression Booklet can be found at the top of the page.

Healthy Children This American Academy of Pediatrics website features topics of interest to parents such as car safety seat guidelines, immunization information, firearm safety, common childhood illnesses, ADHD, related books, and much more.

Medline Plus This National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health website contains links to current news and research.  The Parenting section of the site provides information and links to articles and research reports on a number of relevant topics.

Military OneSource This site provides information and resources to help balance work and family life. Consultants are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week by phone, online, or via email offering personalized support to any service  member, DoD civilian personnel designated as Civilian Expeditionary Workforce, or family member. Military OneSource can connect individuals with a trained, state-licensed mental health professional in the community, telephonically, or online for confidential/private counseling.  Military OneSource offers twelve free in-person counseling sessions per person, per issue. For those unable to attend face-to-face counseling, Military OneSource arranges telephone and online consultations.  Active duty, National Guard and Reserve service members, DoD civilian personnel designated as Civilian Expeditionary Workforce members and their families are eligible to receive counseling services from Military OneSource and MFLCs.

On the Military OneSource website, service members and their families can find numerous parenting resources, including articles on planning for parenthood, caring for new babies, and infant and child developmental stages. Consultants are also available by phone to help identify resources for parents in their local communities and on their installations. To contact Military OneSource by phone, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, call Stateside at 1-800-342-9647. The Military OneSource website lists specific dialing information for other countries.

MilitaryINSTALLATIONS This resource, available on MilitaryHOMEFRONT, provides contact information for programs and services, maps and directions, links to comprehensive location overviews, and community points of interest for military installations worldwide. Contact information for installation FAPs and New Parent Support Programs can be found on this site.

National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome This website provides information and resources on shaken baby syndrome in an effort to educate parents and to prevent further injury of children from this type of child abuse.

Safe Sleep Practices and SIDS/Suffocation Risk Reduction
This Resource is a compilation of 27 nationally recognized health and safety standards on safe sleep and reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)/suffocation in child care and early education settings from Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs.

The Parent Review The Parent Review is a TRICARE funded e-mail-based newsletter via eCareConnect for expecting and new parents delivering at select military treatment facilities and generically through a DoD version. This e-newsletter helps DoD hospitals and NPSP home visitors to connect more effectively with their expectant and new families by providing important, research-based health information customized to each patient's due date or child's age. Promotional materials are available.

US Government Parenting Website This federal website provides information on a number of parenting topics, such as expecting, health issues, education issues, child care, and grandparents raising grandchildren.

ZERO TO THREE Parents and those working with families with children birth to three will find information on the website of ZERO TO THREE, a national nonprofit organization that informs, trains and supports parents, professionals and policymakers in their efforts to improve the lives of infants and toddlers. The organization's website offers general child development guidance, including information about brain development, early learning, school readiness, child care, health and nutrition. In addition, ZERO TO THREE has a wealth of information specifically developed for military families - and those who support such families - about how to help young children build resiliency and cope with parental separation, relocation and other stressors.