For several years, Practical Parenting has been educating and supporting parents in Plano. For any of you not yet familiar with Practical Parenting, it is a part of PISD and was formed to give Plano citizens information and resources to help them through the toughest job of their life - parenting. Available to the public are workshops, class series, a library and a Parent Warmline for call-in support and references. Don’t save Practical Parenting for a rainy day when there is a crisis…utilize their resources now to become informed and also to find out that you are not alone in your parenting challenges! Find out about their current offerings here at their section of the PISD website - it is more informational than their own, new website:

http://www.pisd.edu/AOS/SchProgs/practicl.htm

http://www.practicalparent.org/

Stay-at-home fathers are not so rare these days – I know one just a couple of blocks over (and he stays home with four, count’em, four boys…whoa). Well, anyway, dads are quickly finding out how much support and info is needed for the stay-at-home parent job. Some great websites have been put together on the subject:

http://www.daddyshome.com/

http://www.athomedad.com/

While we are on the subject of fathers, here is the website for an organization called "Boot Camp for Dads" that promotes parent education and training for new fathers. Not that fathers in particular need training when they have a new baby…a new infant in the house means that it’s a whole new world for everyone involved. But this program gives new dads the opportunity to share with other dads and find out they aren’t alone. 

http://www.newdads.com/

About.com (formerly Mining Company) is a good place to begin to find information about single parenting. Featured are links to discussion and support groups for single parents, plus insights:

http://singleparents.about.com/

Believe it or not, this survey has been online since 1999, when this website was created.  You can go to this part of the smarterkids.com website, answer a few questions and get a description of the top two "learning styles" that fit your child. The results may not be a great surprise to you. If you let your child answer the questions, you may get a totally different result from those resulting from your answers. It offers a little interesting insight...

http://www.smarterkids.com/reccenter/stylesurvey.asp

A vast array of support groups is listed each month in publications such as "Dallas Child" and "Dallas Family". These publications can be obtained FREE at certain pick-up points, such as the magazine racks in the entry cove of Barnes & Noble or Bookstop bookstores, exit doors for Toys R Us and some preschools and doctors’ offices.

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