House Republican Press Release

July 28, 2008

Press Office: 860-240-8700

A VIEW FROM THE INSIDE State Representative Ruth Fahrbach

New state Web site offers parenting advice       

In this day and age, there are an abundance of resources on the Web to answer almost any question that arises in our day. The state of Connecticut, through the Department of Children and Families, has recently launched a Web site aimed at providing useful advice and tips to parents, www.CTParenting.com.

According to DCF, the Web site offers a variety of information relevant for families with children of all ages and developmental stages, including reliable information on health, safety, child development, education, family fun, and meeting families’ basic needs (e.g., housing, food, utilities, etc.). The site also offers special sections tailored to fathers, single and divorced parents, prospective parents, and grandparents caring for grandchildren. Teenagers and younger children also have special sections filled with useful age-appropriate information, games and fun activities.

Some of the topics covered on the site include:

 - Prenatal care and child birth;

 - Caring for babies, including "colicky" babies and how to soothe babies;

 - Toilet training;

 - Car seat safety, crib safety, and stroller safety

 - For school age children, social skills, behavior, fighting, discipline and rules;

 - Bike helmets, bike safety and summer safety, including water and window safety;

The information on the Web site was collected by DCF in consultation with the Connecticut Clearinghouse at Wheeler Clinic, and also features links to the American Academy of Pediatrics, federal government agencies, and other pertinent state agencies.

Here are some additional Web sites that may be of assistance to those seeking information on parenting, as listed on the DCF Web site.

• American Academy of Pediatrics/Parenting Corner – visit this website for information about a wide variety of topics, including children’s developmental, health and behavioral health concerns.
• Child and Family WebGuide - produced by Tufts University, this WebGuide offers links to hundreds of sites pertaining to child development and parenting issues, from birth through the teen years.
• CT Parents Plus – a statewide parent information and resource center that connects families, communities, and educators so that they can work together to improve outcomes for children. 

· greatkidsCT - this website, sponsored by the CT State Library, offers a great variety of parenting and child development information.

Parents, not the government, are ultimately responsible for raising their own children. But parents at times will need to seek advice or information when dealing with particular problems or circumstances.  This Web site addresses a number of the issues we all have encountered along the way, and provides some good advice and information and can prove useful to many of our families.    

State Rep. Ruth Fahrbach represents the 61^st District, including Suffield, and parts of Windsor and East Granby, in the General Assembly.