The Dads for Life Resource Team puts together 12 parenting websites, in four categories for easy reference. Bookmark this for your future reference!
• Dads’ Guides – with a strong dads’ voice
• Parenting in Action – features good videos
• On Home Ground – Singapore-based organisations
• Tweens and Teen – resources for each life stage
Dads’ Guides
With more fathers playing an active role in their children’s lives, we have rounded up three useful sites that provide practical parenting information with a distinct male flavour.
With an average of 6000 unique visitors monthly, the official website for Singapore’s very own fatherhood movement, Dads for Life, contains a myriad of articles and features a community section filled with uplifting stories of celebrity dads and everyday dads.
On top of the usual parenting must-knows, this online lifestyle magazine for the family man carries tips on how to head the family. Easily one of sites with the best layout and pictures, it entertains with its witty writing style and articles such as How to Read Your Wife Like a Book.
3) National Center for Fathering
The National Center for Fathering founded by Dr Ken Canfield is a non-profit research and education organisation that recognises and highlights the importance of a father’s presence in his child’s life. It features inspirational videos; sends out a weekly newsletter; and provides tools such as printable cards.
Parenting in Action
A picture is worth a thousand words; “how to” videos offer provide insights that could otherwise be lost in text or translation. The three listed here are selected for their specialised content for both dads-to-be and veteran dads.
1) BabyCenter
With a comprehensive list of videos on each stage of pregnancy, BabyCenter is a great resource, especially for first-time dads. There are also “how to” videos for parents with children of various ages, down to details such as how to brush and floss your pre-schooler’s teeth.
2) Dadlabs
Dadlabs dishes out creative fatherly advice given with a dose of fun, self-deprecating humour on topics such as Kid’s First Haircut and How to B-ready for Family Adventures.
The site hosts a weekly 30-minute “live” show of parenting news and comedy for the modern dad with occasional entertaining cameo appearances by celebrities. No wonder Dadlabs hits an average of a million views each month.
3) TLC
This site features useful parenting content, including interviews with doctors and psychologists on topics such as dealing with foul language and helping kids deal with disappointment. Content is drawn from TLC, a channel known for its family-friendly programming.
On Home Ground
Whether you are looking for what stroller to get or where to buy it in Singapore, these three sites will prove to be handy.
A nifty and easily navigable site for new and expectant parents, BabyCenter Singapore covers childbirth and care topics through articles with an Asian touch, such as tips on local confinement practices and Traditional Chinese Medicine
2) Centre for Fathering Singapore
Centre for Fathering Singapore aims to strengthen families by focusing on preventive work through programmes for fathers such as family-life education and parent-child bonding workshops. The organisation is also behind events such as Eat with Your Family Day 2012.
Almost any question you may have about parenting may be found here. Its forum is one of the most active locally. It is a useful site to find honest feedback and reviews from real parents.
Tweens & Teens
One of the greatest challenges even seasoned parents face, emerges when their children hit adolescence. The three following sites zoom in on the growing up process and useful resources for parents preparing to deal with these changes.
1) TweenParent
Featured by NBC News, the Associated Press and FOX, TweenParent is a site with articles and resources created specifically for kids in pre-teen years, such as tween bullying and eating disorders. It includes Tween Lingo, an updated list of slang words that the children use among their peers.
ParentingTeensOnline provides a host of tips, tools and resources to improve the dialogue between parents and teenagers on issues of concern, including drugs and alcohol, money, school and technology. Besides being backed by an impressive advisory board of educators, doctors and writers, the site seeks opinions of teenagers in its articles.
This website draws largely from the vast experience of two clinical psychologists who have been working with adolescents as well as their parents, Barbara Greenberg and Jennifer Powell-Lunder. The site features topics such as coping when your teen’s dreams are not yours, and provides expert insights on parenting teens.
About the Author: The Dads for Life Resource Team comprises local content writers and experts, including psychologists, counsellors, educators and social service professionals, dedicated to developing useful resources for dads.
First published on 02-05-2012.
Categories: Ages and Stages
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