📚 Caregiving resources

Local websites for families

• SF Bay Area (general)

  • San Francisco Bay Area Moms — an online parenting publication and community focused on sharing information, ideas, and personal stories to support, inspire and connect San Francisco Bay Area families

  • bayareakidfun.com — Bay Area family activities

  • Golden Gate Mothers Group — founded in 1996, GGMG is a volunteer-run organization that works to support each other and build community

  • A Better Way — a Bay Area nonprofit that provides the highest quality services to children in - or at risk of entering - foster care, and their families, with the goal of establishing loving and lasting relationships

  • Easy Happy Nest — extensive directory & articles for Bay Area parents

  • Ronnie's Awesome List — “the ultimate events round-up in the Bay Area”

  • The Mamahood — “an inclusive, social justice focused community, providing empathy, resources, and inspiration to mothers and non-binary parents of all ages and stages of life”

• East Bay

  • 510families.com — East Bay family activities and local info

  • Berkeley Parents Network — Founded in 1993, Berkeley Parents Network (BPN) is a moderated online network for parents who live in the SF Bay Area

  • BANANAS — offers child care referrals and resources to families with young children and child care professionals in the Northern Alameda County cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Piedmont, Emeryville, and Alameda.

• SF

  • San Francisco Parent Coalition — a collective of 5,000+ San Francisco public school parents, students, teachers, and community supporters

  • Recess Collective — based in SF, an inclusive community-driven organization committed to supporting families from the time of pregnancy through the first four years

  • SF Parent Groups — an index of SF-based parent groups (list includes some defunct groups)

  • SF Parents of Multiples — offers support to parents and expectant parents of multiples

• Peninsula

  • SanMateoParentsClub.com — San Mateo family resources

• North Bay

  • Marin Mommies — a go-to guide for parents & families in Marin County

• Local parent support groups

  • Blossom Birth & Family support groups (Palo Alto)

  • The Nesting Spot support groups (San Jose)

  • Brilliant Births support groups (Berkeley)

  • Parents Helping Parents support groups (San Jose)

  • SF Parents of Multiples (SF)

  • Little Seeds Family (East Bay)

  • Psychology Today - parenting support groups in Bay Area

    • Includes groups focused on prenatal, postpartum, and beyond, as well as with a focus on mothers, fathers, etc.

• Resources for learning about and coping with parenting

  • [What Mothers Do: Especially When It Looks Like Nothing](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301330/what-mothers-do-especially-when-it-looks-like-nothing-by-naomi-stadlen/#:~:text=About What Mothers Do Especially When It Looks Like Nothing&text=Stadlen's wise reflections%2C threaded throughout,crippling inefficiency%2C and deadening fatigue.) by Naomi Stadlen

  • Just This (SF) podcast - “a podcast that dives into everything around being and becoming a mother. From pre-conception to years post birth, covering the practical details to the unseen energetics.”

  • *The Parent's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents* by William Martin

• Resources for learning about childcare and child development

  • The Wonder Weeks book, website, and app — provides tools and resources to help parents navigate infant developmental leaps in their first 20 months of life

  • *The Magic Years: Understanding and Handling the Problems of Early Childhood* by Selma Fraiberg

  • @pedsdoctalk and pedsdoctalk.com — pediatric advice, parenting insights, and practical tips from pediatrician and IBCLC Dr. Mona

  • My First Five Years books, website, and app — research-backed parenting guidance

  • Good Inside - “by focusing on the parent behind the parenting and the child behind the behavior, we help families heal — bringing out the good inside everyone.”

  • Big Little Feelings - “therapist-backed, parent-vetted strategies that strengthen bonds, break cycles, and build confidence for parents and kids.”

  • Janet Lansbury - books, podcast, and articles about respectful parenting

    • Unruffled podcast - “each episode of Unruffled addresses a reader's parenting issue through the lens of Janet's respectful parenting approach, consistently offering a perspective shift that ultimately frees parents of the need for scripts, strategies, tricks, and tactics.”

• Infant sign language

  • Happy Baby Signs (San Mateo, but teaches virtually and across the Bay, including at locations listed below)

    • Natural Resources - baby sign language intro class (SF)

    • Blossom Birth & Family - baby sign language classes (Palo Alto)

    • The Nesting Spot - baby sign language intro class (San Jose)

• Household task / responsibility management apps

  • Maple — an “all-in-one, free, family app featuring a family calendar, task list, shopping list, meal planner, and organizer”

• Offbeat baby and children's books

  • *Invisible Things* by Andy J. Pizza & Sophie Miller

  • *Marigold and Rose: A Fiction* by Louise Glück

  • *Mixed Feelings* by Liana Finck

  • *I Love You When You're Angry* by Erin Winters & Kaitin Bucher

  • Alternative endings for “beloved but problematic” children's books (e.g., The Rainbow Fish, The Giving Tree)