The question we hear most often from families is “Is it normal that my child…” Parents tell us they call their friends for advice, look online, and watch other kids in public places like libraries, classrooms, and the park all to see if the things their child is doing or saying is “normal.” Normal means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. You may have questions too. It is our mission to support you by providing the answers to those questions and to provide you with resources.

We want to support you by providing opportunities for you to meet other parents with the same questions while getting tips and information you can actually use in your daily life. One opportunity is in our Virtual Parent Cafes that happen weekly – you can sit in each week or however often suits your schedule. You can also drop a note, question, or concern on our peer OberlinKids Parent Cafe Private Group to engage in judgment-free conversation with other caregivers and parents.

Stay engaged within your own family unit with our Literacy and Learning page. You can have Fun at Home! as well while you Keep your Family Busy with Izzy and Crew or the daily activity calendar might be just what you need to add something new and fun to each day.

We know that after you attend a family engagement program that you will feel supported and relieved that you are not the only one with the question, why does my child do that or is it normal, in addition to having some tricks up your sleeve on how to handle parenting in general.

A hot topic brought up through surveys with our partner OhioGuidestone has shown we have lost some or all routine in our homes this past year potentially all or in part due to the pandemic blurring the lines of home, work, school. Click here for a video on the importance of routine in our households for all children.

The free program events & discussions are open to OberlinKids members and the general public.

Some programming opportunities are discussions led by parent hosts and topics are guided by field specialists and others are led by the field experts.

Please refer to our  Events tab for upcoming series events.

Upcoming topics may include:

Parent Cafés by Shuntele – Join Shuntele, a Strengthening Families™ Parent Cafe host, every Thursday night at 7:30 pm via Google Meet for an opportunity to discuss hot parenting topics with peers in a judgment-free group. The length of the meeting is typically an hour but is based on how the group feels.